Cultural lessons for Ghost of Yōtei

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Insanemaelstrom

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Cultural lessons for Ghost of Yōtei

How Sucker Punch equipped themselves to represent Ainu culture in a respectful way.
blog.playstation.com blog.playstation.com

How Sucker Punch equipped themselves to represent Ainu culture in a respectful way.

As we established in our previous article, visiting Japan was an important part of creating the world of Ghost of Yōtei.

Sucker Punch is an American company and we are well aware that we don't naturally come equipped with the cultural knowledge to bring feudal Japan to life. To do that, we need a lot of help. Thankfully we are also part of PlayStation, for Ghost of Tsushima we were fortunate enough to receive steady feedback from our colleagues in Tokyo. As you might have guessed, the same is true for Ghost of Yōtei. Only this time we've broadened our roster of advisers.

When setting a game in Hokkaido we knew a crucial element was doing our best to represent Ainu culture in a respectful way. Thankfully we'd connected with an Ainu cultural adviser before setting out on our reference gathering trip and she was nice enough to introduce us to her family. The group of us traveled up a nearby mountain and got to know each other while foraging for vegetables. It was great, all of us from Sucker Punch stopped taking pictures and got our hands dirty. We started really looking at the plants beneath our feet. It was a lovely way to make new friends and start our journey in learning about Ainu culture. That night we resolved to put foraging into our new game, we wanted players to be able to share the experience we were lucky enough to have experienced.

Yukiko Kaizawa shows Joanna Wang and myself how to sort the vegetables in preparation for turning them into lunch.

We also had the opportunity to explore the displays in the Nibutani Ainu Museum while talking with our adviser. This really helped us get a sense for sorts of objects we'd see in the game and how they were used.

Exploring the Oshima Peninsula also gave us a terrific look into the lives of the Matsuamae clan who were there in strength during the time period our game takes place. It was interesting to see the proliferation of cherry trees on the peninsula, brought there from Honshu, yet uncommon in the rest of the island. That really told the story of how sparsely settled Hokkaido was in 1603 by the Wajin people. We've tried to mimic that quality in the game, leaning into areas of wilderness between homesteads. Of course down on the Oshima Peninsula clan Matsumae were very present, bringing with them a feeling of Honshu.

Our producer, Ryuhei Katami, took us all around Honshu to educate us on Edo culture. Here are some photos we took.

My favorite stop was the impressive Nikko Toshogu Shrine. While there we obtained a blessing for the game from the enshrined deity, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Omamori and Ema we received sit proudly in our studio on a high shelf facing south. They're a constant reminder of the time we spent on the research trip. While our version of Hokkaido is fictional, the feeling of authenticity we strive to create has roots in those real world experiences.

For anyone reading this, thinking that they might want to visit Hokkaido, my advice to you is: do it. Japan is a place so many of us go in our imaginations, to actually be there is a dream come true.
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I don't need lessons thanks

Get Out Smile GIF by Get Out Movie
 
Sentenza said:
Zzzzzz.
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People were pissed when assassin's creed shadows supposedly didn't respect the culture in a certain way, so it makes sense that they'd want to do research and do things the right way with this game. If they didn't do so then i'm sure they'd get a brigade of keyboard warriors ready to kill burn them at the stake.
 
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Quick, quick - someone tell the Scottish dudes at Rockstar to cancel GTA VI and remake it showing the US and Florida in a respectful way!!!!!
 
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Sebastian1295 said:
People were pissed when assassin's creed shadows supposedly didn't respect the culture in a certain way, so it makes sense that they'd want to do research and do things the right way with this game. If they didn't do so then i'm sure they'd get a brigade of keyboard warriors ready to kill burn them at the stake.
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There's a difference between being respectful to a culture or bending over backwards in order not to offend anyone.

The Suckerpunch devs should aim to represent Ainu culture, etc accurately, not respectfully, If you become deadly scared to offend and you put every native tribe on a pedestal you're rewriting history as well because every negative aspect of the history of those peoples will be wiped clean.

The Australian government is an example of bending over backwards out of respect for a native tribe. Every single human bone belonging to an ancient Australian will be reburied in a secret location. Scientist won't be able to use those bones to find out more about early humans, where the original aboriginals came from, etc etc because somehow aboriginals bones are holy and Australia should respect their nonsensical religious beliefs.

 
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HerjansEagleFeeder said:
People long dead deserve more respect than people currently alive?
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It's EASIER to depict an era we are living NOW than an ancient one that requires documentation and accuracy to feel consistent.

It's not about "respect" but being true to the historical context of the game. Accuracy is respect, not idealizing or demonizing by contemporary moral standards.
 
The problem with a lot of these artists and writers is that they associate culture with aesthetics. So they create something that looks authentic but as soon as someone open their mouths they speak and act as if its modern day america, while making random "cultural" references of course.
 
Randall365 said:
Quick, quick - someone tell the Scottish dudes at Rockstar to cancel GTA VI and remake it showing the US and Florida in a respectful way!!!!!
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I think you'd be surprised to find out that all GTA games do this same type of research with the people and cultures they are depicting. How have you not read anything about it by now?
 
kruis said:
There's a difference between being respectful to a culture or bending over backwards in order not to offend anyone.

The Suckerpunch devs should aim to represent Ainu culture, etc accurately, not respectfully, If you become deadly scared to offend and you put every native tribe on a pedestal you're rewriting history as well because every negative aspect of the history of those peoples will be wiped clean.

The Australian government is an example of bending over backwards out of respect for a native tribe. Every single human bone belonging to an ancient Australian will be reburied in a secret location. Scientist won't be able to use those bones to find out more about early humans, where the original aboriginals came from, etc etc because somehow aboriginals bones are holy and Australia should respect their nonsensical religious beliefs.

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Enjoyed reading your post and i agree with you after reading it and reading the link provided in ur post. I feel like game devs have to straddle this line with historical things though and it's a delicate balance because people get so pissed nowadays.
 
Sebastian1295 said:
Enjoyed reading your post and i agree with you after reading it and reading the link provided in ur post. I feel like game devs have to straddle this line with historical things though and it's a delicate balance because people get so pissed nowadays.
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But it's needed more for creating a better game world, than not pissing people off. TV shows and Movies do similar things. Not everything is done to fight off social media anger.
 
As a Finn and slightly considering myself being part of the Jomon people*, they better represent our little brothers the Ainu correctly!

*There's no evidence of this and is psychotic to believe, but I prefer to have more relation to the Japanese island than to surströmming-Swedes.
 
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Oh wow, that title scared me for a second, and thought the game was going to give actual lessons and preach to the player like some Dragon Age games do. Glad it isn't that bullshit.
 
ShadyAcshuns said:
Oh wow, that title scared me for a second, and thought the game was going to give actual lessons and preach to the player like some Dragon Age games do. Glad it isn't that bullshit.
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The two possibilities don't seem to be mutually exclusive.
 
Ghosts of Tsushima was a really good game. One of the reasons was it was so accurate and respectful. The Japanese were awed. They piled on accolades and celebrations for the game. The stories with the little side characters were great. The open world was great. The combat was great but it was like BotW to me. About 50 hours in I had it totally figured out and the magic kinda drained out of the mechanics for me(it took longer in botw). It's a locked in battle system, not a free flowing one like dark souls, so it doesn't really have as much potential but it is fun for a 50 hour romp until it starts to wear. The dual battles that play out in a different style of combat were also interesting and added a lot of variation considering how small a part of the game they actually played. The graphics and specifically the environmental detail was done with a lot of love. Technically, a masterpiece but also artistically.

I expect nothing less than excellence from the sequel.

After how AC Shadows shit all over Japanese culture making shit up like a bull in a china shop, this is Yotei's way of letting us know that this game is NOT the sorry horseshit that AC Shadows continues to be.

Gender flipping the main character was a huge blow but it didn't destroy the game for me. The first game was awesome so I can accept this if it is done tastefully which I fully expect it to be. That said, fuck woke bullshit. They approached the line but did not cross it...yet.
 
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lol i feel like this was written to appease all the people who who were upset about AC shadows.

I personally couldnt care less. This is all pandering to me. Show me next gen gameplay, graphics and features.
 
Considering how much reverence GoT had for Japanese culture Im certain the same will be true for Yotei.
Either way looking forward to it
 
History isn't an issue with these ancient Japanese games it's the reactions from the critics, and people being offended trying to make the story about them rather than the game.
 
Women are stronger than Men with ages of training on direct one to one combat, thats what i learned by the trailers.
 
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Sebastian1295 said:
barack-obama-what.gif


So i'm assuming you don't like assassin's creed shadows nor did u like ghost of tsushima??
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I don't. And I did not (not particularly, anyway).
But that wouldn't even be the point.

I care absolutely nothing for their idea of "respecting other cultures" made out of HR- style sensitivity training.
 
SlimySnake said:
lol i feel like this was written to appease all the people who who were upset about AC shadows.

I personally couldnt care less. This is all pandering to me. Show me next gen gameplay, graphics and features.
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They already did the same for the 1st GoT. Ubisoft failed to take notes.
 
GnomeChimpsky said:
Anyone not ideologically captured knows that tales of female professional warriors are legends, myths or cultural motifs, nothing more. None of the sources for these supposed badass warriors hold up when you scrutinize them.
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And why can't myths and legends be subject matter for a video game?
 
SlimySnake said:
lol i feel like this was written to appease all the people who who were upset about AC shadows.

I personally couldnt care less. This is all pandering to me. Show me next gen gameplay, graphics and features.
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You do realize Sucker Punch talked about this SAME very thing before and after releasing Ghost of Tshima too, right?
 
These historical research blog posts that Sucker Punch does are super nice and I really admire the effort they put into the game.

Ainu women are famous for their tattoo beards.
japan+ainu+woman2.jpg


Haven't looked up if those exist during the game's time period, but if it's period appropriate, then Sucker Punch's art director will definitely want to have them in the game, because it's such a stunning visual feature, but I hope they have enough sense to not force a beard onto Atsu (the protagonist).

Can't wait to see how they'll visually distinguish the Wajin from the Ainu in the game. And also how they'll deal with the voice-overs. Eager to learn more about this game in the coming months.
 
I'm confused, wasn't the first game heavily praised for respecting Japanese culture, films, and history? Now that they are doing the same with the second one it is somehow bad?
 
MrRibeye said:
These historical research blog posts that Sucker Punch does are super nice and I really admire the effort they put into the game.

Ainu women are famous for their tattoo beards.
japan+ainu+woman2.jpg


Haven't looked up if those exist during the game's time period, but if it's period appropriate, then Sucker Punch's art director will definitely want to have them in the game, because it's such a stunning visual feature, but I hope they have enough sense to not force a beard onto Atsu (the protagonist).

Can't wait to see how they'll visually distinguish the Wajin from the Ainu in the game. And also how they'll deal with the voice-overs. Eager to learn more about this game in the coming months.
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tattoo beard? my first thought was clown makeup.
 
Sounds like a boring wall of text.
Won't be reading this shit, but if I could guess I would say this game will have plenty of "trying hard to not offend anyone" lol
 
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