After a mystical disaster plunges Tokyo into a world of real-life urban legends and intrigue, players take up arms to battle the Otherworldly Travelers who have taken over the city… literally ! In Ghostwire: Tokyo, players combine ordinary equipment with a special technique called Ethereal Weaving – which combines spiritual energy with the elements of wind, water, and fire – to fend off enemies and save the city.
Practice
Instead of a special weapon or conduit, Ethereal Weaving uses only two hands, combining movements together in a hypnotic in-game fashion to unleash your power in the face of Tokyo’s hostile events.
Kenji Kimura, Ghostwire: Tokyo Game Director at Tango Gameworks explains: “The evil spirits that appear in Tokyo are supernatural, non-physical beings, so we tried to think of a way that was as intuitive as possible. to fight them.
“Japan has a long history of preventing bad events like natural disasters or epidemics through praying at shrines and temples. If a child was injured in the neighborhood, their parents would wave their hands over the wound while saying words like a spell, as if to magically ease the pain. It is this historical reliance on nature and other unseen forces controlled by hand movements that inspired their use in gaming. “
The “traditional meets modern” motif is a common motif in Ghostwire, transforming the vision of a contemporary Tokyo encountering the spirit world into a unique hybrid that stands on its own, thanks to its combat skills fight.
“Of course, we knew about the ‘kuji-kiri’ or ‘nine symbolic cuts,’ and the gestures used in ninjutsu and other practices,” explained Kimura, “but we not really looking for mage or obvious ninja feel. We wanted to focus on how a person living in modern Japan with traces of unique traditional elements would develop and adapt. So we looked for more original gestures announced by people in the past. “
Cool rules
What really motivated Tango in developing and animating Ethereal Weaving was its “feel” – i.e. how meaningful hand movements were to context and usability.
“We tried to imagine what kind of movement, for example, would best exploit the wind (and look as cool as possible) before coming up with a specific gesture,” says Kimura. “Animating these gestures was the main focus so we acted them out, asking each other things like, ‘does this look eye-catching?’ or ‘is this too absurd?’ This process is very interesting. ”
Of course, players can also use their own hands to experience the beautiful haunted vision of Tango in Ghostwire: Tokyo, currently exclusive to PlayStation 5. Doubles bringing players closer to the game. action, Ghostwire: Tokyo supports DualSense wireless controllers to not only show players the action, but let them feel it.
“Once we settled on the gestures, we then worked on VFX and SFX, as well as haptic feedback and adaptive trigger feedback. [on the DualSense controller],” Kimura said. “All the elements are connected, and it’s that connection that makes for a truly immersive experience, in my opinion.”
Ghostwire: Tokyo is now available for PS5. Download and play today or upgrade to Ghostwire: Tokyo Deluxe Edition for exclusive content and more.
