I wanted to take a moment to share with you the inspiration behind the world of Momo Ichigo and its affects on the conceptual design process.
CONCEPTUALISING A FANTASY WORLD
When I first began fleshing out the setting and lore of the game world, I already knew that traditional Japanese aesthetics and folklore would have a huge impact on almost every decision made. One of the earliest things I had to decide was just how much like real-world Edo Japan I wanted the game world to be.
Edo-period Japan was a huge influencer for me, but I wanted the ability to put unique flare and originality into Momo Ichigo. With this in mind, I opted to build a fantasy world inspired by Edo Japanese aesthetics, mythology and folklore, but with additional influences from fantasy movies, games and books that I loved, as well as a diverse society with less homogeneity than that of its real-world counterpart.
Okay, so how do I do this? How do I create a world similar to Edo-period Japan, but with added fictional and fantasy elements?
Edo-period Japan was a huge influencer for me, but I wanted the ability to put unique flare and originality into Momo Ichigo. With this in mind, I opted to build a fantasy world inspired by Edo Japanese aesthetics, mythology and folklore, but with additional influences from fantasy movies, games and books that I loved, as well as a diverse society with less homogeneity than that of its real-world counterpart.
Okay, so how do I do this? How do I create a world similar to Edo-period Japan, but with added fictional and fantasy elements?
The answer was to make a small alteration to the mythology in this fictional universe, to create a land that would share many of the things that made Japan such a great inspiration for our game.
DEMONS AND MONSTERS AND GHOSTS … OH MY!
Some of the greatest inspirations for Momo Ichigo came from the supernatural beings and creatures of Japanese folklore. Yokai, 妖怪, (loosely translated as demons, monsters, ghosts, gods and spirits) have influenced the design of many of the game’s characters and enemies.
Our Kitsune creature, taking its name directly from the corresponding Yokai, is one example of how some elements of the game are very heavily inspired by this folklore.
Our Kitsune creature, taking its name directly from the corresponding Yokai, is one example of how some elements of the game are very heavily inspired by this folklore.
Kitsune, 狐, is the Japanese word for fox and, in Japanese folklore, the kitsune appears as such. Commonly, these foxes are wild and mischievous, sometimes possessing supernatural abilities. In Japanese legend, as kitsune grow older. they gain additional tails. The nine-tailed fox, kyuubi no kitsune (九尾の狐), is the most powerful of all kitsune, appearing as white or gold. Our kitsune (as seen below), appear as larger, five-tailed foxes, with faces covered by traditional kitsune masks.
CHARACTER DESIGN WITH THESE AESTHETICS IN MIND
Working with character concepts has been an interesting process for us. I spent a lot of time working with concept artists, collecting references and researching the societal and cultural norms of Edo Japan. While there was definitely a specific and identifiable look we kept in mind for character designs, we resolved to add our own unique visual quirks to each concept.
