Spain has demonstrated, on more than one occasion, that it has more than enough talent to stand out in the world of video games. The Game Kitchen has carved out a place in the sector with Blasphemous; a saga that, in addition to raising national culture to unprecedented levels, has earned the respect of thousands of metroidvania genre fans. Tequila Works boasts a spectacular portfolio that includes adventures like the acclaimed RiME and the more recent Gylt. Nomada Studio, on the other hand, has explored deep emotions with GRIS, which has also captured the attention of both players and non-players alike with its beautiful artistic style. All of these examples serve to show that Spanish studios are capable of creating experiences beyond the conventional, and Digital Mind is taking a step in this direction with The Spirit of the Samurai.
You may have heard of this adventure over the past few days, as The Spirit of the Samurai impressed many players during the latest edition of the Future Games Show. And what is the reason for this sudden interest? Well, it’s because the experience supported by Kwalee, a distributor headed by David Darling (cofounder of Codemasters), has ventured into the attractive world of dark Japanese fantasy with a stop motion style that leaves no one indifferent. But focusing solely on the game’s animation is just scratching the surface; as Jose María Molina, the game’s director, explains in an interview with 3DJuegos, we are facing a work that aims to make a statement in the video game industry. An adventure whose objective can be summarized in a few words: breaking with the standards.
The samurai Takeshi, the cat Chisai, and the brave kodama
The Spirit of the Samurai follows the steps of Takeshi, a Japanese samurai who must protect his village from the assault of an oni (Japanese demon) who wants to conquer it with an army of undead. In order to achieve this goal, players will have to control three different characters throughout the adventure: the aforementioned Takeshi, who stands out with his skillful movements, a kodama, a small and brave spirit, and Chisai, a warrior cat. Each of them offers a gaming experience that ranges from weapon combat to exploration/platforming phases; all unfolding in a variety of scenarios including ruined villages, mountain caves, desolate cemeteries, and other places that seek to make an impact with their artistic and graphical details.
“The story is told more like a movie than a typical video game” (Jose María Molina).
In summary, Digital Mind’s project integrates into a context of dark Japanese folklore where terrifying creatures, impressive scenes, and battles with ancient weapons like the katana, the yari spear, or the bow are not lacking. But The Spirit of the Samurai seeks not only to stand out with its world; Molina also emphasizes the narrative work. “There is a script, a very powerful story,” says the professional in the interview. “It is told more like a movie than a typical video game. The story has a lot of strength, which is why it has so much animation.”
And it is this technique that serves as the foundation on which Digital Mind has built its work. Founded in 2001, the company focused almost all of its business on digital animation for film, advertising campaigns, Virtual Reality initiatives, and other projects related to the field. The aim, as Molina recalls in the interview, was “to open the doors to show culture, part of history, in a very different way” through films and documentaries focused on past events and education. Among their most prominent works, we have Cartago Nova (the story of a Roman family in this ancient city, nominated for the Goya Awards) and La Cueva Negra (an animated film about two men who travel almost a million years into the past, becoming hominids and sharing tribe habits). Additionally, the team has also touched on fantasy with Princess of Elymia and Juvenal e o Dragão, films in collaboration with the Brazilian producer Stairs.
However, Digital Mind always had that ‘itch’ to try their luck in the world of digital adventures. “One of the things that I always had stuck, since I was a young boy, was to make a video game,” Molina tells us. In fact, the team developed a mobile game called Kitty Quest, a 2D side-scrolling adventure following a kitten through scenarios filled with dangers like scorpions, centipedes, and other giant insects. “The game did quite well, it had quite an impact,” the professional recalls. “So, as a result of that, we decided to venture into the world of video games.”
A groundbreaking game for its animation and controls
If you take a look at the trailers of The Spirit of the Samurai, you will see that Digital Mind has not opted for a typical animation style in the video game industry. Takeshi, Chisai, the kodama, and all the elements surrounding these characters have been integrated into the experience using stop motion; a technique that simulates the movement of static objects by presenting a rapid succession of fixed images. But this does not mean that the team, currently consisting of about four people (it was made up of seven professionals, but several of them have completed their tasks), has undertaken the monumental task of modeling real-life dolls and photographing them in dozens of poses; their work has been done entirely on the computer. Still, we are talking about a completely unique result that features 1,600 handcrafted animations; in fact, the protagonist of the adventure has over 200 different animations.
“We want to create a game that breaks with the standards, that has personality” (Jose María Molina).
While creating a stop motion video game brings additional challenges to the development process, Digital Mind was clear that using this technique would make The Spirit of the Samurai stand out among the myriad of experiences available today. “Our goal has always been to break the standard at all levels. If the standard for this type of video game is pixel-art, we will do it differently. If what’s in demand is a minimum of 60 FPS, we will break that too. We can go up to 60, 100, 200 images per second without any problem,” explains Molina. “That was a bit the goal of the stop motion aspect in the animation. Break, always break. We want to create a game that breaks with the standards, that has personality.”
But if we talk about The Spirit of the Samurai for the aspects that differentiate it from other experiences in the industry, we also have to emphasize its particular controls. “We have done something that is not normal in this type of game,” expresses the game director. “Instead of button mashing, which can be done because all systems are applied, it consists only of guiding the right stick of the gamepad to where you want to strike. And, depending on the direction, you unleash one combo or another.”
On the player’s side, there are 3 lives and a stamina or energy bar. If this bar is emptied by an enemy’s blow, Takeshi loses a life. “The difference is that it is completely dynamic; you don’t have to mash buttons, just hold it down, and you can combine the combos between one and the other. It has enormous mixes. And it has a combo system where you unlock blows and customize it to your liking,” details Molina, recalling that there are five different combos, each composed of three blows. “When an enemy appears, it’s really a fight, it’s a confrontation.” It is also worth noting that “to play it well, you should play with a gamepad, so that the experience is what has really been created,” continues the professional. “But you can play with any controller, keyboard, and so on, without any problem.”
Opting for these specific characteristics (stop motion animation and control system) adds numerous challenges to a project. And The Spirit of the Samurai has not been immune to these obstacles. “At first, when we explained the concept to many publishers in presentations, they always said they loved the project, that it caught their attention a lot, but, as this is a business, they didn’t know how to sell it,” Molina recalls. “They said, ‘We don’t know exactly what it is. It’s not a metroidvania, it’s not a Souls game, it’s not a typical 2D game… It’s different.’ In fact, when you play it, it’s nothing like anything you’ve played before. And it was a bit difficult for them to understand.” Nevertheless, as we mentioned earlier in this article, Digital Mind managed to connect with Kwalee to distribute the title.
Dark Japanese fantasy inspired by classic games and legendary artists
In addition to standing out with stop motion animation and its control system, The Spirit of the Samurai also shines with its setting. A warlike context in the heart of Japanese fantasy that turns the aforementioned oni into enemies to defeat; all presented, of course, with the particular visual style that envelops the entire experience. “We really like to take care of the artistic aspect,” Molina explains in our conversation. In this sense, Takeshi’s adventure animation is inspired by the legendary Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts) and the also acclaimed works of Laika Studios (Kubo and the Two Strings). In terms of art, Digital Mind mainly draws inspiration from Zdzisław Beksiński (Polish artist known for dark art) and the iconic H.R. Giger (Alien). The experience is rounded off with a carefully crafted soundtrack that, with the intention of creating a unique atmosphere, takes the player through that journey from light to darkness. In this regard, the music is composed by Matías Castro, who has even collaborated with Disney.
“The idea is that when the cutscenes start, you are hooked and you like it” (Jose María Molina).
All of this is combined with Digital Mind’s goal of paying homage to classic titles like FIST 2 (1986, Commodore 64) or Heart of Darkness (1998, PlayStation and PC). In fact, the latter game left a mark on Molina for including in-game cinematics that “were shot like a movie.” This led to The Spirit of the Samurai following a similar path with about 30 minutes of total animation: “In the end, it was mixing film and video games, which is what we do,” explains the professional. “Bringing that more cinematic staging. Not the typical video game animation that you practically skip because it doesn’t grab your attention. Here, the idea is that when the cutscenes start, you are hooked and you like it.” An experience that is complemented by the participation of Hollywood actors to bring the characters to life and audio effects from professional sound banks.
How has the experience been so far, going from working in film/advertising to making a video game? “The jump is similar to when you work on a movie: the team grows, the pressure is there, you’re against the clock. It is true that this is more public. There is acceptance from people of what a video game is. More interest,” Molina continues. “It’s rewarding. In the end, you are an artist and having such a positive response in most cases motivates you a lot, both me and the team. It was a change. It wasn’t something very dramatic. On the contrary, it was very satisfying. It was very tough, because it really is the toughest thing we’ve ever done in our lives, but very satisfying.”
The Spirit of the Samurai is set to be released on PC and Atari VCS on December 12th; in fact, players will be able to test their skills with Takeshi, Chisai, and the kodama in a demo that will be available during the Steam Next Fest (October 14-21). And this will give us the opportunity to see firsthand, once again, Spain’s talent in developing groundbreaking video games.
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