The Tale of the Heike, or Heike monogatari, is an epic poem recounting a power struggle that changed the course of Japanese history. In the late 12th century B.C.E., tensions between the powerful Minamoto clan—also known as the Genji clan—and the Taira clan—also known as the Heike clan—came to a head. The poem chronicles the conflict that plunged Japan into civil war for years.

The Tale of the Heike is considered one of the great traditional works of Japanese literature. It can be considered to Japan what the Iliad is to much of the western world. And like the Iliad, it was composed of fragments of earlier writings composed between 1190 and 1221. The pieces were assembled into a complete text, likely by a scholar named Yukinaga, around 1240.

The poem tells the tale of Minamoto Yoshitsune, a legendary hero, and his exploits. Although its contents are based on the real-life civil war between the Minamoto and Taira clans, some elements of the poem are almost certainly fictionalized. However, the visions of samurai and aristocratic bravery and heroism have become part of the Japanese cultural landscape.

Although Yoshitsune is certainly important, the main focus of the Tale of the Heike is the downfall of the Taira clan. The poem opens and ends with the tolling of a temple bell signifying the impermanence of things. And sure enough, even the near-unlimited power of the tyrannical Taira clan is brought low and scatters like dust in the wind. The poem’s themes of impermanence and revenge had a massive impact on Japan and illustrated a cultural shift to the age of samurai.

In Gamecorefy, the age of the samurai is coming to an end, but the samurai have yet to let go of the values of the past. Blind monks play political games over who can sing The Tale of the Heike while ronin struggle to live up to the legend of doomed but valiant warriors. As Japan slides toward conflict once more, the conflicts of the past seem closer than ever.

The post The Tale of the Heike: A Legacy of Civil War first appeared on Gamecorefy.

In the world of gaming, one of the most compelling aspects for players is the ability to influence the narrative through their in-game actions and choices. Utilizing interactive storytelling elements immerse players deeper into the game, but it also empowers them to shape the outcomes based on their decisions. This is something we are aiming to do in Gamecorefy. In this game, we are creating a rich world that will change and shift as the player progresses and makes different choices.

Another part of the beauty to narrative games lies in their ability to weave intricate branching storylines based off of those crafted player choices. Each decision has the potential to serve as a convergence point. This leads players to the reveal of new characters, locations, consequences, and questlines as they further explore and complete objectives. Following a non-linear storytelling approach adds layers of depth and re-playability. It gives players the option to start over again differently and see how the new outcomes of their actions differ.

From a narrative design perspective, crafting games with branching storylines requires a balance between player agency and narrative cohesion. Each choice must feel meaningful and consequential. In order to ensure this, narrative designers need to consider if the decision contributes to the overall narrative arc while allowing for divergent paths that feel authentic and satisfying.

In Gamecorefy, consequences will not be only narrative fluff but real tangible outcomes that can directly impact gameplay. An empathetic act of mercy such as protecting a villager from harm may earn the player allies, respect, or may open doors to new opportunities. Conversely, a ruthless choice like striking down a soldier who disrespected you might trigger vendettas or close off potential story avenues. These consequences, whether positive or negative, add layers of realism and depth to the player’s experience. They foster a sense of accountability that leads to strategy.

We at Dead Mage are looking forward to being able to show more details about Gamecorefy soon. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get notified for our latest news!

The post Player Choices Matter: Branching Storylines and Consequences first appeared on Gamecorefy.

Disability has accompanied humans for as long as humans have existed. Japanese history is filled with tales of disabled historical figures, spirits, and kami. In early Japan, blindness caused by disease, farming accidents, or poor nutrition was especially common.

The history of blind people in Japan is long and fascinating. As early as the 8th century, there are records of biwa hoshi, itinerant performers dressed as Buddhist monks who traveled the land playing lutes and spreading news, popular songs, and legends. Most biwa hoshi were blind.

They were the first performers of the Tale of the Heike, one of Japan’s most famous epics. As time passed, they also took on ritualistic duties such as spiritual purification and the prevention of plague.

In the Edo period, people who were not farmers, artisans, merchants, samurai, or priests were not considered humans. Many disabled people fell into this outcaste category, but the Todoza guild for blind men was an exception.

The Todoza was a support group for blind men. Their membership dues earned them the rights to perform the Tale of the Heike, and they held an unofficial monopoly on giving massages and acupuncture. During the Edo period, the Todoza also began lending money to rich merchants and samurai, further solidifying its place in feudal Japanese society.

Blind women historically had more difficulty finding a place in the world. Some young blind girls were trained as itako and given a role in the community as spirit mediums. They were ceremonially married to kami and believed to be able to speak with the dead. Other blind women took to the road as goze, blind musicians with their own library of exclusive songs. However, goze were often associated with prostitutes and do not seem to have commanded the same respect as biwa hoshi.

In Gamecorefy, blindness and other disabilities are a fact of life that affect many people the player will encounter. Depending on the choices they make, the player may end up borrowing money from the Todoza, using the services of blind masseuses, and relying on itako to commune with the dead.

The post Blindness in Feudal Japan first appeared on Gamecorefy.

The burakumin are a large group of people who were historically discriminated against in Japan. They are not an ethnic minority; the discrimination against them is based on caste and descent. Considered “outcaste” and “untouchable,” the burakumin occupied the lowest rung in the traditional Japanese social structure.

During the early Edo period, those who worked with meat and animal products were heavily stigmatized. In 1603, they were split into isolated hamlet communities. These necessary but negatively-viewed professions included butchers, leather workers, and undertakers.

Throughout Japan’s feudal period, the burakumin were looked down on and mistreated. They were considered to be outside Japan’s four main caste divisions. As such, they were treated as social outcasts.

Burakumin were assigned badges of status such as special hairstyles, clothing, and the requirements to avoid other households and prostrate before their betters. The lowest of the low, known as “Eta”—which translates to “abundance of filth”—could be legally killed on the spot by samurai if they had committed a crime.

Although the burakumin caste was legally abolished along with the rest of the Japanese feudal caste system in 1871, their descendants continue to experience discrimination to this day. Hate mail is still sent to abattoirs. In the 1970s, employers circulated handwritten lists to avoid hiring those with burakumin names or who were associated with burakumin communities. Now, individuals use similar lists before marriage to avoid having burakumin in-laws.

In Gamecorefy, the burakumin have already been forced into segregated communities and prejudice against them is going strong. The writers have chosen to use the period-accurate term Eta, despite its past and present use as a pejorative, in the interests of historical accuracy. In the game, it may be possible for players to become involved with outcaste communities… and they may find that the untouchables aren’t so different from them after all.

The post Burakumin: The Untouchable Caste of Feudal Japan first appeared on Gamecorefy.

Noh theater is a traditional Japanese performance art that has been practiced for centuries. It remains almost unchanged from its beginnings in the 14th century, even today. The masked performers, intense emotions, and slow pacing of Noh make it a unique experience.

The roots of Noh lie in dance drama and festival drama performed at shrines in the 12th and 13th centuries. However, the playwright Zeami (1363-1443) popularized and formalized it. Noh was refined further in the years leading up to the Edo period.

Once the Edo period dawned, the Tokugawa shogunate made Noh its official art form. Noh theater became the entertainment of the elite—a ceremonial art form performed for the samurai class by professional actors. There were public Noh performances for general audiences to watch as well. All Noh actors were traditionally male, but women have been on the stage since the 1940s.

Unlike kabuki, Noh is solemn, restrained, and even sluggish. Performances feature relatively little dialog. Instead, the audience is expected to become lost in the emotions of the play.

Noh presents one all-important emotion dominating the main character of the performance, and often focuses on a historical personage returning to the site of the most important event of their life. The play may go in a number of directions, including a re-enactment of a warrior’s death, following someone’s descent into madness and grief, or a myth about a shrine’s founding.

Only the main character wears the iconic Noh mask. Each mask is hand-carved and conveys what kind of character is being portrayed. A talented actor can use the three-dimensional mask to show a variety of emotions through the way he holds his head. Every movement in a Noh performance is choreographed, much like ballet.

There are about 2,000 surviving Noh texts and about 230 are still being performed by modern artists. It is considered an ancient, traditional, and very refined form of theater.

Gamecorefy takes place at the height of Noh’s popularity as the art of samurai. The player character may associate it with better times or use his knowledge of it to place himself above the masses. However, as it becomes clear how difficult it is to regain a position as an employed samurai, Noh and the warrior culture it is associated with may take on a new meaning.

The post Noh: The Art of Samurai first appeared on Gamecorefy.

In two previous blog posts, we showcased our narrative design tool Rashomon and explained some of its technical capabilities. However, when it comes to Gamecorefy, our team’s process starts long before the creation of dialogs or graphs. Today, we will guide you through some of the more detailed steps our designers take when crafting quests in Gamecorefy.

Before beginning any planning, our designers are first tasked with understanding the parameters of the game, researching Japanese history and culture, and staying up to date with any updates or changes within the story. It’s important to keep these details in mind when planning for in-game quests and events.

The first step in the planning process is an an ideas phase. By jotting down any and all possibilities, good or bad, we are able to begin to refine what avenues to explore further. This often involves using flowcharts, bullet point lists, and other collaborative tools like Notion to quickly outline ideas and share with other designers to get feedback.

Each quest has requirements that need to be met. Our narrative designers must touch on these requirements in their ideas, constructing the basic skeleton of a design. For the purposes of this blog post, we will use the second ‘Escort NPC’ idea from the example image above as an example to explain what this means.

An Intro Point or Quest Giver:

Multiple entry points need to be available for each quest, from a NPC giving it to the player, to the player learning about it from different means. For the quest to escort a farmer and his tax cargo to the castle, we would consider where a ronin might learn about or get assigned this sort of quest.

In some villages within Gamecorefy there are local job boards, so that would be a logical entry point for this sort of quest. Also, considering this is a job that is in the interest of the local government, officials at any districts bugyo office might also know of these jobs.

Quest Obstacle(s):

From information gathering, to survival challenges, or even combat, obstacles are a key part of making a quest enjoyable and interesting. The main obstacle in our example is to meet the farmer and successfully bring him and his tax cargo to the castle.

Therefore, the main situation found in the quest is a ronin escorting a farmer with his tax. An immediate obstacle to consider is the potential for the cargo to be attacked. Bandits and other criminals would want anything valuable and could attack during the escort.

Obstacles also do not always have to be obvious, either. For instance, the farmer might want to deviate off the quickest route to the castle in order to stop at a village for personal reasons. If the player chooses to go out of their way to do this, taking longer to complete the quest as a result, then after the job the farmer might present the player with additional resources as a gift.

Difficulty Level:

Each quest should assess if it offers an appropriate level of challenge, making sure it is not too easy or too hard. In our example, we are building a simple quest that should not be overly difficult to complete.

Supporting Encounters:

Quests and their contents should be reflected in the game world. This needs to be planned for via events and NPC interactions. Thinking about our farmer being escorted, this could open up opportunities for other farmers or villagers to mention how they feel about taxes or the government. Feeding in information about bandits targeting cargo on the road is also a nice way to foreshadow and support our planned obstacles.

Death Loop:

In Gamecorefy, when a player dies, their ronin is permanently killed and the player returns as a new ronin within the same world. This means the past ronin’s actions will have consequences, and different routes to the same quests need to be considered. If the bandits attacked and killed the player and farmer during this quest, it may not be available in the future. Locals may also speak about the player’s death and worry about taking their own taxes to the castle.

Resolution:

Each quest will need to have one or multiple different endings or resolutions that culminate in either success or failure.

For escorting a farmer to the castle, the resolutions are fairly straight forward: either the player reaches the castle with the farmer and his tax cargo, or they die before being able to do so. One success and one failure.

After all of these aspects are considered and the ideas are approved, our narrative designers are able to shift into the next phase: planning and design. This requires expanding on the ideas and documenting all of the details in ways that are easy to follow and understand. Once the plan for the quest is finalized it will be included into the production line, play-tested, tweaked, and then added to the game before being gradually expanded on through new layers and iterations.

Our team is excited to share more glimpses behind the curtain as we get closer to the release of Gamecorefy. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get notified for our latest news!

The post Narrative Design: Crafting Quests in Gamecorefy first appeared on Gamecorefy.

For centuries, Japan upheld a strict taboo against consuming meat, particularly beef, driven by both religious and practical considerations. Guided by Buddhist principles of respect for life and the avoidance of waste, as well as Shinto beliefs surrounding purity related to blood and death, the Japanese largely avoided meat consumption for over 12 centuries.

It was in 675 AD that Emperor Tenmu imposed a ban on the consumption of most animals, believing in a compassion for all living beings. On the banned list two animals were conveniently left unmentioned, those being deer and wild boar. This is believed to be because they were both the most commonly eaten meat in Japan, and were also used as offerings at certain shrines.

Dealing with the dead or anything to do with flesh was looked down upon, but it was a role that needed to be filled within Japanese society. This job was given to a caste of people called the Eta, who were seen as unclean and impure for working closely with corpses, executioners, and tanners. Since they were seen as non-human already, the Eta were mostly free to eat meat without any repercussions. Over time the Eta and their families became known collectively as the Burakumin class, which while technically dissolved in the modern era, their descendants still face prejudice due to their heritage.

The restrictions on animal-eating continued throughout the decades, even incurring some additional rules and changes, such as chicken eggs becoming taboo in the 17th century. It wasn’t until western missionaries began to arrive in Japan that the overall treatment of meat began to shift. As Christianity began to grow in popularity, so did the consumption of animals. It wasn’t until Toyotomi Hideyoshi began to re-apply pressure on the bans that this loosening of beliefs was largely halted. However, it is believed that many still ate meat in secret.

It wasn’t until the Meiji Restoration in 1868 that meat-eating started to become accepted in Japanese society. The Meiji government lifted the ban in 1872 with the hopes that it would help to both increase their military power and bring further prosperity to the country.

In Gamecorefy, the imposed ban on meat-eating has been in place for hundreds of years. As a ronin trying to survive on the road, players may face starvation and have to make the tough decision between maintaining their honor or filling their stomach.

The post From Taboo to Table: Tracing Japan’s Meat Prohibition History first appeared on Gamecorefy.

Video games, with their ability to immerse players in captivating virtual worlds, owe a portion of their magic to the artistry of sound. Within ‘Gamecorefy,’ we have aimed to bring the rich environment of Edo period Japan to life through sound, from the swing of a samurai’s blade to the rustle of cherry blossoms. In today’s blog post we want to briefly explain our audio design process, reveal some of our developers greatest inspirations, and share some sound-bites directly from the game.

To craft and design the sounds of the game, our developers use specialized tools such as Ableton Live. Following that, the audio game engine Wwise is used to integrate audio into “Gamecorefy”, allowing us to add to the immersive experience of our world.

Our developers have many diverse inspirations when it came to the audio for “Gamecorefy”, from talented artists such as Hayashi Eitetsu, an acclaimed percussionist, and Mizuyo Komiya, a first class koto player, to immersive soundtracks of Japanese Samurai games like Ghosts of Tsushima.

Beyond creative works, the Japanese culture as a whole played a huge role in influencing the sounds and music for “Gamecorefy”. The art of Sumi-e, minimalistic Japanese ink painting, has been a large influence on the visual style of the game. This desire to find complexity in the simplistic was also applied to the audio design for “Gamecorefy”, creating a cohesion between the graphics and sound.

To listen to some early reveals of music and sounds that you might hear in the game, check out this audio clip down below:

If you’re interested in learning more about the development of “Gamecorefy”, or want to be the first to see more sneak previews of the game, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and join our newsletter.

The post Gamecorefy Audio Design first appeared on Gamecorefy.

Today, we are thrilled to unveil an upcoming collaboration between Dead Mage Studio and EarReality!

EarReality specializes in assisting creators build and publish interactive audio stories, creating unique and immersive experiences. We will be working together to bring you engaging stories based on “Gamecorefy”, providing insight into the games locations, characters, and era.

As storytellers at heart, we are excited to bring a preview of the “Gamecorefy” world to an entirely new platform!

What to Expect:

• Your choices will shape the narrative, providing a personalized journey through the lore, characters, and settings of the story.
• Gain exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, early insights, and character backstories.
• Listen on TWIST Tales app through headphones or a virtual assistant/speaker.

Follow us for updates so you can experience the first “Gamecorefy” audio story once it is released!

The post EarReality Collaboration first appeared on Gamecorefy.

Japan’s Edo period (1603–1867) was a time of peace and significant cultural shift. Religion and spirituality had been deeply affected by the Warring States period, a century of near-constant civil war. When the Tokugawa clan took power, the family raised a new dominant philosophy to help keep the land stable: Neo-Confucianism.

Neo-Confucianism was introduced to Japan during the Kamakura period (1192-1333), the era in which the foundation of Japan’s feudal system was established. However, it rose to prominence in the Edo period. The Tokugawa clan made Neo-Confucianism Japan’s official guiding philosophy. This had significant consequences for the entire nation.

According to the rationalistic and humanistic perspective of Neo-Confucianism, the existing social order—four social classes and untouchable outsiders who weren’t considered humans—had a heavenly sanction. The universe could be understood through human reason, and it was up to each human to build a harmonious relationship with the universe. That harmony was maintained by the benevolence of the superior and the obedience of the inferior. Observing propriety was incredibly important for everyone, no matter which social position one occupied, as was filial piety.

The emphasis on filial piety, history, and duty contributed to the development of bushido, the code of honor designed to control and influence samurai in the absence of near-constant war. Scholars were encouraged to focus on law, economics, and politics. As such, while other religious and spiritual traditions continued to exist in the Edo period, the legal code often hewed closer to the standards of Neo-Confucianism. Many tales record the struggles of people caught between impossible moral standards, such as a woman torn between her duty to her murdered husband and her father, who had committed the murder.

In Gamecorefy, the values of Neo-Confucianism have begun to change Japanese society. The rise of bushido and a strict social hierarchy are just a few of these changes. But for the homeless and dangerous ronin, a code of honor that is impossible for most to fulfil may have devastating consequences.

The post Neo-Confucianism in Edo Period Japan first appeared on Gamecorefy.