Sumoto Castle

I had the opportunity to work on Sumoto Castle for Claws of Awaji. The primary objective was to design the fortress with the highest level of historical authenticity. The castle was conceived as a cohesive whole with the town below, creating a strong visual and narrative identity where the citadel stands as a guardian over its people.

I worked in close collaboration with Clément Borja (Level Artist). We conducted extensive research into the mountain castle's history, its evolution, and the architectural principles of Japanese fortresses to recreate it faithfully while adapting the layout to the Quest requirements and World activities.

Integrating the quest design while respecting the historical identity (spatial logic, orientations, access points, elevations,... )was a complex but rewarding challenge. Working with Maxence-Richard Galan Saminan (Quest Design), we iterated extensively to align the narrative with the environment, especially to integrate a unique gameplay experience: the collaboration between Naoé and Yasuke. This required numerous adaptations to create varied and unique gameplay zones.

Special thanks to Clement Lebrun and Lucie Lavergne (Lighting), who helped us make the nighttime experience truly immersive, and to Elie Harb (Level Design) and Thomas Lartigue (Level Art) for their invaluable support on specific areas. And thanks Clement for some screenshot.

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who collaborated with us on this unique location!