Ryan Goward

From Hayao Miyazaki’s original works he penned for Studio Ghibli to Shigeru Miyamoto’s best-selling franchises like Mario and The Legend of Zelda, time and time again Japanese creatives have captivated audiences the world over with their work. These tales of floating castles, cursed masks and forest sprits all have common threads. They all contain something that could be described as mystifying, divine or some might even say, magical.

The commonality is the influence of Shinto, a religious practice native to Japan. This project analyses the main themes of Shinto and identifies when and how these themes can be used in game design practice so that Western creators can respectfully understand and apply the conventions to their work. Part of this project will be the creation of ‘Kokeshi Kikou’, an original game that puts the player in charge of a Kokeshi doll embarking on a journey up a mountain.