Kodama Forest Spirits
University Games Art Project
The year is 2075. Humans ceased to exist from 2040, leaving animals and small robots with artificial intelligence to roam the earth. The robots have been trying to restore certain areas and slowly learning elements of Japanese culture and life. This level has a focus on some of the myths of early Japanese folklore. To celebrate the gods of Japan, the robots have created their own versions of the Yōkai spirits Kodamas.
Working with Nathan Robinson, we are creating a Pokémon Snap type of game where the player takes photos of various Yōkai robots
How It's Made
Models are created in Autodesk Maya, textures are made with Adobe Substance Painter and finally, we are using Unreal Engine 5 to create the game world. Working with Nathan, he created the blueprint system in UE5 to make the generated system for changing out the Kodama robot's body parts while I make the models and art.
Sketching process
Idea creation
Exploring the world of Yōkai from Japanese Shinto traditions was fun and exciting. Discovering an entirely new world of creatures and unraveling gripping mythologies made this process thrilling.
The initial idea of creating my own Kodama spirits came after watching Princess Mononoke (1997).
Using StarryAI and Midjourney, I brainstormed out the first designs of the robots. Using AI as a part of brainstorming initial designs has now become a part of my work process.
