The final frontier of space in video games. Spatio-narrative design in Judgment by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Abstract

In video game environments that hold a referential relationship to preexisting spaces, such as Kamurocho from the Yakuza/Judgment series and Kabukicho in Shinjuku, the narrative and ludic content in the virtual world reflects the personal urban understanding/experiences of the members of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Given creative manipulation of space, can gameplay and narrative design be influenced by virtual urban design? Furthermore, is the particular approach to spatio-narrative design of RGG Studio discernible in Kamurocho's design? By designing a series of architectural drawings/axonometric diagrams in the architectural ethnography/urban sociology tradition widely practiced by Japanese architects and urbanists (vid. Matsumoto 2000; Kuroishi 2016) of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, we schematize how the re-usage of in-game design resources affords the creation of specific and varied narrative-gameplay situations.