The vibrant world that surrounds Mako is one of the most technically complex aspects of Akatori. Behind every location, every corridor or platform Mako passes, there are hours of work and an entire philosophy of our art.
Our primary goal was to demonstrate that the world around the main path is enormous, expanding far beyond the screen. Using exclusively 2D pixel art didn’t work for us, so we decided to take a different approach: to combine 2D and 3D.
Most environments are composed of 3D models, which helps to create a volumetric view. To make the world expand further than the field of view. The distant backgrounds use a combination of 2D sprites and 3D elements. Some of the close objects in the player's surroundings are also made of 2D sprites with depth simulation achieved through shader effects.
Finally, the sprites are more of a classic technique — the characters are fully animated in 2D.
In combination, these techniques serve our main concept and goal: to showcase these vast spaces, intriguing and mysterious. Mountains, caves, shrines… Mako’s journey is long and difficult, but at the same time, so small in comparison to the expanse of the world around.
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