ᴄᴀʀʀʏɪɴɢ ᴀ sᴡᴏʀᴅ ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ɴᴀᴍᴇ, ᴀ Fɪɢᴜʀᴇ ʀᴜɴs ᴀᴄʀᴏss ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀɪᴅɢᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ.

Oh, ᴀ ᴍᴇssᴇɴɢᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇɪᴛʏ ʜᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴇ!

❀ Previous Theory(until I write about my new, current one)❀

Kunitsu-Gami lore as its own entity: looking at myth of the mountain god and new ideas on Cursed Soh's identity.

Friday, 3 July 2026

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 22: Notsugo(のつご)

■第22回 良く見ても気持ち悪いのか?かわいいのか? のつご
これもゲーム的な機能から考えました、部位破壊後に弱点露出の分かり易いやつ。
沼地でのボスである為、ノツゴが頭に浮かび、そのイメージを元にカエルっぽさを混ぜてオブラートに包みました。
えっ包めていない?モデル担当のスタッフから、設定から弱点箇所を親的な存在が守っているニュアンス入れても良いですか?
と来たので、良いですねとなり、現在の形に落ち着きました。駄々をこねる動きも相まって何とも言えない良さが出た気がするんです。
■Episode 22: Does It Still Look Creepy Even If You Look Closely? Or Is It Cute? The Notsugo

I came up with this one thinking about game-like functions too—it's the straightforward type where weak points are exposed after part destruction.

Since it's a boss in the swamp, Notsugo came to mind, and based on that image, I wrapped it in a layer of frog-like qualities to soften it.

Huh? You say it didn't get softened? From the model staff in charge, I got a message like, "In the setting, can we add a nuance where a parental figure is protecting the weak point areas?"

So we went with "Yeah, that sounds good," and it settled into its current form. Combined with the tantrum-throwing movements, I feel like it ended up with this indescribably appealing charm.

Plaque Lore:
その昔、山で大きな飢饉ききんがあった。村人は子孫を助けるため、その身を傷つけ神にいのりをささげるも、願いは届かず多くの命がぬましずんだとされている。蓮華沼れんげぬまでは夜にぬまの方から赤子の泣き声がすることがあるという。赤子だと勘違かんちがいした人が不意にぬまへ近づくと、ぬまの底へと引きずりまれるという言い伝えがある。
Long ago, a great famine seized the mountain. The villagers prayed to the goddess, begging her to spare their kin, but their pleas went unanswered as lives continued to be lost to the marsh. Legend states that at nightfall, an infant's cry can be heard from Renge Marsh. If anyone attempts to approach the marsh to offer aid, they too will be dragged down into the depths.
This boss was where I discovered a wailing sound in the background of certain Seethe boss arenas.

It's not really very cute...

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 21: Cursed Torii Gate

■第21回 腕が4本あった時と無くなった時、呪縛鳥居
異界への入口であり出口の門番。体内から出てくるイメージでデザインしました。
鳥居に取り憑いて道を奪っている、大きな干からびた人型です。あれ、デザイン的には書くことがあまりない。
祓われる時にリアクション等が分かり易くなる様に大きくしました。(一番大事なので)
鳥居前で敵を狩る事を阻止するために、鳥居自体も動いて攻撃してくる時代もありましたが、その役目は他に奪われ今に至ります。
■21st Round: The Cursed Torii When I Had Four Arms and When I Didn't, Binding Bird Gate
The gatekeeper of the entrance and exit to the other world. I designed it with an image emerging from within the body.
A large, withered humanoid figure possessing the torii and stealing the path. Huh, design-wise, there's not much to write about.
I made it large so that reactions and such are easier to understand when it's exorcised. (This is the most important part.)
There was an era when the torii itself would move and attack to prevent enemies from hunting in front of it, but that role has been taken over by others, and here we are now.

I wanted more lore on the design itself, like the marking on its forehead.
And its resemblance to Nanamagari?

It would've been cool to see these ideas incorporated into the DLC.