Traditional Japanese Architecture: Fatal Frame

John Doran ART310

http://johnpdoran.com

of 8 All content © 2009 DigiPen (USA) Corporation, all rights reserved.

Traditional Japanese Architecture: Fatal Frame

The US and Japanese Special Edition box art of the game Fatal Frame. The Japanese

cover obviously has a much more Japanese style, while the US version is playing into the Horror and “based on a true story” aspects of the story

Game Summary (with parts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Frame_%28video_game%29):

Fatal Frame, known in Japan as Zero (零~zero~?) and in Europe as Project Zero, is a

survival horror video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. The game revolves

around a girl named Miku Hinasaki, who goes to the “supposedly” haunted Himuro

Mansion to search for Mafuyu, her older brother. Mafuyu has been missing for almost a

week after visiting Himuro Mansion to look for his mentor. Throughout the course of

this paper, I will explain how the game uses Japanese architecture and culture in order

to provide an effective and immersive gameplay experience and why game designers

should use this information in order to improve the worlds in which they create.

John Doran ART310



1. How successful were the game/movie artists in depicting a "Japanese style?"

Fatal Frame was very successful in depicting a Japanese style. For starters, the

game takes place in the setting of Himuro Mansion, which is a large residence with a

distinct Japanese style to it. The mansion has a number places the player may visit

outside of the main building with a Japanese flair such as a shrine as well as a Buddha

room and rock garden. There is also a dock that contains many Japanese style elements

with lanterns lighting the way with a distinctly Japanese cover over them.

The idea from Japanese folklore of doing rituals in order to appease spirits and

keep evil away is also used in the overall story arch of the game. In fact, it is because of

one of those rituals going wrong that the different enemies in the game appear. To a

western audience this has a very Japanese feel as The Ring is what most Western

audiences think of when they refer to Japanese horror.

Left: In order to enter the shrine behind her Miku would have to pass a torii gate

Right: A torii gate outside of Ryoanji Temple

John Doran ART310



2. Part A: Is the notion of "Japanese" style played up in the description of the game/movie? Was it successful? The Japanese style was very paramount within the game’s description and

gameplay in general. The game uses specific elements of the Japanese horror style.

Japanese horror generally employs the use of folk legends and uses them in order to

create a fear instilled in Eastern audiences from childhood. It is with this folklore that

the idea of yūrei came from, which is the basis of the enemies that the player will

encounter in the game.

Yūrei are the Japanese equivalent to what Western audiences will refer to as

ghosts. Unlike the Western ghost, yūrei often are kept from passing on by some sort of

emotion, such as need for vengeance. The Ring is a good example of this kind of yūrei in

the form of modern cinema, though they have been featured in Japanese culture for a

very long time.

2. Part B: Are you able to tell what type of Japanese style you are looking at?

From the knowledge that I’ve gathered, the mansion in the game is centuries

old and dates back far further than the Edo period of Japan. However, while

experiencing the different areas throughout the game I felt as if the mansion was built

with the Edo period of Japanese history in mind. This is due to the way the areas inside

the mansion are built as well as the choices in terms of what materials were used in the

creation of it.

The main character and her brother come to the mansion at an undisclosed

time in the actual game. Therefore it could be from almost any period in recent history,

John Doran ART310



though it is presumed to take place in modern times. In later games in the series players

learn that the events of the first game takes place in October of 1986.

In terms of specific architecture, the Shinto shrine obviously employs the use

of Shinto architecture with the inclusion of a torii gate. The shrine was also built in the

middle of a forest keeping with the Japanese tradition of trees being sacred. Other areas

in the game also have torii gates placed before allowing the player to enter sacred

buildings. Shōji doors were often employed in areas, as well as more modern wooden

ones used to keep players from seeing where ghosts may spring up for the convenience

of surprise tactics.

A side-‐by-‐side comparison of a game screenshot and an interior shot of the Shokintei located in Koyto built

in the 17th Century during the Edo period.

3. Does the depiction of the environment's style help, hinder, or do nothing for the game play or movie's suspension of disbelief? Without the inclusion of the Japanese environmental aspects of the game, I

feel the game would be hindered by a number of different problems. Players with a

Western background playing the game are unfamiliar with the territory of the game and

as such feel even more alienated in the game. Eastern audiences don’t feel alienated in

John Doran ART310



terms of what the game area looks like due to familiarity with some aspects of the

folklore, but still have plenty of opportunities to be frightened. Different areas in the

mansion give the player the feeling of claustrophobia due to smaller corridors. This

causes tension to the player and gives them a more “on edge” feeling as if they could be

in trouble at any time, which is the goal in a horror game in certain areas.

In this tutorial section of the game, the player is given a wide area in which to travel in letting them feel

free to experiment as they experiment and get a feel for gameplay.

4. If "conflict" is portrayed in the game/movie, is destruction of environmental items portrayed accurately and convincingly? “Conflict” in Fatal Frame is done in a way different than any other survival horror

title of its time. Miku (the player) will use throughout her search of Himuro Mansion a

camera that she inherited from her mother. The camera has the unique power of being

able to send yūrei to “the other side” as well as reveal other things that normal people

cannot see. When using the camera the game switches a first person viewpoint. The

amount of damage caused in each shot depends on how long the player keeps the lens

focused on the yūrei before taking the shot (a charge meter is at the bottom) and how

John Doran ART310



close the enemy is to the camera itself. This provides a risk/reward mechanic that the

player will have to use in deciding if being frightened is worth more to them than not as

the player will get a large bonus for taking a shot as the yūrei is right about to get

him/her. However, if the player misses the shot they will loose health that would be

very hard to recover during the course of the game.

It is also worth noting that the camera is also used in exploring the architecture

of the game by letting the player see anywhere in the game’s world where as the rest of

the game is placed in a fixed camera mode in order to add to the tension that the player

will experience.

Screenshots of the combat system in Fatal Frame. Should a picture be taken at this moment the player will knock back the enemy and damage them. The right left side will only do a small amount of damage where

as the right will be a very deadly blow.

5. Are characters depicted accurately in terms of "Japanese style and culture”?

In terms of Miku and her brother I believe the characters are made to be as non-‐

impressionable as possible in order to let the player believe they are in the shoes to

promote suspension of disbelief. As the player continues the game, the intention of the

designer is that they will come to believe that they are in Miku’s shoes and that they are

in fact trying to save someone that means something to them. With that being said, the

John Doran ART310



original Japanese version of the game makes it quite clear to the player that she is a

Japanese schoolgirl by her outfit and mannerisms.

The other characters in the game are very accurate in terms of the Japanese

style and culture as they are characters taken out of Japanese folklore. Enemies in the

game take the form of yūrei that haunt the mansion. These enemies often wear

kimonos and/or other Japanese items such as traditional masks. Depending on how they

died, they may look differently than how they did in life.

The main character and antagonist of Fatal Frame. Note the distinctly Japanese feel that each character has. For the American version of the game the right side of Miku is used as the character model in order to

be more familiar to a Western audience to relate easier.

In conclusion, Fatal Frame contains many of the various elements found with

Japanese architecture and culture. Through use of those aspects, the game creates a

very interesting world and experience in which people from both Western and Eastern

audiences can appreciate. Game Designers would do well to look at and analyze how

they can use culture and architecture style within their games with Fatal Frame being a

prime example of how it can make a game shine.

John Doran ART310



Bibilography:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/image/529305.html

http://www.uic.edu/depts/ahaa/classes/ah111/imagebank.html

http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/667/667532/fatal-‐frame-‐

iii-‐the-‐tormented-‐20051116105804515.jpg

http://www.gaming-‐age.com/cgi-‐

bin/img.pl?image=/reviews/ps2/fatal/&img=1&imgnum=4&sys=&game=&ti

tle=Fatal%20Frame&returnpath=/cgi-‐

bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=ps2%26game=fatal

http://www.daninjapan.com/1.23/index.html

http://www.cameraslens.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1

http://www.cameraslens.com/fatalframewiki/index.php5?title=Main_Page

Traditional Japanese Architecture: Fatal Frame

Documents

Transcript of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Fatal Frame