Ni No Kuni research

Ni No Kuni
A Level- 5 and Studio Ghibli Game
http://uk.ign.com/games/ni-no-kuni/ps3-14284017

Ni No Kuni is a game developed by Level-5, featuring the artwork and idea of Studio Ghibli. The games story follows the life of a young boy, who is transported into a fantasy world. 'Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an epic tale of a young boy, Oliver, who embarks on a journey to become a master magician and bring back his dead mother from the parallel world of Ni no Kuni. Along the way he encounters some extraordinary characters, many of whom become helpful allies. They guide Oliver as he explores the vast world and learns the magical skills that will make him strong enough to face his most deadly foes, and ultimately survive an encounter with the White Witch herself. The world of Ni no Kuni actually runs parallel to the real world. Players will be able to travel between the two. Characters who appear in one world appear in the other as well, but with different roles in this unique RPG experience.'(http://uk.ign.com/games/ni-no-kuni/ps3-14284017) The narrative and characters in Ni No Kuni are a key inspiration in my work, due to their similarities to my initial idea. The use of a child main character and a companion mirrors that of my own main character, influencing my designs. Looking at Ni No Kuni, the use of a cell shaded art style is one I want to recreate, and the mixture of 3D graphics and 2D animated cut scenes creates a narrative driven game with heaps of character.

Narrative
The narrative of Ni No Kuni is deep and beautiful, like all Studio Ghibli films. Conveying similar aspects and characters to our own narrative idea, Ni No Kuni portrays the unusual life of a young boy. As a single parent mother, Allie does her best to look after Oliver on her own. However, being a young, adventurous boy, Oliver gets into trouble and his mother saves him from drowning. This causes her to have a heart attack, and unfortunately doesn't survive. Through the power of Oliver tears for his mother, he brings to life a doll she made for him, who claims to be the Lord High Lord of the Fairies. He is transported to another world, where an evil wizard is taking control and has captured the other world version of Oliver's mother. The two worlds are linked, and Oliver has to use magic and his team to survive and save the world.

The roots of the narrative of  Ni No Kuni are Oliver's mothers death, as without this the other chain of events would not have been put into motion. The use of dark themes and adult emotions gives a mature feel to the story, and this is a theme which we want to explore in our games narrative. Having a young boy as the main character puts the player in a child's shoes, having to experience the world as they do. This is another inspiration for our own idea, using a young girl as our own main character.

Art Style

The art style of Ni No Kuni is cell shaded, with an Anime style. It has been created with the art style of Studio Ghibli films, with the characters as bold colours and shadows, and the backgrounds detailed and beautiful. The use of a water coloured look to the backgrounds creates a vast and beautiful scene, with its realism and detail creating depth in this new world. Colour is also an important aspect to the style, as the use of colour changes in each world. In the real world, the colours are very bright, man-made colours such as pinks and reds etc. This contrasts with the all natural colours of the fantasy world, conveying it has been untouched by civilisation and remains pure. The scale and levels of the backgrounds also creates a strong contrast between the two worlds, as the fantasy world contains high rocks with expanses of water and trees. Whereas the real world is a flat level, where everything is to a normal, everyday scale such as the shops (below). This is the art style we want to accomplish in our own game, with the use of cell shaded characters, and natural water colour backgrounds and environments. Using scale and levels will be important in the creation of a unique and unusual world that is unlike our own, to create a fantastical and magical environment. 

 Gameplay
The gameplay of Ni No Kuni is stereotypically combat based, a trait found in the majority of Japanese games. The player uses magic to defend and defeat enemies, and can also control their teams moves. This combat is also mixed with open world roaming, where the player must explore worlds, both real and fantasy to complete quests and achieve goals. In comparison to our own idea, the structure of Ni No Kuni's gameplay is similar to our own. Creating quests for the player, and having set goals and areas to explore is an aspect we are keen to explore in our own gameplay idea. The use of magic is also an aspect we are influenced by, however combat has been overused in games such as this, so we are exploring ways to make our idea unique and non-combat based.