SMAC and Mode 7's action stealth 'em up Tokyo 42 has so far wowed us with its multiple mission approaches, frantic Cop Drops, and Syndicate-versus-Grand Theft Auto likeness, however its striking open world is arguably its most endearing asset. In its latest developer-led diary, Paul Kilduff-Taylor chats with Maciek Strychalski—the latter of whom is solely responsible for the game's art—about the game's gorgeous architecture and how it came to be.
Within, Strychalski points to Tokyo's "wildly different styles" as key to understanding Tokyo 42's architectural design, and how everything from the real thing's roots in traditionalism and brutalism, to the green-like hue cast by the Japan evening sky helped craft what features in-game.
Having played through the introductory missions of Tokyo 42 at last weekend's Rezzed, the way in which each building's design is tied to the game's free-roaming parkour and 45 degree shifting camera angles works really well. Appreciating the layout of any given building's exterior, then, is important from a tangible navigational perspective as it is from an aesthetics one.
Here's Kilduff-Taylor and Strychalski's architecture conversation in full. I found the nods to traditionalist "Yakuza-meets-Shinto" part around the 6.20 mark particularly interesting.
