Cosmology of Kyoto narrative location Kyoto
Cosmology of Kyoto is an adventure game developed by Softedge and published by Yano Electric. It was released for Japan in 1993, and then in North America, for the Macintosh in 1994 and then for the PC in 1995.It is a game where the player, from a first-person perspective, explores ancient Kyoto city during 10th-11th century Japan. The game lacks a clear goal, but is instead nonlinear and emphasizes open exploration, giving players the freedom to explore the city and discover many pathways, buildings, situations, stories and secrets. The game deals with historical, horror, religious and educational themes, and features karma and reincarnation gameplay mechanics. Released on CD-ROM, the dialogues in the game are fully voiced in Japanese, with English subtitles in the localized North American version. The game was not a commercial success, but was critically acclaimed and attracted a cult following.Gameplay
The game is controlled by clicking hotspots and text options when appropriate. The user also types in sentences, upon occasion. At the start, the player character is created by the player using a character creation system, with the player able to customize what the player character looks like. As the game begins, the player character is born and must take the clothes off a nearby corpse. The game does not have a clear goal, but is instead nonlinear and emphasizes open exploration, giving the player the freedom to explore Kyoto, with many pathways, buildings, situations, stories and secrets to discover throughout the city, including both realistic and supernatural elements. The progress through the city effects a journey through history, with a street map and online guide provided to ancient (and modern) Kyoto at various points through the game. It provides enough freedom to allow for the player to experiment with the game, such as using it as a resource for their own role-playing game campaign, for example.The game uses karma and reincarnation gameplay mechanics, based on Buddhist concepts. During the game, the player will often die after being attacked by evil demons or robbers, and will then go to one of the realms of reincarnation, depending upon the player's conduct in that life. In these Buddhist hells, the player character is tortured in various ways. Once the player escapes hell, they are reborn, as a new character with a new appearance. If the player's with too much negative karma, they may be reincarnated as a dog rather than a human. After being reborn, the player must take the clothes from his or her last body to continue. As the player progresses through the city, new abilities and items are revealed that protect the player from death.Plot
The game is set in the medieval city of Kyoto around the year 1000, during the Heian period of Japanese history. The game lacks an overall plot, but it instead presents fragmented narratives in a non-linear manner, as the player character encounters various non-player characters while wandering the city. These narratives are cross-referenced to an encyclopedia, providing background information as the narratives progress and as the player comes across various characters and locations, with various stories and related information appearing at distinct locations.Many of the characters in the game are based on real-life characters from the city and their appearances in the game are often loosely based on tales from the Konjaku Monogatarishū. The game deals with religion and philosophy, particularly Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy, as well as myth and legend.