Tsukuyomi: A Closer Look

Tsukuyomi: A Closer Look

By: TitanPonPon | 2020/7/21

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WHO IS TSUKUYOMI?

Tsukuyomi is the God of the Moon, brother to both Amaterasu and Susano. The three were born together when Izanagi cleansed himself upon leaving the underworld. Amaterasu became the god of the Sun, Susano the god of the Sea, and Tsukuyomi climbed the celestial ladder to become the god of the Moon. The moon holds great power and mystery. He is able to control all of its aspects to enact his will on his surroundings.

Do not get on his bad side. Any misstep in etiquette, any action that can be seen as disrespectful is not only a direct attack on him, but order itself. Tread lightly or end up dead.

OUR VISION

Tsukuyomi himself has few myths and legends surrounding him. His core mythology focuses around his slaying of Uke Mochi, a food goddess that disrespected him, and the subsequent fallout with Amaterasu. His views on respect, authority, and order are core to his identity, and his swift application of precise punishment is the way he expresses these views.

Smite’s Tsukuyomi should stay true to these core characteristics, in both visual presentation and in his combat style. He strikes with precision, moves with grace, and visually embodies what it means to be a divine figure. His twin Tonfa and arsenal of Ninja weaponry serve to showcase these qualities.


Tsukuyomi

• Theme – Ninja. When Tsukuyomi fights it is to quickly resolve a conflict before him. Striking from the shadows, finishing opponents from range when possible, and delivering rapid but decisive strikes are a strong extension of his personality.
• Visuals – Resplendent. He is the god of the moon, a symbol of a bright line piercing the dark. How others view him is irrelevant, he is a beacon for others to view and seek inspiration from. He clothes himself in ornate cloth, wields clean and sharp weaponry, and carries himself with a soft beauty.
• Personality – Self Righteous. Tsukuyomi believes that following divine order is the only way forward, and it just so happens he sees himself as the pinnacle of that order.
• Perspective – Egotistical. The gods have been striving for order through all their and now are dealing with the embodiment of disorder, Cthulhu. For a god to come and claim that they are the one to restore it will strike a nerve. Can he live up to his own high standards?

Within the SMITE universe, Tsukuyomi is an opportunist usurper. He sees the chaos that Cthulhu’s arrival has caused, and uses this catastrophe to enact his revenge on Amaterasu. He will strike without warning at the time where the Japanese gods are vulnerable, and then he will seek out even more power.

VISUAL PROCESS

The Tonfa being Tsukuyomi’s weapon of choice rose to the top early in his development process. Not only could they serve as a strong crescent shape to allude to the moon, but it gave him a striking silhouette and allowed us to explore different styles of attacking. His appearance should also evoke the idea of the phases of the Moon, contrasting the light of the Full Moon and darkness of the New Moon.

Tsukuyomi is also unique as a god of the moon. In many mythologies this role is traditionally held but a goddess, with a male god holding the position of the god of the sun. In the Japanese Pantheon these are swapped. His beauty is often described heralded as one of his defining features but in many tales his features are described in more angrogenous terms.

Here we explored variations on his clothing, hair, face, and if we would cover his face in some form. Where we did show his face we gave him softer features to accentuate his beauty.



As we continued iterating we landed on having his face be exposed and started fine tuning the garments he would wear. At this stage we also wanted to develop the personality of the weapons. We gave them names, Shingetsu & Mangetsu representing the New Moon and the Full Moon. Not only did these names heavily influence gameplay but the artistic representation of these blades. Shingetsu represents the chaos and uncertainty that night brings while Mangetsu represents precision and the illuminating nature of light.



The final version nails down how we wish to portray his weapons and solidify the final details of his armor. He is full of symbolism from the color selection, to the tailoring patterns on his armor, to the painted style engraving on his weapons.



Tsukuyomi joins SMITE as an Assassin, allowing him to play in the Jungle and Solo roles. In the jungle Shingetsu will help him clear quickly while his ranged harassment can put pressure onto your gank target. When it’s time to go in, Tsukuyomi quickly dive onto his target unleashing a flurry of quick strikes and putting himself near the target to finish the kill.


Unique Gameplay Features

• A heavy focus on Shingetsu & Mangestu as extensions of his power. As Tsukuyomi fights he gains access to empowered Basic Attacks and he uses these weapons to channel forth his other weapons; the Shuriken, Kusarigama, and Caltrops.
• An Assassin with extra focus on range. Tsukuyomi has more ranged poke than an Assassin traditionally would, including ways to gain strong single use Ranged Basic Attacks. This flexibility allows him to more directly assist in a fight before finding the right opportunity to dive in like a true Assassin.
• He does not have a traditional dash or leap, relying only on his Ultimate for quick mobility.
• Tsukuyomi can retrieve his Shuriken that is stuck to enemies, allowing him to use it again more frequently.
• New Targeter Shape; Crescent. Tsukuyomi will need to think differently when trying to place this when controlling the area around him.
• An ultimate that truly makes you feel like an unseeable ultra fast ninja, precisely striking through the enemy team.

Enemies beware, taking a stand against Tsukuyomi will be your last mistake. Tsukuyomi will shine upon the Battleground of the Gods soon enough!



Source: https://www.smitegame.com/news/tsukuyomi-a-closer-look

So I don't really know if tonfas are connected to Tsukuyomi or not, but I do find the weapon choice a bit interesting.

In Japanese culture, Ninja weren't always exactly like the Western world sees ninjas. In ways they were undercover infiltrators and information gatherers...spies. Wasn't just killing in the dark.

http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub107/entry-5321.html

If fitting in with commoners, I get the idea of tonfas (originally adapted from farm tooling used to grind rice/grains), but having these with blades on them is a bit funky to me. They're wooden and have flat or flat-ish surfaces to help grind. In that sense, blades don't make sense.



BTW, the guy above yielding the tonfas is my head sensei (I was in traditional japanese karate for about 30 years).

I'd expected him to be a hunter as a translation of his name could mean "Moon Bow" and he had ranged attacks in the data mining. Also, about him being a ninja, besides having his true face out in the open and looking very recognizable, I think the ninja approach HR was going for was in the don't play by the rules and do whatever's necessary to get the mission done as shown that he has many ranged options despite being a physical assassin. I know ninjas really weren't combat heavy and avoid it whenever possible but couldn't ninja's do assassination jobs as well? I know of a certain Gaijin on youtube who might do a video on him and just ripping apart how not ninja-like Tsukuyomi is but let us see how HR pulls this one off.