The Marmot’s Hole

Got to see the Japanese film Onmyoji a couple of nights ago. Set in Heian-era Kyoto (the Marmot’s favorite city, BTW), the movie is visually impressive, and Mrs. Marmot seemed to find Hideaki Ito quite the hottie. Personally, I think the film could have done more, however. For a great review of the flic, check out Dan Mancini’s take on it at DVD Verdict — Dan, as you might know, is the man behind Mondo Miscellanea, a blog that has been on my blog list longer than perhaps any other.

Anyway, the film did remind me of a great computer game that is a MUST DOWNLOAD for anyone interested in Japanese history and culture. Entitled Cosmology of Kyoto, you essentially wander around the streets of 10th century Kyoto, meeting people, picking up and loosing karma, and, most importantly, learning. Here’s Roger Ebert’s review of the game:

The richness is almost overwhelming; there is the sense that the resources of this game are limitless and that no two players would have the same experience. I have been exploring the ancient city in spare moments for two weeks now, and doubt that I have even begun to scratch the surface. This is the most beguiling computer game I have encountered, a seamless blend of information, adventure, humor, and imagination - the gruesome side-by-side with the divine.

In this medieval Kyoto, people exist alongside ghosts, demons, and goblins. On my travels I have met - and interacted with - a dog eating entrails, long-winded old farts, tradespeople (who offered me medicines, dried fish, cloth, rice cakes, amulets, and a chance to lose money on a cock fight), a monk leading a prayer meeting, kids playing ball in the streets (one is beheaded by a passerby), a friendly guide dog, a maiden with an obscenely phallic tongue, and a gambler who taught me a dice game.

The graphics are hauntingly effective, using a wide-screen landscape format. The individual characters are drawn with vivid facial characteristics, a cross between the cartoons of medieval Japanese art and the exaggerations of modern Japanimation. The speaking voices are filled with personality, often taunting, teasing, or sexy. There is the sense, illusory but seductive, that one could wander this world indefinitely. This is a wonderful game.

Like I said, it really is a must download. You can get it FOR FREE (!) via Home of the Underdogs — depending on your computer, it may or may not be a long download, but it’s well worth the time.