GIFU–Once occupied by Japan’s most powerful warlord, Gifu Castle now plays host to visitors eager to explore the iconic fortress, meet samurai warriors and shoot arrows–virtually, that is.
The castle is recreated in the globally popular “Fortnite” online video game as the first offering from the city’s “Metaverse Gifu Castle” project to promote the castle to a wide range of visitors, including younger people.
A section covering the base of a mountain, atop which Gifu Castle sits, is faithfully recreated to feature Oda Nobunaga’s mansion, a garden with a waterfall, stone walls and other details.
Players can be a part of the virtual world through their smartphones and personal computers after creating an account in “Fortnite,” one of the world’s largest metaverse platforms with more than 500 million registered users.
This allows them to freely explore Nobunaga’s residence, interact with warriors, missionaries and other characters and learn the history of the castle and about the warlord in the “Free Mode.”
Treasure hunting, target shooting and other games are offered in the “Mini Game Mode,” while gamers can also build their own version of Gifu Castle in a space where its terrain is reconstructed in the “Build Mode.”
The city government introduces the metaverse project on a special website at (https://www.nobunaga-kyokan.jp/metaversegifucastle/). It also streams a promotional clip on its official YouTube channel.
Work is under way to create CGI imagery of the fortress on the mountaintop section and the castle town seen from the main keep.
The overall scenery will be made public in the metaverse in or around April next year.
The municipality also offers a 360-degree virtual reality tour, allowing visitors to see various parts of the castle in their past and present forms.
Accessible from the special website, the tour is available in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese to appeal to inbound tourists.
“We intend to promote Gifu Castle to the world and offer realistic experiences of the castle and Nobunaga’s hospitality,” said Mayor Masanao Shibahashi. “We hope it inspires interest in visiting the real Gifu Castle.”
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