About This Document
None of the episodes described here were ever realized as a playable experience. What follows are the production materials for an XR project that was never completed. Some episodes were fully designed, scripted, and storyboarded; others were scripted but not yet storyboarded; and others never progressed beyond the conceptual stage. Together they document both the intended experience and the methodology behind collaborative work between historians and game designers on contested heritage.
HashimaXR — Game Design Book
Storyboard specifications for an immersive experience exploring Hashima Island's contested heritage.
- Episodes
- 8 planned
- Panels
- ~98 total
- Status
- Unreleased
- Updated
- 28 January 2026
Return to Hashima
Mystery emergence from mine darkness, Building 30 typhoon, shrine choice, festival revelation. The player awakens with no memory, guided by competing voices toward understanding.
Episode 02Time-Shift Experience
Boat approach to present-day ruins, temporal shifts through Meiji-era construction to 1960s peak population. The island's history unfolds across compressed time.
Building GUNKANJIMA
Island transformation from rocky reef to concrete battleship across decades. Construction of the seawall, early apartment blocks, industrial infrastructure.
Songs from the Coalfields
Folk music as historical evidence. Tankō-bushi and regional mining songs carry the lived experience of coal communities — their labor, their humor, their resilience.
Episode 05The Company Town
Life in an artificial community. Population density, company control, daily rhythms, spaces of contact — and the closure that ended it all in April 1974.
In the Depths of the Abyss
Descent into No. 2 Mine, tunnel navigation, veteran miner encounters. The undersea mine extended more than a kilometer underground.
Sanjinsai
Annual festival of the mountain gods. The mikoshi procession through hyper-dense streets, regional dances, community celebration.
Walking Tour of Hashima
Present-day guided tour of key locations with historical overlays. Nakamura-sensei leads visitors through the ruins.
Additional Resources
Building Database
Architectural documentation for all 71 structures on Hashima Island.
Character Profiles
NPC designs, voice specifications, and historical archetypes.
Production Board
Development timeline and milestone documentation.
Media Archive
Historical photographs, maps, and audio materials.
Episode Status Summary
| Episode | Title | Panels | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Return to Hashima | 15 | Storyboarded |
| 02 | Time-Shift Experience | 18 | Storyboarded |
| 03 | Building GUNKANJIMA | 17 | Scripted |
| 04 | Songs from the Coalfields | 9 | Storyboarded |
| 05 | The Company Town | 6 | Storyboarded |
| 06 | In the Depths of the Abyss | ~12 | Conceptual |
| 07 | Sanjinsai | ~10 | Conceptual |
| 08 | Walking Tour of Hashima | ~6 | Conceptual |