Design process（make model）

 

PROCESS

This week, I focused on shaping the details of the tomb chamber part. First of all, I added some lamp posts around the coffin. I placed lanterns at fixed intervals, and the primary purpose was to guide the players' line of sight. However, the arrangement of the lamp posts was also investigated. I combined the arrangement of the lamp posts with the 28 constellations: This idea came from watching the TV series "The Lost Tomb:" I thought of "The Lost Cave of Longling". It is also an excellent TV drama with the theme of tomb raiding. (Because I have always been very interested in Chinese history and metaphysics, apart from "The Lost Tomb", I also like to watch other TV dramas and books of this kind in my daily life.) In this drama, the protagonist, after descending from the tomb, enters a dead end. It is by reasoning about the laws of the 28 constellations that he finds the gateway to life and escapes. I thought that I myself wanted to use the mechanism to open Baguazhen, and that thought gave me a good idea.

这个星期我重点塑造了墓室部分的细节，首先，我在围绕棺椁的地方增加了一些灯柱，我按固定间隔放置灯笼，首要的目的是引导玩家视线。但灯柱的摆放也有所调查，我将灯柱的排列与二十八星宿结合：这个想法是我在观看电视剧《鬼吹灯：龙岭迷窟》时想到的，这也是一部非常优秀的盗墓题材电视剧（因为我对中国历史还有玄学一直都非常感兴趣，所以除了《盗墓笔记》外平时我也很爱看这一类的其他电视剧和书）。在这个剧中，主角下墓后进入死局，就是通过推理二十八星宿的规律找到生门并逃出去的。我想到我本身就想利用机关开启八卦阵，这个想法正好给我提供了思路。

First, let me introduce what the "Twenty-Eight Constellations" are: The Twenty-Eight constellations is a term in ancient Chinese astronomy, referring to the twenty-eight constellations near the ecliptic and the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. These 28 constellations became an important part of the equatorial coordinate system in ancient Chinese astronomy. Each night was separated by a star, which was used as an astronomical coordinate to measure the positions of moving celestial bodies such as the Sun, the moon, the five major planets, and comets, and also served as the basis for observing other stars. As early as the Warring States Period, a complete system had been formed. The "Rites of Zhou: Spring Officials" records that "Bao Zhang Shi held the celestial stars to indicate the changes of the stars, the sun and the moon, and to predict their auspiciousness or inauspiciousness." The core function of "distinguishing the Nine Provinces by Stars and Earth" is to divide the celestial sphere into twenty-eight regions, establishing a corresponding spatial order of "heaven and earth". It has dual significance of astronomical observation and philosophical symbolism, and is a concrete manifestation of the ancient people's cosmology of "observing the sky and the earth".

首先我先介绍一下什么是“二十八星宿”：二十八宿是古代中国天文学的术语，指的是天球上黄道和天赤道附近的二十八个星座。这二十八个星座成为中国古代天文学赤道坐标系的重要组成部分，每一宿均以一颗恒星为距星，以此作为天文坐标，可以用来计量太阳、月亮、五大行星、彗星等运动天体的运行位置，也是观测其他恒星的基础。早在战国时期已形成完整体系，《周礼・春官》载“保章氏掌天星，以志星辰日月之变动，辨其吉凶。以星土辨九州之地”，其核心功能 —— 将周天划分为二十八区域，建立“天 - 地”对应的空间秩序，兼具天文观测与哲学象征双重意义，是古人 “观天察地” 宇宙观的具象体现 。

It's not enough to just have ideas. I searched for interviews with the scene designers of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" TV series and surprisingly, I actually found the design ideas for this tomb chamber. Ma Yun, the head of the art team, said in an interview："The final question is how to solve the mechanism." Since the Armillary sphere is placed here, the way to crack the mechanism must be related to the principle of using the armillary sphere; otherwise, the armillary sphere can only serve as a decoration to enhance the mysterious atmosphere of the scene. In the previous activation of the armillary sphere, the outermost layer of the Hexagram's horizontal circle of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches was used. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches themselves are units of dating. In the plot, Hu Bayi (the protagonist) deduced the accurate dating of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and activated the mechanism, causing the ground and the armillary sphere to start rotating. The second step was that Hu Baji discovered and pulled out the hidden white ring in the middle layer of the three-hour armillary sphere, stopping the rotation of the tomb chamber floor and the armillary sphere. The last thing that was not used was the innermost four-gamometer. Ultimately, the armillary sphere is an instrument used to demonstrate celestial phenomena. Therefore, the concept of the 28 constellations is easily thought of by us. Because the structure of ancient tombs, especially in the Tang Dynasty, mostly had arched domes, just like the sky, which could precisely be used to divide the 28 star regions.

光有想法还不够，我去搜索了《鬼吹灯》系列电视剧的场景设计师的采访，居然真的让我找到了关于这个墓室的设计想法。美术团队负责人马赟在采访中是这样说的: “最后的问题就是如何破解机关了。既然放了浑天仪在这里，那么破解机关的方式就一定要跟浑天仪的使用原理有关联，不然浑天仪就只能作为一个增加场景神秘气氛的摆设。前面启动浑天仪用到了最外层六合仪地平圈的天干地支，天干地支本身就是纪年单位，剧情里胡八一（主角）推断出了准确的干支纪年启动了机关，地面和浑天仪开始自转。第二步就是胡八一发现并拉出了中层三辰仪内隐藏的白道环，停止了墓室地面和浑天仪的旋转。最后没有使用到的就是最内层的四游仪了。说到底，浑天仪是用来演示天象的仪表，因此，28星宿这个概念就很容易的被我们想到。因为古代的墓室结构尤其唐代大部分都会有拱形的穹顶，就好像天空一样，正好可以用来划分出28个星区。

(Scene concept art of the TV drama "The Lost Tomb of Longling")

（电视剧《鬼吹灯：龙岭迷窟》的场景概念图）

At first, we made a version of the setting and placed the 28 constellations on the dome. Later, we found that it did not match the regular shape of our tomb chamber very well. We needed a more formal and patterned 28 constellations. Ultimately, we chose the 28 Talismans. "This kind of talisman is mainly used for internal cultivation to mobilize the star energy, to conceal the spirit and nourish life, and for external use to guard the star officials and subdue demons to protect the altar." The reason is that they can completely formalize the "sky" at the top of the tomb chamber, and the characters on the talismans themselves look very mysterious. Moreover, Li Chunfeng himself was a Taoist priest, so the form of the talisman was very consistent with the background of the character. Eventually, Hu Baji only needed to deduce which of the 28 constellations was the accurate one. And by pointing the innermost peep tube at it, the mechanism can be triggered to find the correct way out. So far, the mechanism of this Tang Dynasty tomb can be considered to have been designed. With the assistance of the screenwriter's lines and the cultural background setting of Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang's interpretation of the "Tui Bei Tu", the entire Tang tomb, from cultural support to the principle of solving the mechanism, has been fully connected.”(All the above are the interview contents of Ma Yun, the head of the art team.)

起初我们做了一版设定用28星宿的星宿图安置在穹顶之上，后来发现和我们墓室规整的造型不是很搭配，我们需要更形式化和图案化的28星宿。最终我们选择了28宿符 「此种符令主要运用于内修以调动星气，隐神养命，外用以星官守卫，降妖护坛。」原因是它们可以把墓室的顶部“天空”完全的形式化，而且符本身的文字看起来就很有神秘感，加上李淳风本身就是道士，所以宿符的形式和人物的背景很契合，最终胡八一只需要推演出28星宿哪个是准确的那一个，并且用最内层的窥管指向它就可以触发机关找到正确的出路。到此为止这个唐墓的机关就算是设计完成了。加上编剧老师台词的辅助，和李淳风袁天罡推演推背图的文化背景设定，整个唐墓从文化支撑到机关破解原理就全部打通了。”（以上都为美术团队负责人马赟的采访内容）

(A still from the TV drama "The Lost Tomb of Longling")

（电视剧《鬼吹灯：龙岭迷窟》剧照）

These are the key pieces of information mentioned in this drama. My design will definitely vary according to the plot changes. The overall shape of the tomb chamber in that drama is round, which can directly correspond to the 28 constellations. However, the tomb chamber in my design is square and cannot be directly matched in position. So I searched again to see if there are tomb chambers in reality that utilize the 28 constellations, hoping to find multiple arguments.

During the research, I found that there are indeed real cases, such as the Yuhuang Temple in Fucheng, Jincheng, Shanxi Province, China:

The sculpture group of the 28 Constellations in the Yuhuang Temple of Fucheng is a highly representative case. These Yuan Dynasty clay sculptures not only have an extremely high artistic standard and are known as "unique works in China", but also possess multiple functions. From an astronomical perspective, it, together with other buildings in the temple, forms a complete astronomical system and can be used to determine the calendar and observe celestial phenomena. At the cultural level, it reflects the ancient people's deification and reverence for the stars and is an important carrier of Taoist culture. The ancients closely linked astronomy with religion and culture by creating the images of these constellations, reflecting people's understanding of the universe and spiritual beliefs at that time. The twenty-eight constellations sculpture group in the temple, with its three major functions of determining the calendar, observing celestial phenomena and divination, forms an agricultural civilization system that has influenced thousands of years in later generations. Moreover, it forms a complete astronomical system together with the various halls in the third courtyard of the Yuhuang Temple in the prefectural city. In terms of its systematicness, culturality and artistry, it holds a very important position in the field of traditional culture.

这些是这部剧里提到的关键信息，我的设计根据剧情变化肯定有所不同，那部剧中整体的墓室造型是圆的，能够很直观的去对应二十八星宿，但我设计中的墓室是方形的，并不能在位置上直接对应，于是我又去搜索了现实中是否有墓室利用二十八星宿，想找到多方的论证。

在调研中我发现显示的确存在真实的案例，比如位于中国山西省的晋城府城玉皇庙：

府城玉皇庙的二十八宿雕塑群是极具代表性的案例。这些元代泥塑不仅艺术水准极高，被称为 “海内孤品”，还具备多种功能。从天文角度看，其与庙内其他建筑构成完整天文系，可用于定历法、观天象；在文化层面，体现了古人对星宿的神化与尊崇，是道教文化的重要载体。古人通过塑造这些星宿形象，将天文与宗教、文化紧密相连，反映当时人们对宇宙的认知和精神信仰 。庙里的二十八宿雕塑群，所具有的定历法、观天象、推术数三大功能构成影响后世数千年的农耕文明体系，而且与府城玉皇庙第三院各殿之间构成一个完整的天文系。就其体系性、文化性、艺术性而言在传统文化领域具有十分重要的地位。

The placement here is to transform the position into a statue, as the tomb passage is square, symbolizing the representatives of the 28 constellations.

这里的摆放就是把位置转换成雕像，因为墓道是方的，把二十八星宿的代表意向化了。

Seeing this case, I thought that in the TV series "The Lost Tomb", the arrangement of this tomb chamber is that after the protagonist enters and triggers the mechanism, the lights come on, and the entire tomb chamber is then fully visible. I can combine these two things. So I placed some lamp posts in a regular pattern. The height and spacing of the lamp posts correspond to the positions of the constellations, and the brightness of the flames simulate the "auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the stars" - when a certain lamp suddenly goes out or lights up, the "bad omen" symbol corresponding to the constellation will be projected onto the wall, allowing players to gradually explore ways to leave here. When a certain lamp is blown out by the player or lit with an item, the flames of the other lamps will fluctuate simultaneously, which can enhance the setting of "dangerous tomb chambers and mysterious mechanisms", giving the player a sense of tension.

In the modeling process, I took the center line of the tomb chamber as the "orientation axis", with the coffin in the center of the tomb chamber as the center, and above it was the key to the tomb chamber (the alchemy furnace), corresponding to the concept of the "Heavenly Pole" of the celestial sphere. I divided the tomb chamber into four quadrants: east, south, west, and north, and placed the lamp posts according to the directions of the four symbols to set up the mechanism.

看到这个案例我想到，在电视剧《盗墓笔记》中这个墓室的安排是主角进去触发机关后，灯光亮起，整个墓室才让人尽收眼底，我可以把这两个事物结合一下呀。所以我按规律摆放了一些灯柱，灯柱高度、间距对应星宿方位，火焰明暗模拟 “星象吉凶”—— 当某盏灯突然熄灭或亮起时，对应星宿的 “凶兆” 符号会在墙面投射，让玩家一步步探索离开这里的办法。当某一盏灯被玩家吹灭，或用道具点燃时，其它灯的火焰会同步出现波动，可以强化“墓室凶险、机关诡谲”的设定，给玩家一种紧张感。

我在建模中以墓室的中心线为“方位轴”，以墓室中央的棺椁为中心，上方是墓室的关键钥匙（炼丹炉），对应天球的 “天极” 概念，将墓室按东、南、西、北划分四个象限，对应四象方位去摆放灯柱，来布成机关。

 

I have another small idea about the mechanism: At that time, the placement of the snake monster sculpture was only to enrich the picture on the basis of the original work. But now I think the several snake monsters can respectively correspond to the east, west, south and north positions of the tomb chamber. The open mouth of the snake monster forms a certain Angle with the placement of the lamp post. Maybe by adjusting the light and shadow changes of the lamp post, the snake monster can be triggered to open the door?

我还有一个关于机关的小想法：当时放置蛇怪雕塑只是为了在联系原著的基础上丰富画面，但现在我认为几条蛇怪可以分别对应墓室东、西、南、北方位，蛇怪张开的嘴与灯柱的摆放形成一定角度，也许可以通过调整灯柱光影变化来触发蛇怪，开启大门 ？