GT7's Tomica Town Is a Meticulous Stroke of Genius. Here's How it Came to Be

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If you’ve played Gran Turismo 7 or its predecessor, GT Sport, you may be familiar with “Scapes” — a mode where you can photograph the game’s uncannily-real digital car models in real environments. Each Scape — there are more than a thousand — is actually a 2D image itself, shot with a special camera and imbued with depth data so the GT model sits within it at a suitable perspective and scale. New Scapes are regularly added to the game with updates.

However, developer Polyphony Digital introduced a curious Scape to GT7 as part of the title’s latest patch last week: one called “Tomica Town.” Unlike every other location rendered as a Scape, Tomica Town isn’t so much a place as a diorama, constructed using diecast cars and play sets from the Japanese toy brand of the same name. The GT car model sits within them at a comparable 1/67 scale to the rest of the environment. You can create some very convincing and adorable miniature-style shots in Tomica Town, especially if you’ve mastered the tilt-shift effect in the game’s advanced photo suite.

I don’t think they normally have F-150 Raptors in Tomica Town...

But how did this come about? Our friends at GTPlanet recently shared a tweet from Polyphony staffer Hiroshi Kanzaki. Here, Kanzaki explains that Tomica Town was a pandemic project for the team, when they were unable to travel to shoot more locations for Scapes. He also attached some work-in-progress photos, providing some insight into how Tomica Town was made.

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Translated, the tweet reads as follows:

Tomica Town. Two years ago, during the declaration of a state of emergency, we were in a situation where we couldn’t shoot at all, so it was a desperate idea, but I’m glad it was well received! ! I am deeply grateful to Takara Tomy for their kind cooperation.

Tomica actually sent Polyphony all the diecasts and playsets, GTPlanet tells us, and the developers built the Scape in their office. It’s become a popular addition to GT7, though this isn’t the first time Polyphony has incorporated a charming nod to model cars in one of its games.