Skaber og director Fumito Ueda har bestemt haft travlt med sit arbejde på The Last Guardian i hvad der synes at være evigheder. Den længeventede titel fra Team Ico udkommer ganske snart til PlayStation 4 den 25. oktober.
Med det i tankerne er det kun naturligt at vi nu begynder at høre mere og mere om spillet eftersom PR-maskineriet nu starter op. I et opslag ovre på PlayStation Blog, deler Ueda nogle interessante ting om spillet og om studiets måde at fortælle historien på.
"They can only communicate via gestures, motion, and reactions, so visual storytelling was the best approach to making the game and showcasing the tale. I'm always looking at ways to convey human emotion with technology but at the moment I thought a great way to achieve a range of emotions and expressions was via an animal."
"At the start of the game we use a voiceover of the boy when he's older. It helps provide a sense of context when much of the communication is non-verbal. It brings the player closer to the boy because you can get direct access to his thoughts. It also gives us a natural way to deliver hints, information, and exposition to the player."
Ueda og hans hold giver os også noget mere baggrundhistorie til drengen i spillet som vi muligvis har kunnet se i tidligere titler. Idéen er at spilleren skal knyttes til denne karakter for at skabe en fælles følelse af opdagelse og forståelse.
"One of my favorite things about the game are the 'eureka' moments; when the boy is trying to get Trico to understand something and he finally gets it. That not only binds the characters, but also you as a player because you feel the same nice moment of accomplishment the boy does."
Ueda-san fortsætter med at forklare hvordan de håber at skabe et bånd mellem drengen og Trico:
"Their developing bond is the key theme across the game. But the big difference between this and the relationships in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus is that there's a more dynamic range between the boy and Trico. From that first moment in the game, the boy is uncertain if Trico will be a friend or foe, and you immediately start trying to work out how to bridge that communication gap."
Ueda deler også flere detaljer om hvordan spillerne vil skulle bruge drengen og Trico for at overvinde fjender, eftersom drengen selv ikke har nogen kampevner. Gennem spillet vil udviklerne gerne udforske det forhold der udvikler sig mellem de to - ikke kun i de spændende, hårrejsende øjeblikke men også når de mere stille situationer sænker sig.
"Without those peaceful beats we probably wouldn't have been able to achieve the scale and variation of their relationship, and their payoff moments."