Rutinerte Fumito Ueda, altså skaperen av spill som Ico og Shadow of the Colossus, jobber for tiden med det snart ferdigstilte The Last Guardian. Spillet har mildt sagt vært gjennom en lang og utfordrende utviklingsperiode, men eventyrets særpreg har hele veien gjort prosjektet interessant på tross av alle problemene.
Mye av dette særpreget kommer fra måten handlingen skal fortelles på. Hele veien vil man nemlig følges av en stor mystisk skapning, som man former et bånd med. Dette båndet uttrykkes imidlertid ikke med ord:
- 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, kommenterer Ueda på Playstation-bloggen.
Han uttyper at det er spilt inn dialog til eventyret, selv om dette altså ikke er i fokus:
- 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.
Han fortsetter:
- 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.
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, avslutter Ueda.
Det er utvilsmot snakk om et unikt eventyr, og vi håper virkelig ventetiden vil være verdt det.