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Gameinformer: Why Guerrilla Needed Horizon Zero Dawn To Be An RPG

Loudninja

Member
Vid in the link
We're continuing to roll out exclusive features covering Horizon Zero Dawn from Guerrilla Games all month long in our hub. Today's update looks to clear up a question some fans of the studio might have: why an RPG? Guerrilla Games is well-known for the first-person shooter Killzone series, so why make the jump over to an open-world action-RPG? We spoke with the game's director Mathijs de Jonge about the benefits of the genre and the pitfalls found in other RPGs that they were looking to avoid. If you're interested in learning more, check out our video feature on the challenging development history of the game or on the depth of gameplay.

Watch the interview below to see new gameplay from Horizon Zero Dawn and learn how the game might compare to Capcom's Monster Hunter.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...la-needed-horizon-zero-dawn-to-be-an-rpg.aspx

Voila! :D

pkszdh.gif
 

Weebos

Banned
Maybe I'm a jaded asshole, but the more I see of the game the less excited I get. Looks like Yet Another Open World Game, albeit with some cool flavor.
 

Type40

Member
I am super excited about this game, but seriously the Killzone games were all pretty bad. It's good that they shifted genres.
 
Not sold on the game yet minus the visuals because I'm getting vibes of infamous second son that looked great but then felt boring. Glad they experimented with rpg after doing killzone so hope the game delivers.
 
I am still struggling to understand how this game looks this good visually. I was just watching the Gears 4 intro and while that looks impressive, this looks a step up to me and it is open world...very impressive.
 

Svafnir

Member
I am still struggling to understand how this game looks this good visually. I was just watching the Gears 4 intro and while that looks impressive, this looks a step up to me and it is open world...very impressive.

The studio has always had some great tech.
 
Not sold on the game yet minus the visuals because I'm getting vibes of infamous second son that looked great but then felt boring. Glad they experimented with rpg after doing killzone so hope the game delivers.
blasphemy!!! Infamous mechanics was amazing! it just need variety. Bigger worlds, more enemies, more powers etc...

I thought it and fetch DLC was excellent, and the limited variety was just due to launching early.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Not sold on the game yet minus the visuals because I'm getting vibes of infamous second son that looked great but then felt boring. Glad they experimented with rpg after doing killzone so hope the game delivers.

This seems far far more fleshed out than Second Son which while a good game with decent mechanics was really lacking on content especially things like different styles of enemies to fight and mission variety. Horizon already looks to have much more content than SS just from a glance as it has several other gameplay systems involved such as loot and crafting, more RPG elements, etc. That and the actual robot hunting and fighting gameplay seems like it has a ton of depth to it, especially with taking down the larger bots.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Those flying machines looked really cool.

Yeah I'm hoping someone who know's what they're doing with Gifs gets that shot. Just a really cool look at robo birds as well as the landscape. We see pretty far into the distance and you can even make out what looks to be a town/city.
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Still not buying the RPG label. Looks like it has FarCry / Tomb Raider level RPG elements and no one calls those game RPG's.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Still not buying the RPG label. Looks like it has FarCry / Tomb Raider level RPG elements and no one calls those game RPG's.

This game already has far more RPG elements than those two games combined. I don't think its a stretch and from the start its been an Action RPG not a group based real time with pause kind of RPG or anything of the sort.
 

Khezu

Member
Man I really wish I was more hyped for this game.

I love the idea of giant robot dinosaurs, but the gameplay just does not look like something I would enjoy at all.

Still going to keep my eye on it though.
 
Still not buying the RPG label. Looks like it has FarCry / Tomb Raider level RPG elements and no one calls those game RPG's.
It's an action RPG...and they've said many times, even in this video they want it to be as streamlined as possible so no one is overwhelmed. It's deeper than both of those games you mentioned though, already a ton of footage about leveling weapons, changing clothes for different status effects, buying new weapons, skill trees, quest giving you rare materials and weapons, etc...

RPG-lite I guess you could call it, but again it's an action RPG. They want everything to be fast
 
Still not buying the RPG label. Looks like it has FarCry / Tomb Raider level RPG elements and no one calls those game RPG's.

It's literally the Witcher 3 with less melee weapons and fleshed out ranged attacks and better combat, but trades off some of the dialogue options. It doesn't look anywhere near as basic as Far Cry and Tomb Raider.
 
Maybe I'm a jaded asshole, but the more I see of the game the less excited I get. Looks like Yet Another Open World Game, albeit with some cool flavor.

A monster hunter-style open world RPG utilizing Guerilla's graphical/design prowess and robot dinosaurs is literally the opposite of "Yet Another..." ala Far Cry, Watch Doges, etc
 

Loudninja

Member
This game already has far more RPG elements than those two games combined. I don't think its a stretch and from the start its been an Action RPG not a group based real time with pause kind of RPG or anything of the sort.
Yep.

Story/Lore:
--Different quest types,story quests,radiant quests,and tribe quests, some affect the questline and what happens down the road
-Relics
-Audio log text logs
-Missions learning more about the different tribes
-Dialogue options exploring more of the lore
- Depending on the relationships and choices she makes, some characters appear again later in the story.

Gameplay:
-Various weapons an armor you can make or buy from different tribes,merchants sell you stuff,but sometimes you need more then just shards to get a item
-3 diffrent skill trees
-Modification slots for armor
-No health regen have to find stuff in the wild to heal
-Crafting arrows, ,mines, bombs and other things
-Platforming up mountain,trees or tallnecks
-Stealth ,can use the device to see the patrol pattern of enemies
-Various machines to hack,including the Broadhead which is a mount or the Watcher which can help you in combat
Most likely missed alot of other stuff
 

gijsbrecht

Neo Member
Man, everytime I see something new like these flying robots or that desert building ( or even a city? ) I'm just blown away. And I really don't care if it's called an rpg or not. This world seems so interesting that it deserves to be seemlesly open. Very hyped for this game.
 

Rainer70

Member
Maybe I'm a jaded asshole, but the more I see of the game the less excited I get. Looks like Yet Another Open World Game, albeit with some cool flavor.

Not sold on the game yet minus the visuals because I'm getting vibes of infamous second son that looked great but then felt boring. Glad they experimented with rpg after doing killzone so hope the game delivers.

I agree with both of these. I get the feeling we're going to see a take on either the classic Ubisoft-like open world or Sucker Punch's model which is the epitome of style over substance.

I hope I'm wrong, and there's a decent variety to environments, weapons, quests, enemy AI, and is fun to play.
 

Alo0oy

Banned
Still not buying the RPG label. Looks like it has FarCry / Tomb Raider level RPG elements and no one calls those game RPG's.

I still don't understand posts like this, what is it about this game that makes it "not an RPG"? Is it not janky enough?

From what we know so far, the RPG elements are much deeper than The Witcher for example, but no one said that game was Tomb Raider or Far Cry, likely because it still had the "janky RPG" trope.
 

Halabane

Member
This was the first interview that actually made me less excited and worried about this game. I don't like the way he described how systems were added and the stats cut because of concern of complexity. Looks pretty but now they seem to be not sure what kind of game they wanted to make ("I don't know what to compare it too"...really, that unique?) and it could be some open world mess. Assassin creed comes to mind and the killzone messes that they made in the past. Maybe they are shooting for a casual explorer game? Find out in 5 months or so.
 
I am still struggling to understand how this game looks this good visually. I was just watching the Gears 4 intro and while that looks impressive, this looks a step up to me and it is open world...very impressive.

Guerilla is a match for Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica when its comes to tech and art.
 

jayu26

Member
The pattern I am noticing in these Horizon threads is becoming really annoying.

Within first few posts someone will question if it's really RPG. Add in couple of mentions of Tomb Raider and Far Cry and we have a derailed thread. Followed by posts quoting said earlier posts explaining to them how we have footage that proves that it is in fact RPG. At some point Loudninja will make a list of all the features that makes it RPG, still someone else will waltz in and question it again. And another round begins.

At some point someone will bring up Killzone in a negative way, forgetting that it is critically acclaimed, one of top selling franchises spanning multiple generations and consoles.

Then there will be a post questioning enemy variety and combat design, which is probably the most bizarre thing because we have plenty of hands on evidence that combat is great and we have already seen variety of creatures with lot more yet to be seen (which they have deliberately kept secret).

Can we just make a thread titled "Concerned for Horizon" and get this shit out of some of your systems?
 
Guerilla is a match for Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica when its comes to tech and art.

Yeah, that is for sure now. This game for me looks quite a lot more impressive than Killzone SF, and is much larger in scale.

Jayu26: I agree, I don't think the criticisms are very well founded. Nothing shown in this game has reminded me either of AC or Far Cry. I think it is somewhere between Shadow of Morder and Witcher 3 in the rpg stakes. It seems more strongly story driven than the former though.
 

Beaulieu

Member
Maybe I'm a jaded asshole, but the more I see of the game the less excited I get. Looks like Yet Another Open World Game, albeit with some cool flavor.

I agree
E3 demo was straight outta far cry, down to the gameplay loop and world map with animals on it
Moving towers didnt help

I still don't understand posts like this, what is it about this game that makes it "not an RPG"? Is it not janky enough?

From what we know so far, the RPG elements are much deeper than The Witcher for example, but no one said that game was Tomb Raider or Far Cry, likely because it still had the "janky RPG" trope.

.... what
 

hatchx

Banned
The pattern I am noticing in these Horizon threads is becoming really annoying.

Within first few posts someone will question if it's really RPG. Add in couple of mentions of Tomb Raider and Far Cry and we have a derailed thread. Followed by posts quoting said earlier posts explaining to them how we have footage that proves that it is in fact RPG. At some point Loudninja will make a list of all the features that makes it RPG, still someone else will waltz in and question it again. And another round begins.

At some point someone will bring up Killzone in a negative way, forgetting that it is critically acclaimed, one of top selling franchises spanning multiple generations and consoles.

Then there will be a post questioning enemy variety and combat design, which is probably the most bizarre thing because we have plenty of hands on evidence that combat is great and we have already seen variety of creatures with lot more yet to be seen (which they have deliberately kept secret).

Can we just make a thread titled "Concerned for Horizon" and get this shit out of some of your systems?


This!

I honestly don't get the concerns for this game. If it's not your kind of game or style, that's fine, but for what Guerilla is trying to do, they are absolutely nailing it and it looks like one of the best technical achievements of all time.

And honestly, finally an open world game that doesn't either play itself (Assassins Creed) or have jankified horrid controls (anything Rockstar).

They are raising the bar no matter how RPG some of you want it.
 

Beaulieu

Member
What gameplay loop?

I havent rewatched it since E3, but I remember he was looking for a specific kind of animal to kill to craft something, popped up the world map to find the animal (which was behind the rock next to him) and it was litteraly a far cry moment

then we get the tower video...
 
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