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Days Gone (PS4): The Origin of an Antihero

C

crimilde

Banned
If there’s one thing the team at Bend is keen to impart about the universe it’s crafting, it’s the uncompromising, dog-eat-dog nature of things. “Desperate people do what desperate people need to do to survive,” creative director Ron Allen explains.
“In most open world games, when there’s danger, it’s usually because you’ve brought it on yourself. Days Gone is a dangerous world — always.”
Watching a horde of infected “Freakers” pour over the environment in the extended demo shown on stage at the PlayStation E3 press conference, we’re left in little doubt as to what he’s getting at.
“Pretty much any of the survivors of the pandemic had to have a certain something about them — the appropriate skills to steal, kill and survive in a harsh world,” he continues.
“If you didn’t know from the kutt on his back, in his previous life, Deacon St. John was the MC of a motorcycle gang. He learned a lot from being part of that group, and that’s helped him survive.”
Click to expand...

The team doesn’t flinch from its protagonist’s anti-hero persona. “He’s a dangerous guy. He’s using his skills where he can — his appetite for violence and mayhem help him excel at his job.”
“He can find things out in the field and create better tools. For example, you’ll see he’s actually threaded the barrel of his pistol with the same thread pattern as an oil filter, so if he finds oil filters out in the world he can screw them on and it’ll allow him a couple of suppressed shots.”
We ask him how much of a role Deacon’s vehicle of choice — a muddied, off-road, dirt bike — plays in the game.
“The motorcycle plays a huge, huge part,” he assures us.
“It’s extremely nimble — a car can’t fit into certain spaces, and can’t do certain things a motorcycle can do. It’s not the normal biker gang motorcycle. He’s adapted this thing to work in the wild. There’s no way you’re going to pull off jumps or cross the kind of terrain you saw here on a Harley-style bike.
Click to expand...

“It’s about the human condition – this guy’s a broken man,” Ron explains.
“A lot of us are motorcycle riders. It’s a really vibrant culture. It’s often associated with criminals, mayhem and violence, but it’s also about brotherhood and family. Because Deacon has suffered so much loss he holds onto that aspect of his past, and cherishes those relationships. It’s about him finding himself, because he no longer has his motorcycle gang.”
Click to expand...

More at the link:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/06/22/days-gone-on-ps4-the-origin-of-an-antihero/

Drop me off a bike if old.
 
F

FelipeMGM

Member
I know its not new, but I havent seen this pic until this PS Blog post, impressive stuff

27046963313_b55c38a40c_b.jpg
 
enkaisu

enkaisu

Banned
I really hope this game is good. It's combining two things the market is saturated with: open world and zombies. How is it gonna differentiate itself, what will the hook be? Cautiously excited to see how it turns out.
 
C

crimilde

Banned
Kenzodielocke said:
The premise of this game seems pretty boring, so I really hope the writing and shooting is good.
Click to expand...

I agree, while the mass and speed of the zombies is pretty cool, and the bike seems to play an important part, which is nice, they also need a good story in order to stand out in this cluttered genre.
 
L

Lime

Member
Days Gone has the most eye-rolling character type. I have really low expectations of the game after seeing the game feature White American Dude with Traumatic Past (lost his wife) for the millionth time

It’s about him finding himself, because he no longer has his motorcycle gang.”
Click to expand...

:lol
 
F

Fingers

Banned
wapplew said:
Lacking female zombie, impressive tech thou.
Click to expand...

We can't be sure of that yet. They haven't really explained what the virus is, for example it could make you loose all of your hair. But yeah if there are no female zombies it's going to be annoying looking at the same zombie all the time and kind of takes away from how impressive the horde tech is.

So hyped for this game though, nice to see a motorbike being a sort of main character to and being dependent on it.
 
J

Jean Valjean

Member
When I heard the title they were using at the time, Dead don't ride, I thought the game would be more cartoony or at least not take itself so seriously.

The way I see it, it's a next gen TLOU without being TLOU. But I'm excited with fighting hundreds of enemies at the same time.
 
Shin-Ra

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
Ricky_R said:
Are they supposed to look similar? Because they don't.
Click to expand...
No, Freakers look more like the toxic waste melted guy at the end of Robocop.

edit: and obviously that's the least evolved form of a Cordyceps Brain Infected human in The Last of Us.
 
D

DrArchon

Member
The biker gang elements sound interesting. There's a real dearth of quality games about biker culture, so having another one is really exciting. Hell, all the stuff about dangerous people pushed the egde, and doing what they have to to survive, sounds great.

Too bad it's also another zombie game. Literally the least interesting enemies you could've added.
 
T

thuway

Member
enkaisu said:
I really hope this game is good. It's combining two things the market is saturated with: open world and zombies. How is it gonna differentiate itself, what will the hook be? Cautiously excited to see how it turns out.
Click to expand...

This is an open world third person shooter, with an emphasis on large scale combat from the studio that brought you Syphon Filter, Resistance: Retribution, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. It also has employed the writers of Dead Space 3.

The pedigree for success is there, and Bend studio has excelled at making quality titles on the smaller screen and legacy platforms. I'm excited to see these guys break through the glass ceiling of AA development and officially enter the AAA space.

Last generation we saw Sucker Punch do it, this time I'm hoping Bend Studio makes that transition.
 
wapplew

wapplew

Member
For story, I think they need to heavy emphasis on brotherhood and family element. Those are somewhat rare in gaming.
Just don't be a parenthood story for reasons.
 
F

firelogic

Member
I think they made a mistake in the article. "He was the MC of a motorcycle gang."

Doesn't MC mean "motorcycle club?"

That said, I think the game will be awesome. Watching and playing are very different and naysayers will change their mind once they're in control and running from a literal flood of enemies.

Oh and people scoffing at the character, motorcycle culture is really really interesting. While Sons of Anarchy wasn't a great show its entire run, the brotherhood, organization, and family aspect of the MC was amazing. There's really not a lot of biker related things in media. The one in the show operated like the mafia. Members had ranks like President, Vice President, Sgt at Arms (bodyguard), Men of Mayhem (those that have killed for the MC). And were steeped in tradition and honoring "elders" like the founding members who wore the patch "First 9."
 
P

Primethius

Banned
I find the whole focus on biker culture quite fascinating so I'm personally not seeing it as being something that's been done to death or anything like that (helps that I have nothing against zombie games).
 
L

Loudninja

Member
Primethius said:
I find the whole focus on biker culture quite fascinating so I'm personally not seeing it as being something that's been done to death or anything like that (helps that I have nothing against zombie games).
Click to expand...
Yeah not to mention he is a bounty hunter as well.
 
C

crimilde

Banned
firelogic said:
I think they made a mistake in the article. "He was the MC of a motorcycle gang."

Doesn't MC mean "motorcycle club?"

That said, I think the game will be awesome. Watching and playing are very different and naysayers will change their mind once they're in control and running from a literal flood of enemies.
Click to expand...

The EU blog post says 'member' instead of 'MC' so I guess they made a mistake, yeah.
 
H

Hard

Banned
I liked the gameplay, but this game is going to have to work to differentiate itself from the multitude of other open-world / zombie / cinematic games out there.

Like it or not, the comparisons to TLOU, TWD, and Dead Rising are going to be there.
 
L

Lime

Member
UrbanRats said:
Like every other zombie story on the face of the planet.

Nothing wrong with that, but it'd be nice for a different kind of take on it.
Click to expand...

But have we really learned what it means to not be able to find yourself because you no longer have your motorcycle gang?
 
S

shinobi602

Member
Unfortunate that people automatically assume grizzled, violent anti-hero= Joel, as if someone can't have more character traits to differentiate themselves from one another. I'm already interested in his past, the motorcycle gang and his role as an actual bounty hunter.

Anyway, I'm extremely excited for the game. I love games with dark tones and survival. Crafting, heavy emphasis on the motorcycle, dynamic world and weather in a big (and gorgeous) open world is right up my alley. Can't wait.
 
Z

Zemm

Member
So are they going to give him John Rambo levels of bullets to kill these hordes of zombies like in the E3 demo or are they going to be more scarce and how will that actually work with these hordes of zombies?
 
M

Mifec

Member
So far everything I saw just evoked pilling on every single videogame/zombie movie trope. Not excited in the least, especially after the incredibly weak E3 showing.
 
L

Lime

Member
Honestly I wish they had just set the game in a different country. Zombie in the US is so boring at this point.

What about Indian biker gang dude? Or Russian? Or Malaysian? Or Rwandan? Or Iranian?

So many possibilities yet we get the worst possible outcome. US is the center of the world as always
 
L

Loudninja

Member
Hard said:
I liked the gameplay, but this game is going to have to work to differentiate itself from the multitude of other open-world / zombie / cinematic games out there.

Like it or not, the comparisons to TLOU, TWD, and Dead Rising are going to be there.
Click to expand...
The hordes is already pretty different.
 
P

Prisoner KSC2-303

Member
I'm not feeling the excitement for this. The E3 demo seemed weak and nothing about the character sounds particularly interesting.

If the world design is good then that changes everything, but right now all I see is a fairly uninspired premise.
 
C

CrayToes

Member
I hope this game has rock solid gameplay and good writing because everything I've seen so far, from the setting to the tone, has looked generic and boring.
 
Mossybrew

Mossybrew

Gold Member
I have zero interest in biker culture and have no desire to play as some redneck douchebag, but the game world and mechanics seem interesting.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
These things aren’t exactly zombies, though. Instead they’re infected humans, turned feral by some as yet unexplained disease. Because of that they’re a little more reactive to the game’s open world. ”Every creature is different, they are a living type,” explains senior animator Emmanuel Roth. “They have some needs and behave differently depending on the weather, the location”. We’ve only seen two variations so far: the main horde type and a “newt” - an adolescent version that appears to be the ‘hide and jump on your back' type of bastard.

While the E3 demo seemed to show easily killed creatures, mown down by the main character, Deacon’s gunfire, the final game won’t be that easy. "They are not weak,” clarifies Roth, who explains that what we saw was geared to be entertaining: “Maybe we dumbed them down a bit for the demo but they are not weak. It’s very dangerous. Those guys will be hard to fight”.
Click to expand...
That danger will be something you can build up to, with Roth observing that, at the start of the game, the player will be in no state to handle the hordes seen so far (“that will happen later in the game where you are equipped enough to deal with them”). The open world also means you can avoid conflicts if you want. “If you went to the saw mill and you didn’t want to deal with the swarm, you’re fine. You can go somewhere and deal [with things] the way you want,” says Roth.

Fortunately you won’t have to worry about thousand strong crowds at every turn. In my demo an alternate route showed off some smaller encounters, fighting off a few Freakers at a time in side a building. “There’s going to be different sizes of horde; you’ll come across varying ranges of numbers,” confirms Pape.
Click to expand...
http://www.gamesradar.com/sony-expl...eyre-alive-have-needs-and-behave-differently/
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
It's going to be so awkward if The Last of Us 2 is unveiled before this game comes out. People will forget about it in an instant.
 
F

FelipeMGM

Member
This game sure has the opinions divided

Im a 100% down for it, very hyped, but I agree that if was based on Motorcycle Clubs culture alone, It would be even more awesome.

Can someone make Sons Of Anarchy the game?

MonsieurPaul said:
I would love a new Lemmings game with this tech.
Click to expand...

lol
 
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