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[Loudninja]

Team Ico titles — that’s Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, to date — are among the few games out there to have genuinely made gamers shed a tear thanks to their emotional, impactful narratives. And that’s an approach that The Last Guardian is looking to continue, as it tells the story of a young boy and his large and loveable animal friend, Trico. You’d have to possess a heart made of colossi stone if you’ve not been moved by some of the beautiful game footage shown so far.
But if you’re wondering how Team Ico has mastered the dark art of the emotional gut punch, we’ve got you covered. PlayStation.Blog had a chat with The Last Guardian Creator and Director Fumito Ueda.

1. The Power of Visual Storytelling
It’s easy for any storyteller to fall in love with their own words in telling a tale, but Ueda is more for letting the pictures do the talking, especially given the boy and Trico have no common language.

“They can only communicate via gestures, motion, and reactions, so visual storytelling was the best approach to making the game and showcasing the tale,” he says.
“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.”

2. Team Ico’s First Voiceover

Spoiler

While there’s a strong emphasis on visual narrative, The Last Guardian does something no other Team Ico title has done before.
“At the start of the game we use a voiceover of the boy when he’s older,” explains Ueda-san.

“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.”

3. Make the Player and Character as One
The Last Guardian’s human protagonist may not have a name, but there are other ways to bring you closer to him as a person.
“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,” says Ueda.
“That not only binds the characters, but also you as a player because you feel the same nice moment of accomplishment the boy does.
“We also wanted to give you more of the young boy’s backstory to discover, compared to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.”

4. Save the Cat-bird!
Anyone who’s studied film will have likely heard of “Save the cat!” — a term popularized by screenwriter Blake Snyder. It’s a technique where the protagonist of the story does something kind to endear you to them. And the first thing The Last Guardian asks you to do is to pull two broken spears out of poor Trico’s body, instantly making you a hero but also putting the genesis of their important relationship directly in your hands.
“Their developing bond is the key theme across the game,” explains Ueda. “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.
“But rather than the more straightforward relationships seen in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, you’ll see both dramatic peaks and troughs in their relationship…”


5. Enemies Aren’t Just Obstacles
The frightening foes of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus often reflect the strong themes of Ueda’s tales — which is why there aren’t lots of them compared to other action adventure games.
So what do the enemies in The Last Guardian represent?
“Partnership,” smiles Ueda. “The boy doesn’t possess combat skills, so you need to work together with Trico to overcome these threats.
“With Ico we focused more on the puzzle elements to keep Princess Yorda safe, and in Shadow of the Colossus we focused on driving you to defeating colossi, at a cost. With The Last Guardian we examine the changing relationship between the boy and Trico, and the challenges that represents as you try to discover the game’s mysteries.
“But we also achieve a lot of that during the quiet moments of the story — without those peaceful beats we probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve the scale and variation of their relationship, and their payoff moments.”

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/06/21/the-last-guardian-5-storytelling-secrets/

 

[Agram]

4 months!

 

[mickagau33]

So....the boy

Spoiler

doesn't die ;-)

 

[zsynqx]

Very interesting.

 

[DKHF]

All sounds good, looking forward to finally playing it in October.

 

[HStallion]

Cannot wait! All of that sounds good, especially those Eureka moments he talks about. I know a couple other previews from E3 mentioned similar reactions to the game when Trico finally did what you wanted it to do.

 

[Loudninja]

Collectors edition and boxart
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/201...id=745250478158602241&adbpl=tw&adbpr=36969785

We seen these already though.

 

[Ostinatto]

I can't believe we are so close to play this game.

 

[wapplew]

Time for black out.
See you in October.

 

[dragonflys545]

My body is ready!

 

[Spring Drive]

“At the start of the game we use a voiceover of the boy when he’s older,” explains Ueda-san. “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.”

It's just speech. It's like the oldest thing in human history and they're explaining it like it's a feature in the new iPhone.

 

[LurkFish17]

I'm somewhat worried that this game won't review well. I remember a ideology from colin Moriarty talking about how dated and different it felt from other games. I dunno, does anyone know what the other first impressions are saying?

 

[Kyonashi]

aww I don't like that new boxart as much as the previously revealed one, the black border is kinda ugly

old:

new:

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Do we know who's doing the soundtrack yet?

 

[Jawbreaker]

Do we know who's doing the soundtrack yet?

Takeshi Furukawa.

 

[Possumowner]

Not so keen on the new box art.Think I shall go into "avoid all spoilers" on this game.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

storytelling secrets like "show, don't tell", "avatars for the player" and "narration"

I can see why this game took so long

 

[tringworldso]

“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.”

Not sure how to feel about this. One one hand, it would be great to hear in retrospect what the guy was thinking at that particular moment but the hints and exposition parts have me worried.

 

[Laurel_McFang]

Do we know who's doing the soundtrack yet?

https://youtu.be/HtIhHPY5Ur4

“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,” says Ueda.

It sounds like the new mechanic, and what makes the game interesting, is the communication aspect. The bigger question is how do you make Trico understand and are these communication puzzles well though out.

Also I think we should honor Euda-san's wishes and analyze the heck out of that trailer.

 

[DKHF]

aww I don't like that new boxart as much as the previously revealed one, the black border is kinda ugly

old:


new:

Yeah the final box art sucks. That old one would be better but even better would be if they just removed the border and black background on the current one and showed the full shot.

 

[qualitydisc]

Do we know who's doing the soundtrack yet?

Already answered above, but wanted to add that IGN did a video interview with Ueda about the music: http://gematsu.com/2016/05/last-guardian-director-discusses-soundtrack

 

[Loudninja]

It's just speech. It's like the oldest thing in human history and they're explaining it like it's a feature in the new iPhone.

Its a big deal for them.

 

[KodaRuss]

I hope this game is amazing. I have the limited edition preordered. Cannot wait.
These details sound really cool.

 

[valkillmore]

So we're calling crying like a baby 'payoff moments' now. I cried at the end of Shadow of the Colossus. I'm fucked after The Last Guardian, I'll probably die in a sea of salt.

 

[Acquiescence]

aww I don't like that new boxart as much as the previously revealed one, the black border is kinda ugly

old:


new:

I hate that cover art. Based on what we got in the UK/Europe for ICO and SotC, I feel like it should be far better than that.

Yeah, that black border has got to go.

 

[A-V-B]

Not sure how to feel about this. One one hand, it would be great to hear in retrospect what the guy was thinking at that particular moment but the hints and exposition parts have me worried.

Yeah, this was a thing in Shadow of the Colossus. If you had a problem figuring out how to scale or weaken a certain colossus, Dormin would boom vague hints at you. It got a little annoying after a while, but it did help from time to time. However, it also worked because the pacing was pretty frenetic.

To have Old Man Boy constantly chiming at you with hints might interrupt the peaceful flow Ueda is trying to establish.

 

[cbrotherson]

Yeah, this was a thing in Shadow of the Colossus. If you had a problem figuring out how to scale or weaken a certain colossus, Dormin would boom vague hints at you. It got a little annoying after a while, but it did help from time to time. However, it also worked because the pacing was pretty frenetic.

To have Old Man Boy constantly chiming at you with hints might interrupt the peaceful flow Ueda is trying to establish.

From the opening of the game, it's not too obtrusive - it's an excellent way to establish the tutorial, at least.