Liquid Crystal

A trailer has appeared for Fumito Ueda and Team Ico’s next project.  The third game developed by the team is now known as “The Last Guardian” and looks to continue the companionship theme seen in their earlier projects.

Ico

Ico, their first game, presented players with the task of protecting and escaping with a young, often defenseless girl named Yorda.  She hindered the player, yet was necessary to progress.  A complicated set of emotions emerged from the frustration of keeping her safe while going on the treacherous journey together.  It was character development at a minimalistic level.  Not many stories feature deep character development without the use of spoken dialogue.

Shadow of the Colossus continued the theme with a horse named Agro, the hero’s sole ally.  Staying in line with the frustration (and depth) that comes with a realistic ally, Ueda noted that, “a real horse … doesn’t always obey. It’s not like a car or a motorcycle, it won’t always turn when you say ‘turn!’” Yet, Agro is essential in taking down some of the faster moving colossi.  After the fall of these titans, there’s a feeling of accomplishment and joy from working together with Agro, crushing any previous resentments towards the horse.

The Last Guardian, at this point, looks to blend Agro’s functionality with Yorda’s fragility.  The creature gently lifts the boy back to safety and transports him to a range of different areas.  Arrows can be seen sticking out of the creature’s side, implying there will be some sort of conflict.  I can only imagine the feeling of watching this creature become gravely injured after bonding with it.  Is Ueda developing a tragedy?

There’s an intangible quality about writing on paper.  It conforms to whatever dimension the mind is thinking in. The pressure and stroke of the pen add a layer of depth to various thoughts, while playful tracing and dotting help link ideas together.  It’s less about communicating ideas with others and more about creating a visual playground for your thoughts.  After all, not all thoughts are as clear as we’d like to believe.

I’ve been developing these ideas through the aid of many spiral notebooks. Each one is packed with a stream of thoughts in tangible form, yet the information they contain is next to useless.  The contents include formulas, matrices, ideas, and basic illustrations; most are scribbled upon to work out solutions.  The development journal also serves as a second display and allows me to escape the digitalized realm of the computer for one with more finesse.

How do you develop your thoughts? I’ve read stories similar to mine, while I see others working their thoughts out with Lego blocks or by letting their minds go while gazing at stars or tiles.

A screenshot from a previous rendition of Dancing Lights

Creativity cannot be scheduled.  It can come from all the time in the world or from no time at all.  Some thrive in open environments, while others build from restriction.  I’ve never really formally announced a game since beginning this blog.  I threw a post up earlier this year which mentioned the game and its lofty goals, but since then I’ve silenced the wire.  Since development can change so quickly and frequently, I don’t see the point, but with a project finally nearly completion, it’s time to say something.  So let’s get started.

For the past six months, I’ve been working on a project tentatively named “discovery.”  The original goal was to create an abstract playing field with few, if any, preconceptions and ever evolving gameplay.  Each game would be a new discovery.  Players could find games or make their own based on all of the random elements at work.  Unfortunately, it was a concept which was too difficult for me.  The project later evolved into a design where players would decipher patterns, but it was too complex and lacked the intuitiveness I was looking for.

Then several things happened.  I purchased a MacBook and decided to turn the experience into an exercise in minimalistic computing.  I had also tried Drop7, a falling blocks puzzle game with numbers.  While it wasn’t an amazing experience, it was a thoughtful one.  It made me re-evaluate the use of random variables and score.  Normally, I love scores.  In Wii Fit, I continuously practiced and worked my way to a perfect “555″ score in the soccer game.  I was initially enticed by Drop7’s simplicity, but learned it was anything but.  With so many variables, it’s nigh impossible to develop a gradual build up of skill.  I haven’t given up on Drop7, I’m still working hard to decipher some kind of logic behind it.  If nothing else, it’s helped me build a foundation for Discovery.

With these lessons fresh in my mind, I set out to find the fun in Discovery.  I peeled off layer upon layer of complexity and made the code flexible so I could try new ideas at a fast pace.  On a late night, I had found the fun I was looking for.

With the prototype of Discovery nearing completion, the main hurdles ahead are balance and flow.  I hope to have a release candidate sent to Apple for evaluation by early summer.  Yes, it’s going to be for the iPhone and iPod Touch.