【PS4】The Last Guardian

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Ico’s Fumito Ueda on new inputs, leaving Sony and what he’d like to make next

Fumito Ueda’s output is small but very familar to Edge readers – the towering forms of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. He’s most recently been working on The Last Guardian, though it’s now heavily-delayed.

In Edge 261, on sale this Thursday, we interview him about his career, his decision to leave Sony and how art motivates him. Here’s a few excerpts:

What would you like to make next?

This may be surprising, but one day I’d like to make a game on the theme of zombies. I’d like to try making a low-threshold game for hardware that is based around a touchpad. That’s if I can come up with a well-suited idea, of course. There are many other things, too, but they’re secret.

We’re not short of zombie games. What’s left to try?

With a zombie motif, in terms of AI and motion technology and the operability of the player character, there are many elements that interest me and that are suited to in-game expression. Especially if there is a way to use [zombies] not just as a convenient enemy for the player to shoot at, but in a way that allows me to express a character in a lyrical way. There are always possibilities. n

Did Ico and SotC turn out as you’d first imagined them?

“Both of them are close to how I’d envisioned them. In Ico’s case the design and in SotC’s the visual look were very close to what I’d imagined.”

Can an artist ever really consider his own work to be perfect?

“Temporarily I think it’s possible. When I was a CG animator I had moments when I temporarily felt that way about a piece of motion or effects I’d produced.”

Then again, can the games pumped out once a year by the major studios be considered art?

“The definition of art is so ambiguous that it’s hard to say, but basically I don’t think the production time has anything to do with artistic value.”

That colossus is either far away or very small.
Why did you decide to go freelance?

It’s difficult to explain, but in a nutshell it was because I felt a sense of crisis within myself about a lot of things. It’s hard to [say exactly what], but in terms of my own growth and career and so on.

What was Sony’s reaction when you decided to leave? Were the negotiations tough?

“It was not easy. But I can’t go into the details just yet. It will be good to be able to discuss it along with a post-mortem of TLG someday.”

Are you still interested in working for major publishers or platform holders, or does independent development tempt you?

“All of that is secret too.”

Have you been influenced by any recent games?

“There are many recent titles that I reference in terms of game technology. Things like motion transition, for example.”

Are you interested in making games that are not for game consoles, maybe for smartphones or a handheld? Or even to make something outside of games altogether?

“I’d like to try making a low-threshold game for hardware that is based around a touchpad. That’s if I can come up with a well-suited idea of course.”

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Fumito Ueda’s output is small but very familar to Edge readers – the towering forms of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. He’s most recently been working on The Last Guardian, though it’s now heavily-delayed.

In Edge 261, we interview him about his career, his decision to leave Sony and how art motivates him. Here are a few excerpts:

Given your impatience, how taxing have the past eight years been on you as a creator?
Putting aside the short-term output, more than anything I feel terribly sorry that for various reasons I have kept my audience waiting for such a long time.

How do you keep your team motivated over a production cycle of five years or more?
Maintaining motivation is all about producing something great. A hobby or alcohol might help to refresh you temporarily, but they won’t motivate creativity. Also, the original staff members on Ico and SOTC are just as fussy over details as I am. I always want to create quickly, and I always want to increase the rate of production. In the case of The Last Guardian, my creative work was mostly finished a long time ago, but the details of when, where and how it will be completed are beyond my control.

Why did you decide to go freelance?
It’s difficult to explain, but in a nutshell it was because I felt a sense of crisis within myself about a lot of things. It’s hard to [say exactly what], but in terms of my own growth and career and so on.

What did it feel like to leave a company where you had worked for so long?
When I worked at SCE, I was on an annual contract, so it was not as much of a change as those around me might think. Recently, I’ve been working at my home office and often at SCE’s Shinagawa office in Tokyo.

What was Sony’s reaction?
It was not easy, but I can’t go into the details just yet. It will be good to be able to discuss it along with a post-mortem of The Last Guardian someday.

What are you working on now?
The Last Guardian and the rest is secret. Outside of games, well, just for a hobby, I’d like to try my hand at art.

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《最后的守护者》募集人员 有生之年有望问世

　　久违了，今天又要为大家带来有关《最后的守护者》的新闻。嘛，也不是游戏有什么新进展了或者是发售日公布了，那些都想太远了，眼前制作组先愁着怎么招人吧。

　　SCE公开了招聘信息，募集《最后的守护记者》制作人员，要求有游戏开发经验。募集的职务包括游戏策划、程序员、动作设计、图形设计等等。这不禁让玩家们吐槽了，现在还在招募制作人员，那你们之前都在干虾米捏?于是日本玩家们纷纷吐槽，2015年能玩上该作就不错了。而募集信息中也明确提到是为开发PS3游戏，看来妄想在PS4上玩到该作也不可能了。不过招人终归是一个好的信号，玩家们除了呵呵就只能继续等待了。

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万分期待！《最后的守护者》很快将发布新消息

　　《最后的守护者》制作人上田文人曾在2011年突然离开索尼，不过后来报道他以自由人的身份继续制作这款游戏，现在他正在等待一个合适的时机公布《最后的守护者》的最新消息，现在这个时机快到了。

　　在4Gamers的一次采访中，记者问他2014年有什么心愿，有什么要对玩家说的，他言简意赅地做了作下回答：“会很快的，我想我马上就能给大家带来一些新消息。”希望明年上田文人能够实现诺言公布该作的最新消息，敬请期待。

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索尼拒绝透露《最后的守护者》是否会登陆PS4

　　除非等到SCE直面承认，你死都不会知道《最后的守护者》开发进度如何了，我们只能从SCE的多次表态中得知该作还在开发中，不过索尼也不会告诉你该作是否会登陆PS4平台。

　　日前索尼全球工作室副总裁Scott Rohde接受了IGN的采访，当被问题到《最后的守护者》是否会登陆PS4平台时，他答道：“不管公布该作会登陆哪个平台，他都在顺利的开发中，这是目前SCE全球工作室绝对可以确定的事情，也是你可以知道的最多的事情。”

　　Scott Rohde还说道：“说起《最后的守护者》，我喜爱那些仍然对该作感兴趣的人，这对我们来说是个荣誉。至今还对该作感兴趣真的是很酷，我们也会把《最后的守护者》做到最好以回报玩家。”

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Fami通：《最后的守护者》的发售日期即将确认

　　Team Ico的《最后的守护者》依然还在守护着它的秘密，但据Fami通报道，这款游戏即将公布正式发售日期。在Fami通“2014传闻中的真相”专题文章中介绍，他们联系了索尼，询问了《最后的守护者》的相关事宜，索尼表示，他们只是在等待最合适的时机，再次将这款游戏搬回台面，如果开发工作顺利的话，他们很快就将公布发售日期。

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《最后守护者 ~ The Last Guardian》不会出现在TGS,游戏引擎完全重新打造

　　根据sony全球总裁吉田修平的最新采访，《最后守护者》将不会出现在TGS上。

在Gamescom上接受Eurogamer采访询问是否会下个月出现在东京时说：“抱歉，我不认为这会发生。”

那我们何时才能见到该游戏的真面目呢？

“当我们准备好时，”吉田说，“我现在不能确认任何具体时间，因为我们一直在等待游戏开发到一个令大家都满意的阶段。我们计划中有一个相对确定的时间范围，制作团队正在努力工作，不过要公开情报依然为时过早。”

　　根据吉田的说法，在PS3上该游戏经历了一系列的技术困难。“游戏开发到了一定程度，这也是为什么当年我们有一个大概的发售日期概念。”该游戏原定于2011年holiday发售

“我们犯了一些错误，游戏引擎已经完全重新打造。制作团队依然在努力工作，我已经看到了良好的进度发展。”

　　但该游戏是否平台仍然是PS3？还是已经跳到PS4，吉田修平未透露只字片语，一切依然如谜。

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The Last Guardian Coming to PS4 in 2016

【E3 15】《食人巨鹰 TRICO》公开实机游玩影片 预定 2016 年问世

　　SCE 今日首度公开《食人巨鹰 TRICO（The Last Guardian）》实机游玩影片，将于 2016 年在 PS4 平台上发行。

　　SCE 今日举办 E3 展前记者会，打头阵介绍的就是这款由《ICO》、《汪达与巨像》知名制作人领军开发的《食人巨鹰 TRICO》，SCE 表示，这是一个玩家社群期待已久的游戏，充满冒险、友情的故事。

　　PS4《食人巨鹰 TRICO》2016 年问世。

   

Fumito Ueda on The Last Guardian’s Grand E3 Reveal

There are few games that inspire such passion and devotion among gamers than those of Fumito Ueda. His twin PS2 classics, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, are rightly beloved for their extraordinary atmosphere, thoughtful mechanics and evocative storytelling. Duly, it was no surprise that his ambitious third game, The Last Guardian, was met with feverish enthusiasm when first announced for PS3 back in 2009.

Since then – as is well documented – everything largely went quiet, but finally the wait is nearly over. It’s re-reveal for PS4 this week was a real lump-in-the-throat moment and – forgive my shameless partisanship – one of the highlights of a packed E3 week, where big announcements have come thick and fast.

24 hours after the big reveal, I caught up with Ueda-san to find out what he made of the reaction to the news, and how the game is shaping up.

So, for the benefit of those gamers who might not be familiar with the game, can you give me a brief overview of what exactly The Last Guardian is?

Fumito Ueda: In short, it’s an action adventure title. It’s a story about a young boy who has been kidnapped or captured under strange circumstances. It’s about an encounter between that boy and the mysterious beast Trico amidst ancient ruins, and a story about their journey together in the hope of escaping their mysterious predicament.

In short, that’s what the game is, but we don’t want to tell you too much. We want players to experience it for themselves as the story unfolds.

Obviously it’s been a number of years since we last heard news of the game, and there’s been so much speculation about the title among PlayStation gamers. How does it feel to finally re-introduce the game to your fans?

Fumito Ueda: Yes, it’s been a few years since our last announcement. From my point of view, it was very unpredictable how the audience would react. I wasn’t sure if people would remember the title. Admittedly I was a bit nervous, but after the announce I saw the reaction, and the cheering – and that proved to me that people had really been waiting and were excited to see us reveal The Last Guardian for PS4. Afterwards, I was more relaxed and happy!

Can you talk a little about why the game has taken longer than anticipated?

Fumito Ueda: Obviously there were a number of reasons for the delay. If I had to call out one of them, it was more of a technical hurdle that we had to overcome. But eventually we have overcome it, and we have finally – proudly – announced the game for PS4 during the E3 press conference.

The Last GuardianThe Last Guardian

Has the game changed at all since we last saw it?

Fumito Ueda: The game content itself – the storyline etc – that stuff has not changed. Obviously the migration to PS4 has enabled us to push the envelope on the technology side. The overall aesthetic that the team is going for isn’t necessarily ‘edgy’ but we have a very specific art style we are aiming for and the PS4 hardware has helped us achieve our goals.

One of the aspects of the footage you showed during the E3 press conference that I found most interesting was how the boy and Trico moved. The boy’s motions in particular are a little unusual, but extremely charming. How did you go about defining their characteristics?

Fumito Ueda: When I was formulating the concept of The Last Guardian, one of the things I looked at was the relationship between people and animals, and I thought this was something that I wanted to build a game around. Most people really relate to animals – they find them cute and easy to bond with – so that relationship was the primary focus. The reason I chose this core theme is that I wanted to appeal to as many people as possible, knowing that it would resonate with many players. As a result, I hope some elements of the boy and Trico’s expressions may well come across as ‘charming’.

The footage mainly featured environmental challenges. Can we expect different kinds of threats elsewhere in the game?

Fumito Ueda: The demo that we showed this week is a vertical slice of the game and we intentionally selected this to show some of the dynamic game transitions. There are quieter encounters that the boy and Trico will experience at other times in the game. There are a variety of different level designs and challenges that players will encounter.

Given the fervor and anticipation around the game, are you feeling a burden of expectation to deliver something incredible?

Fumito Ueda: Obviously I’m very relieved to finally have had the chance to stand up and say, “Here we are again!”. I saw the crowd’s reaction and the reception was great. That reception has fed our motivation to work even harder to complete production. From a creative and development point of view things haven’t changed – we’ve been working very hard already – but we’ll certainly be fueled by all the attention and love we’ve got this week.

blog.us.playstation.com

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【E3 15】《食人巨鹰 TRICO》总监上田文人实机示范 解说核心概念与制作挑战

　　在本次 E3 展中，索尼计算机娱乐（SCE）终于公布延宕已久的《食人巨鹰 TRICO（人喰いの大鹫トリコ，英文名称：The Last Guardian）》将转移到 PS4 平台开发、预定 2016 年推出的消息，主导本作开发的游戏总监上田文人也在展中向媒体进行实机游玩示范，同时回答媒体的提问。

上田文人

　　《食人巨鹰 TRICO》是一手打造《迷雾古城》、《汪达与巨像》等独特风格游戏而广受全球好评的游戏创作者上田文人领军制作的第 3 款作品，类型是与前两作相同的动作冒险。 游戏中玩家将扮演被神秘势力绑架到古老遗迹的小男孩，在遗迹中他遇到了神秘的巨大生物 TRICO（游戏中小男孩呼喊 TRICO 的发音近似 “土里库”），一人一兽将合作闯荡遗迹对抗敌人。

　　这段实机游玩示范的内容是 PlayStation E3 展前发表会示范的延伸，主要增加的内容是前半段的解谜部分。 一开始小男孩与 TRICO 待在遗迹中休息，苏醒的小男孩想继续探索，但前方的信道被铁闸门所阻隔。 小男孩想呼唤 TRICO 协助，但 TRICO 却懒洋洋的继续躺着，不论怎么呼唤都爱理不理，小男孩于是爬到 TRICO 身上替牠拔除扎在身上的矛，终于唤醒 TRICO。

　　上田文人表示，TRICO 不是既存的生物，而是融合了一般常饲养的狗、猫与鸟等动物的形象与习性而成的虚构生物，但牠并不只是可爱的宠物，还融入了野生动物凶暴、不可预测的一面。

　　苏醒的 TRICO 温驯地看着小男孩，小男孩则是搬起装在木桶里的食物抛给 TRICO 吃，建立与 TRICO 的互动关系，最后终于让 TRICO 乖乖听话，长身攀附高处，让小男孩可以藉由牠攀爬到高处信道，绕到闸门的另外一边，启动机关打开闸门，让 TRICO 通过。

　　一人一兽顺利踏出遗迹之后，紧接着就是发表会中示范的片段，影片如下：

　　上田文人表示，制作团队下了很大的工夫去研究虚构的 TRICO 如何才能表现得像真的生物。 《食人巨鹰 TRICO》的主轴就是藉由一人一兽的合作来因应各种情境，小男孩（= 玩家）力量小但具备复杂思考的能力，TRICO 力量大但只是只动物，两者都无法单独应对遗迹中的险阻。 而且 TRICO 虽然强大，仍有牠所畏惧之物（如示范中出现的图腾），需要小男孩替牠解危。

　　当被问到 TRICO 是否有成长要素时，上田文人表示，TRICO 会随着与小男孩的信赖感提升而成长与变化，具体细节目前还不方便透露。 不过信赖感的部分不会影响游戏进行的大局，只会反应在细微的互动上。 就算玩家故意去破坏与 TRICO 的信赖关系，也不会因此而卡关无法前进。

　　游戏的关卡依旧是传统的线性关卡，不是时下流行的开放世界。 游戏中确实有敌人存在，就跟先前曾展示过的 PS3 版开发中画面一样，只不过这次的示范中敌人没有登场。

　　当被问到小男孩对 TRICO 做出的动作与呼喊的口号代表的意义，上田文人表示，因为小男孩与 TRICO 无法直接以言语沟通，因此会透过比手画脚的动作与简单的口号来指示与引导 TRICO 做出自己期望的行动，不过这部分的操作并不复杂，详情之后会陆续公布。

　　关于英日文游戏名称不同的理由，上田文人表示，本作最初的开发代号是「TRICO」，后来要确定正式名称时，他想把 “TRICO” 纳入其中，但是 TRICO 在英文中没有什么特别意义，识别性不高，因此最后只在日文名称中使用了トリコ，英文名称则是定为《The Last Guardian》。

　　目前游戏是由《迷雾古城》、《汪达与巨像》制作团队关键成员洞谷仁治、上田文人等人单飞成立的 genDESIGN 负责创意设计，SCE Japan Studio 负责制作开发，预计 2016 年推出。

　　对于开发进度的严重落后，上田文人面带苦笑地表示「一言难尽」，除了像是每秒画面张数、内存容量等技术上的问题之外，还有许许多多的问题。 现在制作平台转移到 PS4，在游戏表现的优化部分比起先前轻松很多，但原本的设计概念并未因此而改变，依旧与最初发表时相同。

游戏信息

游戏名称：食人巨鹰 TRICO
游戏原名：人喰いの大鹫トリコ
游戏类型：动作冒险
对应平台：PlayStation 4
发售日期：2016 年
语言版本：日文、中文、英文
开发厂商：genDESIGN / Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio
发行厂商：Sony Computer Entertainment
代理经销：台湾索尼计算机娱乐
官方网站：http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/trico/

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Life-sized Trico from The Last Guardian at Tokyo Game Show