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How 'The Last Guardian' uses gameplay to tell its story
Like with many ambitious works of art, it's fair to say that the reaction to The Last Guardian was pretty divisive. While many recognized last month's PS4 exclusive as a brilliant achievement, it is undoubtedly a game that bears the scars of its troubled nine-year development. Yet, despite its archaic controls, The Last Guardian achieves something that few games manage - it makes the player genuinely care about an AI companion. In a bid to explore how director Fumito Ueda achieved this, YouTuber Mark Brown has dissected the game mechanics of The Last Guardian in the latest video of his game design series, Game Maker's Toolkit.
The Last Guardian still under Ueda's 'creative supervision,' still no release window
The Last Guardian is now the modern interpretation of the classic Monty Python sketch, popping up every so often to scream, "I'm not dead yet!" The latest moment comes from former Sony employee and The Last Guardian designer Fumito Ueda, who stated in a post today that the project is still alive."While it's been a long time coming, The Last Guardian remains under my creative supervision and is still in development by an incredibly talented team," said Ueda. "I should also mention that details regarding The Last Guardian's release is solely decided by Sony Computer Entertainment, not myself. Please keep an eye out for their official announcement."Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida noted last August "the team is still working on [The Last Guardian] very hard." Ueda's timing is curious given the general expectation that Sony will announce the PS4 next week. With any luck, we won't still be talking about The Last Guardian by the time the PS5 rolls around.
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus producer Kenji Kaido leaves Sony
The man who led production of both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Kenji Kaido, is no longer working with Sony Computer Entertainment (the company's Japan-based gaming arm). "This August, I left Sony Computer Entertainment," Kaido wrote on Twitter (via Game|Life). He said he has no plans for now ... aside from continuing his summer vacation.Despite his silence, it sounds like Kaido knows where he's headed next. "I'm also excited about whatever I'm going to be doing next," Kaido said in response to a tweet from fellow Japanese game designer Masahiro Sakurai (of Smash. Bros. fame). It's unclear whether Kaido worked on Team Ico's latest project, The Last Guardian, or what work he's done since shipping Shadow of the Colossus in in 2005.
Sony's Rohde explains The Last Guardian's E3 absence: 'It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update'
Sony's E3 2012 press conference was full of surprises. For one, Quantic Dream's new game was unveiled – Beyond – Two Souls. Just like that!More surprising, however, was a game that didn't make an appearance: The Last Guardian. Since being teased in a January 2008 Sony Japan job listing with a single image, the Team Ico-developed game has only been shown by Sony a handful of times. Moreover, the only news we've heard recently on the long in-development project has been worrisome – the game's creative lead, Fumito Ueda, ended his employment at Sony and began working on the game as a contractor. And then in February, Sony revealed that the company's Santa Monica studio was assisting in the development process.SCEA senior VP of product development and worldwide studios, Scott Rohde, assured me in an interview this week that the game's absence from Sony's presser isn't something gamers should be concerned with. "It just wasn't appropriate for us to give an update. That's just how it worked out," Rohde said. Rather than seeing it as a potential sign that the four-plus year project is stagnating, Rohde said that it's absence was a question of time limitations during the press conference and Sony's approach to internal development. "Almost more than any game that Worldwide Studios develops, it's all about the emotion and the experience that's crafted in what that team can deliver. And there's a vision that must be upheld. And until it can be upheld, it's not gonna ship," he said.
Sony Santa Monica (and more) helping with The Last Guardian
Sony Senior VP Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to Wired that Sony Santa Monica team members are contributing to The Last Guardian -- along with a few more. "Well, you know, it's not just Santa Monica," he says. "We have great tech people in Worldwide Studios. We have a central tech group in the U.S. and the U.K. so we are giving them whatever help they need. Technically, we have the best engineers in the U.S. and Europe, so these teams are helping them, giving advice."Progress on The Last Guardian may be slow right now, but Yoshida assures us the game is still coming. The departure of Fumito Ueda was exaggerated, he says, as the famed designer is still going to finish The Last Guardian on contract with Sony."At one point the progress was great, so we talked about the timing of the launch in the past. But now it's making progress, but still not to the level -- it's playable, but not to the point that we can talk about the timing of launch." But now, "the progress is slow," he says, and "sometimes the team has to go back and review things."The Last Guardian is still planned for 2012, but there seems to be little certainty over that time frame. "There's a vision that we want to realize but it's very very tough and technical issue that the team is tackling and some plans have to be made to evaluate and go through the process," Yoshida says.
Yoshida: The Last Guardian still happening, but progress 'slow'
We've had assurances of The Last Guardian's continued existence, but in the absence of empirical proof we could always use one more. 1UP received a rather authoritative one from Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida at DICE, who said he's "been seeing it."Yoshida reports that, after leaving Sony and becoming a contractor, producer Fumito Ueda continues working on the game as normal. His departure was "an arrangement so he could focus on the creative side," Yoshida said. "But his work and his presence on that team never changed, so it was just more a contractual rearrangement, and that was taken [by many] as 'he left.'"Ueda is still in the office, "probably one of the people who works the longest hours," Yoshida said. Progress is still taking place on The Last Guardian, "but slow progress."
Platinum's Kamiya hoping to announce his own game in 2012, Fumito Ueda loves Portal 2, and more
Since Bayonetta's late 2009/early 2010 debut, director Hideki Kamiya has gone relatively quiet. And while he remains that way for now, it seems we may see some movement from him this year, as he told 4Gamer in its big "looking back on 2011" Japanese developer feature (via Andriasang) that he "would like to announce a new game and make a comeback on the game scene and be known as more than just some guy who posts on Twitter," as his hope for 2012. Bizarrely, he didn't name a single favorite game from the last year, choosing instead to say "nothing in particular" struck his fancy, while Nintendo's eShop "3D Classics" were his favorite entertainment content last year. The feature also features a cadre of Square Enix devs, who hilariously all named Skryim their favorite game of the year (with the exception of a single producer), while the no longer Sony-affiliated Last Guardian creative lead Fumito Ueda put Portal 2 at the top of his list. He was also quick to point out that "The Last Guardian is in development, with the staff hoping to meet expectations even though with each game they taste the difficulties of creation." Okay then! Catherine and Dark Souls also got nods from a variety of devs, as did Super Mario 3D Land. And hey, you know where we stand.
Last Guardian removed from GameStop's release schedule, but not canceled [update]
According to several GameStop customers and employees, The Last Guardian has been removed from GameStop's computer system and possibly canceled. Clerks at several stores confirmed that the game was no longer listed among titles that were coming soon and several customers of the store have received calls telling them that the game had been canceled. Blogger Darren Hupke even recorded the message. A search of the retailer's web site also shows no trace of the game. For the moment we're without official confirmation, so we've got our fingers crossed that this is just a clerical error. Of course, with the recent departure of Fumito Ueda, we can't say this would come as a complete surprise (despite Ueda being "committed to completing" the game). We've reached out to Sony and will let you know what we hear. Update: You still can't pre-order The Last Guardian at Gamestop, but SCEA's Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Patrick Seybold, says reports of the game's cancellation are "not true." So, why has it disappeared from a major retailer? Update 2: This just in from GameStop: "The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers. Because the game did not have a specific release date, GameStop made the decision to remove the game from our system. The Last Guardian will be reinstated for pre-order when a firm launch date is known."
Sony confirms Ueda's departure; The Last Guardian to be completed on contract
The real news, of course, is that Sony is publicly promising The Last Guardian will be finished ... at some point. The respected creative force behind the project, Fumito Ueda, is "committed to completing" his third major game with Sony on a contract basis. Sony confirmed his departure with Gamasutra, concluding a swirl of rumors from last month. The Last Guardian has yet to receive a solid release date after being bumped out of holiday 2011. "I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for 'The Last Guardian' for so long, but I beg for your patience," Ueda said in April. "I will also announce the new release timing at a later time." The game's other notable departure, Executive Producer Yoshifusa Hayama, has joined social gaming studio Bossa Studios. Ueda hasn't provided a clear indication of his post-Guardian future yet, giving us enough time to envision dream team-ups with Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51, or Shinji Mikami at the Zenimax-owned Tango. Who's going to say no to Mr. Shadow of the Colossus?
Rumor: The Last Guardian lead Fumito Ueda quits Sony, working as freelancer to complete game
Apparently, The Last Guardian creative lead and Team Ico head Fumito Ueda has quit Sony and is working on Team Ico's latest project as a freelancer. Eurogamer is reporting as much, saying that Ueda's departure from the team has accentuated the ever-growing delay of the project's launch. The Last Guardian was pushed out of a "holiday 2011" release window earlier this year, and the development team were said to be moving offices this past summer, getting up close and personal with SCE's main HQ. Requests to Sony for comment have gone unreturned as of publishing. Update: A Sony rep told Joystiq, "Sony doesn't comment on rumors or speculation."
Team ICO moving to main Sony offices in Japan
Studio head Fumito Ueda of Team ICO (the folks behind the much-awaited PS3 title The Last Guardian) tweeted that the developer is moving offices in Japan this week, into Sony Computer Entertainment's main building in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo. Ueda said that the move was part of a "major reformation of our development environment," designed to set up Team ICO for even bigger and better things in the future. Here's hoping the move goes well. Just be sure, guys, that the first box you open says The Last Guardian on it, so you can get that title out and into our hands. That box that says "Failed Colossus Ideas?" That one you can leave taped up for the time being.
Shadow of the Colossus' lost ending
Team Ico head Fumito Ueda was looking through his notes, and discovered a tantalizing piece of gaming ephemera: a storyboard of an unused ending from Shadow of the Colossus. We're pretty sure it doesn't constitute a spoiler, because, well, it isn't the ending, and it's a difficult image to parse anyway. Looking at the picture, we think we can just barely make it out ... it looks like ... Wander is waking up to discover that it was all just a dream! And then there's a knock on the door, and it's Argo the horse and all of the Colossi. And they've all brought birthday presents, and a Colossus-sized pizza with all your favorite giant toppings! If you'd like to inspect the image for yourself for evidence of monolithic birthday parties, you can find it in slightly larger form after the break. We're not trying to make it a puzzle or anything -- that's just the size of the image that Ueda tweeted.
The Last Guardian, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection delayed
Perhaps it's best that we don't hasten the inevitable, tragic death of a majestic creature or its adventurous boy companion. Sony has announced a worldwide delay for The Last Guardian, the third of Team ICO's wistful adventures and the first to debut on PlayStation 3. In a statement on the PlayStation Blog, creative director Fumito Ueda says The Last Guardian had to be bumped out of its original holiday 2011 launch window "to provide more challenging and better quality of content to users and to fulfill First Party Studio's obligations." He assures readers that the development team is working at a "fast pace," while ensuring a "First Party Studio" level of quality. "I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for "The Last Guardian" for so long, but I beg for your patience," he said. "I will also announce the new release timing at a later time." Please, Mr. Ueda, there's no need to beg. We understand, and appreciate your dedication to -- what's this? The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection has also been pushed out of Spring 2011? So ... whoa. UEEEEEDDDAAAA!!!!!
The Last Guardian will have 'simpler' controls, Ueda says
Not much is known about The Last Guardian, Team Ico's first game for PS3, but PlayStation Blog has posted a short Q&A with Fumito Ueda, the creative director behind the mysterious title, and it offers some insight into the game. Ueda clarifies that The Last Guardian is not a "pet game," although the player will be protected by Trico, a giant guardian "animal." The player's character is a boy -- with no name ... "yet" -- who must escape from the location seen in the trailers. While Ueda doesn't outright confirm it, he does tease that players could run into other creatures the size of the guardian. While that might bring to mind the epic boss battles that comprised Ueda's last game, Shadow of the Colossus, he reiterates that "the boy is unable to defeat the enemies on his own." The mechanics of The Last Guardian's gameplay aren't fully in place yet, Ueda explained, but "it doesn't take much time to change the control scheme." The end result is likely to be something more accessible than Shadow of the Colossus, though. "I also want people who are not serious game players to try out this game. So I want the controls to be simpler than before."
ICO / Shadow of the Colossus collection revealed, not only HD but 3D
Team ICO director Fumito Ueda just took the stage during Sony's TGS presentation and confirmed the consistently leaked ICO / Shadow of the Colossus HD remakes coming to PS3. He didn't share many details – Are they sold separately in Japan? – but did reveal one new addition to the seminal PS2 titles that we didn't know about. In addition to HD graphics, both titles will support 3D on PlayStation 3. When can you gladly hand over your hard-earned money to Sony? Ueda would only say "coming soon" but didn't share a date. In our dictionary, "soon" is a lot earlier than the April 2011 date most retailers have agreed upon. Update: At a follow-up press conference, SCEA confirmed that the disc will be available in "Spring 2011." Update 2: We've added some screens, the boxart, and a trailer to the post. %Gallery-102414%
Team Ico shows off cleaned-up Ico shots at CEDEC
During a presentation at the CESA Developers Conference on Wednesday about the art of animation, Team Ico head Fumito Ueda brought up some shots from Ico as illustrations. Except the images projected don't look exactly like the PS2 game: the aspect ratio is different, the textures are better, and the character models are sharper -- and that's just what can be picked up from looking at pictures of a projector showing the images. NeoGAF's Gribbix and SolidSnakex posted direct comparisons between the CEDEC presentation and the PS2 Ico. With the persistent rumor of a God of War Collection-style remake of Team Ico's PS2 games, and with TGS around the corner, it's tempting to take these images as evidence. It seems just as likely, however, that Ueda mocked up nice illustrations of iconic scenes for his presentation. In any case, they're lovely and can be seen at GAME Watch.
Look! There are new The Last Guardian screens
We're not going to pussy-foot around this (ha, you said -- nevermind): Team Ico's highly-anticipated The Last Guardian finally has an honest-to-goodness website now, chock full of saliva-inducing high-res screens. Aside from that, there isn't really much there at the site now -- apart from the trailers we've all seen way too many times but, hey, you might as well watch them again because it's been [insert any amount of time here] since you last watched them and why not? Anyway, go to the site and look at the new screens. What? No more words! The only thing we want to hear is you going "awwww" at the beautiful relationship between a young boy and his catbird thing. [Via VG247]
Ico developer digs Half-Life 2, interested in making 'first-person games'
Though the Japanese aren't exactly known for their love affair with first-person shooters, Team Ico director Fumito Ueda can name at least one that he digs: Half-Life 2. Speaking to G4TV (through a translator), Ueda named the Valve-developed sequel when asked which games he has had an emotional reaction to."There was variation in terms [of] locations and also [in] the way of storytelling in the game. Usually, you have to incorporate storytelling with constraints, but the way [Valve] implemented constraints was something different that I enjoyed, compared to other games," observed Ueda. He's even considered making his own first-person game at some point, stating, "I have an interest in making first-person games."If Ueda's previous development cycle lengths are any indication, we tentatively expect to see a Ueda-developed first-person game by 2025 or so ... at the earliest. [Image credit: jeriaska]
TGS 2009: Interview: The Last Guardian's Fumito Ueda
We had a few minutes to chat with Fumito Ueda, director of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and the upcoming The Last Guardian. He explained the game's unusual Japanese title to us, and talked about the possibilities of PSN support. Read on for more:The Japanese title of The Last Guardian is much longer than the English one. Can you explain what the Japanese title means?Initially, the project started as "Project Torico." In the past, we haven't used the project name in the actual title of the game. For example, Shadow of the Colossus (Wanda to Kyozo) had a different project name, "Nico." I wanted the project name to be in the title this time, but it wasn't so well received by the international crew. They said a more simple, more direct title would be better. My hope, or my intention is that the Japanese title is the original title of the game.[A literal translation of the title, as suggested by Sony in the presence of Ueda, was "Man Eating Giant Eagle: Torico."]
TGS 2009: Fumito Ueda on the reality of The Last Guardian's fantasy (oh, and new trailer)
"Going with an imaginary creature makes it feel much more real," ICO and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda explained in a new video revealed at the Tokyo Game Show. "None of the elements we're mixing together actually exist, but they feel like they do."Ueda's previous games were praised for being able to push players to emotions rarely expressed in most games. After watching this trailer from Tokyo Game Show, it seems certain that Ueda might be able to pull off a hat trick with The Last Guardian.%Gallery-65152%
