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GDC09: Team ICO's new game is 'close to ICO' in essense
During this morning's GDC 2009 panel on Eastern vs. Western development philosophies, Team ICO head Fumito Ueda was asked -- by Grasshopper Manufacture boss, Goichi "Suda51" Suda -- what the deal is with his crew's next game. You know, the follow-up to Shadow of the Colossus that everyone (even other Japanese devs!) are eager to know anything new about. Ueda couldn't say much, but we found his comments interesting.After joking (or was he?) that his bosses were in the room listening, Ueda said that his next game -- widely referred to by the nickname "Trico" -- will be "something in-between" ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. "It will be similar to those past games, the essense is close to ICO," he added.Suda51 then excitedly asked if he'd brought screenshots -- anything -- of or about the game. Ueda laughed slightly and conveyed the non-verbal equivalent of "next!" with his face.
Fumito Ueda, Suda 51, Fallout 3's Pagliarulo together in GDC panel
This year's Game Developers Conference will feature a presentation by two Japanese game designers who even Atsushi Inaba probably finds noteworthy: Team Ico's Fumito Ueda and Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda, aka Suda 51. The Shadow of the Colossus creator and the man behind No More Heroes will join Fallout 3 lead designer Emil Pagliarulo and localization company 8-4's Mark MacDonald for the panel discussion "Evolving Game Design: Today and Tomorrow, East and West Game Design."The one-hour talk will discuss "recent trends in modern game design" as well as upcoming trends in games, as they relate to both the Japanese and Western game industries. Of course, the short-sighted hope is that everyone involved will reveal a new game, or at least that Suda will let out a bunch of details about No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle.[Via VG247]
Team ICO's next game may be shown soon
It's been a long time coming, but VG247 quotes Sony Worldwide Studio head Shuhei Yoshida as saying Team ICO's next project may be revealed "soon." The anticipated next project by the team behind Shadow of the Colossus and Ico has merely been teased with some nondescript screenshots.Yoshida tells the site that plans for the Tokyo Game Show have not been finalized -- presumably, the show would be the last major opportunity this year to reveal the project. It's about time this game made its public appearance, don't you think?
Team ICO boss not feeling pressured to show new title
The early stages of development mean a lot of different things for a lot of different developers. Speaking with UK magazine gamesTM and brought to our attention by videogaming247, Fumito Ueda said "production has not reached the critical stage. The company is very reasonable thanks to my achievements in the past. So, although I do get pressurised, that's not happened yet [on the current project], and that's something I feel gratitude for, that the company gives us the opportunity to focus by giving us time."What does this mean? Simply put, Ueda isn't getting pressured to show off his game yet because Sony knows brilliance takes time. The game is too young, too early in production stages, to really show off. We're willing to wait because we're sure when Ueda is ready to show the world, the world will watch.
New Team ICO game impresses Shuhei Yoshida
While there's no real news regarding Fumito Ueda and Team ICO's new game, Shuhei Yoshida made a few comments on it in a recent interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine UK. First off, yes, they are working on a game (this has only been confirmed from one arbitrary, assumed screenshot on their official site), but it's going to be a while until we see anything. Yoshida started work on ICO before moving to the United States, so he's seen how Ueda works -- uncompromising was the word used. Four years is the general time to wait for each game, Yoshida concludes, but this game will be worth it because "they have something really, really good on the way." We look forward to hearing more!
ICO or Shadow of the Colossus sequel may be in the works
The rabid fanbase of Team ICO (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus) reportedly sent in "a couple hundreds of e-mails" to Official PlayStation Magazine last month, hoping the outlet could glean some new information on their current project. This month, OPM published one of those letters and provided some promising statements.When asking Kaz Hirai about Team ICO's current happenings, another executive in the room reportedly blurted out "I'm pretty sure they're doing the sequel." No other information was discerned, given that Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are based on, erm, "similar" worlds and art styles, we're interested in what direction Fumitu Ueda and company will take in terms of game play.
Shadow of the Colossus cameo in new Sandler, Cheadle flick
GameBump spotted this Shadow of the Colossus appearance in a trailer for the upcoming Adam Sandler drama Reign Over Me, which also stars Don Cheadle. So does Fumito Ueda's wonderful PlayStation 2 epic play a significant role in the plot? Probably not. Still, that a major Hollywood production would opt to use a game that is not easily recognizable to a mainstream audience is significant enough. Unfortunately, the cameo, as framed by the trailer, is pinned to the old stereotype that when guys get to playing video games they neglect more important obligations (okay, sometimes we do), but the usage of Shadow of the Colossus also ties into an overarching maturation of the games industry; one that is forcing mainstream perception to shifts its view and embrace the critical impact games have on many adult lives. Nice work, Mr. Binder. [Thanks, Aaron]
Ueda: ICO isn't a video game
In this interview with Wired, Fumito Ueda (the creative mind behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) talks about the difference between ICO and "conventional" video games. It seems Ueda has tried to distance the product from the negative connotations of the term "video games"; whether that was successfully accomplished rests in the opinions of those who view games negatively.The interview also talks about some of the design decisions behind Shadow of the Colossus--it's an interesting insight into Ueda's creative processes. Update: Warning, the article contains spoilers for Shadow of the Colossus.
