Shadow of the Colossus
Latest
Obvious: Next Team Ico game will be 'really, really good'
We could have told you that, you know. If you don't trust our word, however, how about the one from Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida? He would know, wouldn't he? Allegedly talking to Official PlayStation Magazine (August issue cited on NeoGAF), Yoshida refers to the team that built ICO and Shadow of the Colossus as the "Olympic Team." Why? Well, because it takes 'em four years to finish a game."They haven't released a PS3 title yet - of course not - they'll take four years!" explains Yoshida. "But they have something really, really good on the way." Is it too early to dole out 2009's Game of the Year Award?[Via Eurogamer]
ICO and Siren creators speaking at Nordic conference
With all the excitement going on with PlayStation Day in Europe, we're going to turn your attention to another conference coming up soon. The Nordic Game 2008 conference. It's a little more technical of a conference, but it's still got some great developers giving speeches. Sony's own Fumito Ueda, creator of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus will be taking part in the "Game Creation and Technology" program. This program focuses on new game niches and continuing to innovate creatively.Other celebrated panelists in the discussion include the creator of Silent Hill and Siren, Keiichiro Toyama, Rock Band's Roby Kay and Ninja Theory co-founder, Tameem Antoniades. We don't really expect any announcements out of these folk, but they might bring something new to the table when giving their presentation. Like whatever direction Ueda is taking with his third game. We'll keep you posted.
New artwork depicting third Team ICO game released
Initially coming from Sony's website seeking applicants for Team ICO's new project, and getting spread across the interwebs by TeamICOGamers, we've been teased with a strange piece of CG artwork for what appears to be the next game from Team ICO. What is it? It seems to be a giant hole. With a big chain going down it. It seems we can expect another insanely clever concept from the group that brought us ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Perhaps the worlds the games take place in will somehow make sense in relation to one another after this new title. Perhaps not. Forgive our giddiness over such an abstract, vague piece of artwork -- but we'll look forward to new information!
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.
Ebert admits games can be art, but not 'high art'
In an editorial published last weekend, film critic Roger Ebert seems to renege somewhat on his previous insistence that video games, a medium he finds to be "inherently inferior to film and literature," cannot be considered a form of art. "Anything can be art," admits Ebert. "Even a can of Campbell's soup. What I should have said is that games could not be high art, as I understand it." The "high art" label is almost as old and heavy as most of the works one would apply it to, and expecting a medium as young as video games (never mind the superior class of film) to hold it up would surely be met with crushing disappointment. While it's not impossible for video games to eventually reach such a lofty status in our culture, Ebert's clarification is far more agreeable than his previous statements. Of course, since we can beat down the status of art with a can of soup before allowing video games (and seemingly any old thing) entry, it's not much of a change. The same problems Ebert has always had with the medium are reflected in the rest of his response to Clive Barker's recent comments on the subject.
Rumor: Team Ico might be developing two PS3 titles
There hasn't been a whole lot on the news front about Team Ico's next offering for the PS3, at least until now. The PS3 forums are alive with whispers of not one, but two new games from the team that first brought the critical darling Ico our way, back in 2001. At the recent Motorstorm event in Germany, a source claims to have, "talked to a product manager of Sony PlayStation Germany" who advised, "Team Ico is actually developing two games at once with one being close to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in terms of atmosphere and setting." The claim is pretty rich, but if it bears fruit, we'll have two more PS3 games to get excited about. No official word on such claims from the Sony front yet, but if we wish hard enough, maybe we'll hear something during E3 in July. [Via hiddenawaygames]
Team Ico definitely plotting something for the PS3
I've got something to admit. I have only just recently beat Ico. It was awesome, especially looking at it as a prequel to Shadow of the Colossus. Or is it a sequel? The two games lace into one another so arbitrarily that they may just be two distinct adventures taking place in the same game-universe. Anyway, the latest Famitsu held an ad for... well... Sony's ad agency. They snagged a two-page spread for a simple job listing. The job? Team Ico is seeking developers... for their PlayStation 3 project.They want programmers and engineers. Lots of technical qualifications, but chances are they wouldn't be too interested in those outside of Japan. Although there are some people (me) who would love to take the translated text and make sure it's not a shoddy translation! You guys can take a look at the online entry form for the multitude of positions at Sony's website if you'd like... but we're more interested in thinking what Team Ico will churn out next. What do you guys think? Another game set in the same or similar world? A story that more clearly relates the other two games to one another? Or something completely new and different? Ready... theorize![Thanks, Sean!]
Joystiq interview: Soenke C. "Warby" Seidel
Earlier this week, we stumbled upon de_wanda, a wonderful Counter-Strike map depicting a giant Shadow of the Colossus foe battling a large tentacled beast we later learned (and cursed ourselves for missing) inspired by underrated gem Beyond Good & Evil.We sent along a few questions to the map's creator, Soenke C. Seidel, who currently resides in Germany. Seidel, alias Warby, has also worked on the Half-Life sidescroller Codenamed: Gordon and Alliance: The Silent War and has shown through concept art great reverence for Fumito Ueda's PlayStation 2 hit. How long did it take you to do the map?When people ask me this question, I usually just respond 4 months. The truth is, I don't remember anymore. I started it this summer and I released it [in the] beginning of December, but I already sketched out the colossus and the layout long before that, at the time when the game Shadow of the Colossus got released in the U.S.What was your inspiration? Well obviously Shadow of the Colossus for the bomb target statue, but the rest of the city is inspired by a not well know Ubisoft game called Beyond Good and Evil that I found in a bargain bin for 1 Euro a month or so prior to start building the map (best buck i have ever spend). Pretty much all textures you can see in the map are made from a photo collection provided by another great German artist "Thomas Hess" ... they inspired me quite a bit, too. He shot them in Southern France and even though Beyond Good and Evil is set on an alien planet, you can clearly feel [Ubisoft's] French architectural influences. So that was a lucky coincidence that matched up so nicely.
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]
Shadow of the Counter-Strike
We don't typically cover custom-made Counter-Strike maps, but this one is unique in its high level of detail and its tribute to one of our favorite games of the PlayStation 2's golden years. Meet de_wanda and its giant reference to Shadow of the Colossus. Weighing in at 160 MB, this map is one you're going to have to require everyone to download in advance if you plan on playing online. The creator, Soenke C. "Warby" Seidel, has an impressive collection of artwork and maps, including some 3D Shadow of the Colossus-inspired scenes, if you would like to peruse the artist's portfolio. Color us impressed. Very impressed. [Via bit-tech]
The Joystiq (Christmas) Weekend, 2006
Happy holidays! Destroy All Humans gets a quirky prologue, Street Fighter gets a quirky epilogue and yours truly goofs in thinking a TurboGrafx 16 game would only cost $6. Enjoy the image above (found via Digg) and check out the highlights for this holiday:JoystiqueryGeometry Wars as artToday's hottest game video: XFPS demoToday's hottest game video: Halo gameplay remixToday's hottest game video: Tomb Raider trailerWeekly Webcomic Wrapup: the Big N editionNewsProtecting adults from children onlineWoW's Night before Wintervale holiday treatWii 'acquaintances' made easy with Google MapsDestroy All Humans started as a joke, launched a "dance" careerXbox 360 video download service succeeding, others failingDVD players finally more common than VCRsLCD makers under price-fixing investigationSofaTube brings YouTube to Wii/PS3 couch potatoesChristmas sees first VC price increaseCraigslisters trading PS3 for Wii + moneyRumors & SpeculationVista DRM to slow down high-end graphics?Console hackeryOne Wii to control the entire house Use a universal remote with PS3 Dreaming of a White PS3?Play ripped PS1 games on PSPCultureStreet Fighter's Blanka: an electrical oompa loompaGeek, nerd, or dork?American Choppers splice consoles for Christmas
Motivational posters get game
Retro Blast recently ran a contest to make gaming version of those ever-so-popular motivational posters. They have yet to decide on a winner, so now is the perfect time to check out the entire gallery of nearly 360 entries and decide for yourself the rightful heir to the champion's throne. Beyond Challenge (pictured), we'd opt for either Loyalty or @#!$@!. Our only regret is that these image files have small resolutions; there are more than a few we wouldn't mind hanging on a wall.
Limited edition Shadow of the Colossus tee
We're certain this limited edition Shadow of the Colossus tee will have some of our readers fumbling through their chubby trifolds, weaving in and out of grocery club cards, de-laminated licenses, and ATM receipts, just to find that one credit card that isn't maxed out on import video games. But you'd better be quick, cause these are limited editions. Due to go on sale tomorrow, this $30 CAD (about $27 USD) shirt features a towering colossus (number three if we're not mistaken) being approached by Agro carrying our fearless protagonist. It comes in the regular assortment of sizes (which are the same in Canada as the States, no?) but there's only 200 to go around. So, if you managed to find that credit card, you still have to be quick (feel free to insert your own 12:01 joke here). [Thanks, jerry]
Colossal figurine ... at 1/150 scale
We've been spending most of our free time feeding this dog radioactive kibble in a poorly thought out plan to make him 100 feet tall. Every night, we lay out an oversized bowl, filled to the brim with a dangerous concoction of kibble laced with some radioactive waste that Ludwig found out back. Every night the dog eats it and every morning he's the same size. Not sure that radioactive waste is radioactive at all. On to Plan B: We'll instead focus our efforts on shrinking ourselves and then ascend this 195mm (that's about 7.7", yanks) Shadow of the Colossus figurine and plunge our (now shrunken) swords into its dense resin exterior. 'Course we'll need to order the thing from Japan first and, at ,290 (that's about $90, everyone), it's not coming cheap. Compared to the rough numbers we've been putting together, it's the shrinking machine and not the figurine that's going to set us back. [Via NeoGAF]
GDC Awards in the shadow of the Colossus
The 6th Annual Game Developer's Choice Awards were held tonight immediately following the Independent Games Festival awards. While the winners didn't quite match up with our choices, we did manage six out of eight, including Best Game. Shadow of the Colossus took home a total of 5 awards including Best Game, and the critically acclaimed (but commercially ignored) Psychonauts earning 2. Regardless of who won, all of the finalists were exceptional entrants in their respective categories and are worthy of recognition. You can find out more about the Game Developer's Choice Awards at their website or read on for a list of the winners and some select pics of the ceremony.
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.
Shadow of the (adorable) Colossus
What kind of person would take an adorable Flickr image of an adorable puppy, quizzically tilting his adorable head, and photoshop him into a giant colossus from Ueda's beautiful Shadow of the Colossus? A genius, that's who! The colossi are tragic characters; slaying each one results in a sort of post-coital depression, the totality of your deed laid before you. From now on, with every reflection on the game and its tragic colossi, I will only see puppies. Adorable, fluffy puppies. Brilliant. [Via Cathode Tan] UPDATE: The genius behind the image was aeg1x at Shacknews. Thanks, prfectjon.
A "colossally" romantic valentine; also WoW and Katamari valentines
Alexandria Neonakis's Shadow of the Colossus valentine is, quite possibly, the best video game-themed valentine ever! Perfect for that gamer-nerd you need to really impress today! If World of Warcraft or Katamari Damacy is more their speed, Alexandria's got you covered there as well.See also:How to say "I love you" (to that special gamer)Be my Black Valentine (or "Poor teddy")[Via insert credit]
