The Last Guardian

(Gaming discussion not related to Shenmue)

Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Thief » Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:20 pm

OL wrote: ^^That still doesn't explain a damn near decade-long dev cycle.
After Shenmue for Saturn was scrapped in favor of the DC version, it took, what... maybe two or three years to completely rebuild it all?
And there was a far greater difference in visual style between those, compared to the way the PS3 Last Guardian looks next to the PS4 one (near-identical). And that's if they really rebuilt is from scratch at all; I find that hard to believe.
It all stinks a bit of background squabbling and politics.

Not that any of it matters, so long as we just get the damn game finally. But the wait has been absolutely ridiculous anyway.


To be fair though OL, the visual gap between the Saturn and Dreamcast is much more noticeable than between the PS3 and PS4.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby OL » Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:42 pm

Exactly my point. A bigger technological gap means starting over from scratch is a much bigger, more daunting task. That's what they were faced with in the case of Shenmue, and they did it in maybe two or three years.
The difference between PS3 and PS4, on the other hand, is hardly noticeable in some cases. Taking a game that was developed first for the PS3, then reworking it for the PS4 shouldn't take more than a year or two.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Thief » Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:44 pm

OL wrote: Taking a game that was developed first for the PS3, then reworking it for the PS4 shouldn't take more than a year or two.


Ah, now I understand. Completely misunderstood you before.
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Riku Rose » Mon May 30, 2016 7:08 am

A new interview and some new gameplay footage, game finally seems to be coming along:

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Riku Rose » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:40 pm

phpBB [video]


Coming 25th Oct. YAYYYYY. Just from this trailer you can see it'll tug at your heart strings.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby OL » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:00 am

Awesome. I think they've shot themselves in the foot a little bit by taking so goddamn long to make it (nothing about the visuals is technically impressive anymore, even if the art design is great), but it does look like a sweet little experience either way. I was actually just thinking back on Ico and Shadow of the Colossus the other day, about how grand and affecting they felt way back when. Hope this has the same vibe.
I also think they've already shown too much with this trailer though. I'd personally recommend people don't watch it if they were already looking forward to it.
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Henry Spencer » Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:01 am

Well, when it takes them 10 years to develop a game it's no wonder they've spoiled a large part of the game now.
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Riku Rose » Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:05 am

The box and collector's edition:

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Who Really Cares? » Sun Jul 10, 2016 5:40 am

Might still be the game to make me get a PS4 but need more feedback. Few at E3 complained about the controls and camera.

But I just remember Deadly Premonition. Bad controls didn't stop me enjoying a great story.
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby OL » Sat Dec 10, 2016 12:50 pm

Good lord, loving how smooth this game feels. Only played for a short while last night (still working on something else, so I'm waiting to really tackle it), but it's hard to deny how beautiful it looks and how silky the control is. Always love how Ueda's games don't use motion capture.

I will voice one little disappointment though: I hate that there's actually narration in it. Ico and SotC were partly so impacting because of how effectively they got their stories across with only a couple bits of dialogue and a lot of excellent hand-crafted animation. You were free to glean the details for yourself using visual cues. That was part of the magic of Ueda's style.
The Last Guardian could easily do the exact same thing, but for some reason there's a bunch of narration telling me what to do and what the characters think. And so far, it's not necessary at all. When the kid wakes up and looks surprised that he's covered in markings, I really don't need the narration telling me that he's surprised. I can already see it in his face, and the accompanying animation. The game is gorgeous and lovable so far, but it would have been even more so if it were free of all this unnecessary chatter. Would have been nice to be able to turn it off or something.
Hopefully this isn't something that stretches throughout the entire game.
All the same, still looking forward to my time with it.
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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Peter » Mon Jan 09, 2017 10:54 pm

Fuck the camera and the AI issues people seem to have an issue with. The camera i understand, but it didn't diminish my experience with this game at all. The AI criticisms... they are moot criticisms because they shouldn't be criticisms at all. It's perfect AI, and the issue is that people who criticise Trico either don't understand the nature of the beasts existence, or are just far too impatient and needy, as most modern day gamers are. It was designed and coded to be... a beast.

That's a game I never wanted to end. A simple tale that is based on pure emotion. Achieving that and hitting all of those emotional buttons really does make this one of the best games I've ever played. The look, the music, the atmosphere... fuck the reviews, I shed a tear at the end. Sensational game.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby sand4fish » Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:01 pm

This game should be used as a standard test to check people for psychopathic tendencies. To make you worry more about your AI companion well being than anything else is astounding for a videogame. I still hug my dog every time I think of Trico. Damn tearjerker.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby Monkei » Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:15 am

I've got to admit I too had some moments of frustration with this game - controls, camera, and yes, AI. It took about two thirds of the game until I started to appreciate the AI "problems" as really well simulated man-beast-communication-struggles (pretty much agree with Peter about the AI). I love cats, despite never having owned one myself (two of my ex girlfriends did though) and was very impressed by Trico's realistic patterns of behaviour and the way he moves and reacts to everything. The way he doesn't follow each of your orders directly but has his own mind makes him feel more real and much less videogamey. What it also does is making the boy and Trico's friendship more natural and really two-sided.. there's stuff the boy can figure out and do to help them both progress, and there's stuff Trico can figure out and do, and it's great that the player often can't or doesn't have to control that. It actually feels like the other one is also doing his part. Like sometimes I'd just climb on his back, pet him and see if he'd come up with something, some way to climb up or whatever. Just enjoying the ride and trusting him to do his part.
And that ending..
My favourite moment of the game was reaching the top of that final tower.. having climbed all the way to the top of that colossal piece of architecture, bathed in the light of the slowly setting sun, the boy and the beast resting for a moment before attempting to make their final flight to freedom.. fucking brilliant. Kinda simple, yet totally stunning.
This game really is something. Something unique (despite the basic idea still seeming to be a mix of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus). I feel it's gonna stay with me for days at the least, probably weeks to come. And even though I pretty much never play through anything twice anymore (gotta keep getting through that backlog), I feel I'll have to play it again some day. But then again, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll stick with this one special playthrough and keep missing the AI-beast, just like the boy does. When I replayed The Last of Us and Journey I kinda felt it took away from the experience, witnessing that stuff again, repeating it, playing those great moments again without feeling their impact like I did the first time. But we'll see. I'm not sure I can avoid a second playthrough, as I already feel how it's drawing me back.

This game is pure magic.

EDIT: Forgot to mention how beautiful it looks. Loved that great and in many places beautifully subtle use of lighting. Trico looks pretty great, too. It's also the perfect continuation of what Ueda started with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and the best out of those three I think.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby OL » Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:05 pm

I always get the impression that the game started as a really loose concept; sort of like Ueda and his team threw a random idea at the wall, said "what the hell," and just started working without having a super-tight plan in place. And to me, I think that's ultimately the most impressive thing about the game; the fact that it very, very easily could have ended up as a total mess, but instead ended up as this creative, touching little piece of interactive storytelling. The looseness actually adds to its sense of uniqueness. It feels fluid and natural. Trico's AI starts to show its seams a bit closer to the end (as you start to recognize the specific ways he reacts to things), but that doesn't damage the weird sense of wonder you get through the rest of the game as he displays that he practically has a mind of his own, and isn't just a tool that the player orders around.

That being said, as much as I loved the game, I personally don't think it's Ueda's best. Despite having a good amount of emotional impact and all that, it just never felt quite as... I dunno, artistic as his others. Too much narration, too much literal exposition/cutscenes. While his other games had an odd feeling of being like interactive poetry -- where you truly have to glean the details for yourself through visual/audio/environmental clues (making it so that interpretation of the story may vary from person to person) -- this one just feels like a sweet little fairytale. A straightforward story with little to no personal interpretation necessary. That's not a bad thing, that's just what I took away from it. This could almost be a Disney movie, given a bit of extra dialogue.
I personally think Shadow of the Colossus still takes the cake as Ueda's best. A novel concept, a tighter structure, a story whose details are more open for discussion, and, most important of all, just a greater sense of fun than either of the others. SotC is just a blast to play, while TLG seemed like it would be a bit of a slog to replay immediately. Plus, it's got Agro; maybe not as cute and fluffy as Trico, but still an AI companion you can easily gain an attachment to.

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Re: The Last Guardian

Postby sand4fish » Tue Jan 31, 2017 7:42 pm

The narration was sure a sore spot, specially when you are aware that holding R3 (meditation) will give you that hint/narration when truly needed whenever you are stuck. I still believe it was not Ueda's call, given his past works were more subtle about the feature. Guess we can't live anymore in an era of gaming where obvious hand-holding is non-existent. SotC is my favorite Ueda's work as well. Glad I got his autograph before he "exited" the gaming arena. For someone with no prior industry or gaming experience prior to Ico, he sure understands gaming design like a master.
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