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ICO Fans - a new game you might like

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Posts

  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    LewieP wrote: »
    Absolutely, 100%. While improved graphics are always welcome, I will never complain about a game's graphics unless they're worse than Mario 64, because Mario 64 graphics are adequate. IMO, of course.

    When I said it was ugly, I very much meant from a design/artistic standpoint.

    It wouldn't matter so much, but the reason ICO and games like it are so great is because they are so beautiful. ICO's gameplay is really nothing special, but it's just so beautiful I could just walk around the castle all day.

    Now that's a different matter entirely. Based on the teaser, I'm lukewarm about the art/design/whatever you want to call it. Some shots looked amazing, while others seemed strange and out of place.

    Well to me, from a technical standpoint, the graphics are very meh, animation is awful, textures are low res, environmental models are awful, but that is all stuff they could still be working on, so it's not much of a worry.

    As I said, it's the art direction which looks to me like they said "ICO is pretty, we base aspects of our design on ICO" but the result is just really unattractive. That's the main problem.

    LewieP on
  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited June 2007
    LewieP wrote: »
    It wouldn't matter so much, but the reason ICO and games like it are so great is because they are so beautiful. ICO's gameplay is really nothing special, but it's just so beautiful I could just walk around the castle all day.

    Not really. At least, there's more to it than that. ICO and SOTC succeed because their worlds are haunting and compelling and suggest a lot of depth just under the surface in terms of history. Part of this is achieved through beautiful art direction, but part of it is the level design, part of it is the control scheme, and part of it is the way in which the character animates. It's all part of a coherent package, and without all those aspects, the game wouldn't have been nearly as fantastic. With them, though, they created worlds that are fun to simply walk through and observe, even without the gameplay.

    Meanwhile, the gameplay reinforces this desire to simply walk through and observe by having a very minimalist philosophy. There's really not much to do but walk and look for huge portions of the game, especially in SOTC. This down time forces you to breathe in the environment, which gives you time to fully appreciate it.

    If the world wasn't beautiful, the game would fail, because the down time would be interminably boring.

    If the gameplay wasn't so sparse, the game would fail, because you wouldn't have a chance to fully take in your surroundings, and the impact of the world's fallen beauty would be lost.

    If the animations weren't so clean, you wouldn't surrender yourself as completely to the game's story, and the impact of everything else would be muted.

    If the controls didn't feel as natural, you'd spend all your time being pissed off, and you wouldn't give a damn about the rest of it.

    Ico and SotC, though, did succeed in all these areas, and they were designed perfectly such that all these factors reinforced one another. Which is why ithey go beyond being pretty cool games to being works of art.

    As to this new game:

    - It's not beautiful by any stretch.
    - The gameplay doesn't look sparse.
    - The animations are competent at best.
    - Who knows how it controls?

    All it shares with Ico and SotC are a blatantly ripped off character and heavy use of light saturation. If they try to recreate Ico, they're going to fail hard, because this trailer makes it look as if they fail to understand why I&S were so brilliant. If it's just a coincidence, and the game is meant to stand on its own, then maybe it'll be cool. Like I said, the shining-your-light mechanic looks interesting.

    ElJeffe on
    I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    The beauty thing, I'm gonna wait until a better trailer to determine whether or not the art direction is poor.

    Just how sparse the gameplay is seems a little ambiguous at this point. For one, a trailer is going to show off people actually playing the game, rather than people just walking around doin' nothin'. Secondly, the light mechanic seems like it gives you some decent control over just how sparse the gameplay is. From what I can tell, it looks like you can only use the light to complete puzzles, or, if you'd prefer, you can meticulously comb over the environment, using your light to interact with every last pebble to see what kind of results you get. Executed correctly, something like that would give you very similar feelings to ICO and SotC. Honestly, it could create those kind of feelings even moreso, but at that point we're talking a level of execution that I doubt will exist.

    Assuming my view of the game is right, there will be one key difference between ICO and SotC. In the latter two, the game world is, for all intents and purposes, dead. In this game, the game world is just as dead or alive as you want it to be.

    Speed Racer on
  • LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    That's a much better synopsis of my thoughts than I was able to communicate.

    LewieP on
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I think I'm being a bit more optimistic than what's warranted here just because the ideas that seem to be driving the trailer are fantastic, and given developers that know a lot about what they're doing, could easily lead to the creation of an instant classic.

    Speed Racer on
  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited June 2007
    LewieP wrote: »
    That's a much better synopsis of my thoughts than I was able to communicate.

    I spend way more time than is healthy analyzing precisely why games succeed or fail.

    ElJeffe on
    I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
  • SpaceDrakeSpaceDrake Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    JihadJesus wrote: »

    So what you're saying is it's kinda like Sadness (cool concept, no mainstream support) except that the concept came from people who might actually be capable of making enough to create a proof-of-concept demo to gain publisher support?

    I like the concept, but I don't want to get my hopes up over another cool sounding title that has no chance of ever getting released at retail.

    Hell, this IS their proof of concept. I imagine they're using that website to look for publishers. I'm pretty sure that someone will agree to throw some bling at them, it's got enough originality to be worth a try.

    And for my money I like the way it looks. It's still too early to tell what the final product will look like (as I said, who the hell knows what their current budget is), but the concepts and what I see here show some promise.

    SpaceDrake on
    pa_sig.jpg
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    ElJeffe wrote: »
    LewieP wrote: »
    That's a much better synopsis of my thoughts than I was able to communicate.

    I spend way more time than is healthy analyzing precisely why games succeed or fail.

    WELCOME TO THE INTERNET!

    darleysam on
    forumsig.png
  • DusdaDusda is ashamed of this post SLC, UTRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Looks potentially impressive. I'm sure the graphics will clean up before they do any real marketing and all that.

    Dusda on
    and this sig. and this twitch stream.
  • Unco-ordinatedUnco-ordinated NZRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    JihadJesus wrote: »

    So what you're saying is it's kinda like Sadness (cool concept, no mainstream support) except that the concept came from people who might actually be capable of making enough to create a proof-of-concept demo to gain publisher support?

    I like the concept, but I don't want to get my hopes up over another cool sounding title that has no chance of ever getting released at retail.

    Hell, this IS their proof of concept. I imagine they're using that website to look for publishers. I'm pretty sure that someone will agree to throw some bling at them, it's got enough originality to be worth a try.

    And for my money I like the way it looks. It's still too early to tell what the final product will look like (as I said, who the hell knows what their current budget is), but the concepts and what I see here show some promise.

    Yep, that was my first thought too (well the concept part, not it looking good). They're fishing for publishers and in all likelyhood, probably won't end up getting one.

    Unco-ordinated on
    Steam ID - LiquidSolid170 | PSN ID - LiquidSolid
  • VeganVegan Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    You make 3D any worse than that, and it starts to literally hurt your eyes. Well, mine anyway.

    I hear this statement a lot. Anyone who claims that certain "bad" graphics literally hurt their eyes is merely crying for attention.

    Vegan on
    steam_sig.png
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    What? No, seriously. Starfox for the SNES makes my eyes sore and discombobulates the hell out of me.

    Though it might have more to do with the obnoxious orange and yellow flashing everywhere. My bet is that both play a factor.

    Speed Racer on
  • DeMoNDeMoN twitch.tv/toxic_cizzle Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I can't play ocarina of time for extended periods because it's kinda choppy and makes my head hurt.

    DeMoN on
    Steam id : Toxic Cizzle
    *TyCart*_banner.jpg
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Vegan wrote: »
    You make 3D any worse than that, and it starts to literally hurt your eyes. Well, mine anyway.

    I hear this statement a lot. Anyone who claims that certain "bad" graphics literally hurt their eyes is merely crying for attention.

    Try playing System Shock 1.

    Rook on
  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    And Perfect Dark too. After an hour or so, I can no longer tell if my character has been punched.

    jothki on
  • LavaKnightLavaKnight Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I really don't get the bad graphics vibe. The character is really poorly animated, but the world and environment looks pretty nice, and the lighting effects are pretty good.

    LavaKnight on
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I can sympathize with the bad graphics vibe. It looks like an early GameCube game at best, and at worst a pretty early PS2 game.

    I think a lot of people are complaining more about the art direction than the graphics themselves, anyway.

    Speed Racer on
  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    The art direction's fine when the world's in darkness, and hideous when it's in daylight.
    I'll be watching this one, though.

    Xagarath on
  • GyralGyral Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I like the idea behind the gameplay, but the animation needs some polishing. The graphics are okay, even if a bit too garish during the day.

    Gyral on
    25t9pjnmqicf.jpg
  • SpaceDrakeSpaceDrake Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    JihadJesus wrote: »

    So what you're saying is it's kinda like Sadness (cool concept, no mainstream support) except that the concept came from people who might actually be capable of making enough to create a proof-of-concept demo to gain publisher support?

    I like the concept, but I don't want to get my hopes up over another cool sounding title that has no chance of ever getting released at retail.

    Hell, this IS their proof of concept. I imagine they're using that website to look for publishers. I'm pretty sure that someone will agree to throw some bling at them, it's got enough originality to be worth a try.

    And for my money I like the way it looks. It's still too early to tell what the final product will look like (as I said, who the hell knows what their current budget is), but the concepts and what I see here show some promise.

    Yep, that was my first thought too (well the concept part, not it looking good). They're fishing for publishers and in all likelyhood, probably won't end up getting one.

    And why precisely won't they be getting one? Because it's not on the PS3? :|

    If anything Wii publishers are looking for stuff like this when it's presented by people who can actually produce results, I.E. those videos from a working prototype.

    SpaceDrake on
    pa_sig.jpg
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2007
    Game looks awesome, and I pray they get some funding, because I want to fucking play it.

    And it amazes me how many people in this thread can't spot an alpha build. Yeah, it looks like shit. It's also probably two or three years off, so of course it's going to look like shit.

    Bionic Monkey on
    sig_megas_armed.jpg
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    My only real complaint is that the colors could stand to be a tad more muted during "happy crazy sunshine" time. But then, that seems to go against the idea of restoring color and vibrancy to the world.

    Still though, pre- and post-light worlds clash something awful.

    Speed Racer on
  • NevaNeva Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    JihadJesus wrote: »

    So what you're saying is it's kinda like Sadness (cool concept, no mainstream support) except that the concept came from people who might actually be capable of making enough to create a proof-of-concept demo to gain publisher support?

    I like the concept, but I don't want to get my hopes up over another cool sounding title that has no chance of ever getting released at retail.

    Hell, this IS their proof of concept. I imagine they're using that website to look for publishers. I'm pretty sure that someone will agree to throw some bling at them, it's got enough originality to be worth a try.

    And for my money I like the way it looks. It's still too early to tell what the final product will look like (as I said, who the hell knows what their current budget is), but the concepts and what I see here show some promise.

    Yep, that was my first thought too (well the concept part, not it looking good). They're fishing for publishers and in all likelyhood, probably won't end up getting one.

    And why precisely won't they be getting one? Because it's not on the PS3? :|

    If anything Wii publishers are looking for stuff like this when it's presented by people who can actually produce results, I.E. those videos from a working prototype.

    I probably won't get it because the gameplay is as deep as pointing a flashlight at things.

    Also because it's not on the PS3.

    Neva on
    SC2 Beta: Neva.ling

    "Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I wish I knew if you were kidding or not.

    Speed Racer on
  • NevaNeva Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I wish I knew if you were kidding or not.

    I was kidding. I don't even own a PS3.

    Neva on
    SC2 Beta: Neva.ling

    "Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
  • GoombaGoomba __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2007
    Neva wrote: »
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    SpaceDrake wrote: »
    JihadJesus wrote: »

    So what you're saying is it's kinda like Sadness (cool concept, no mainstream support) except that the concept came from people who might actually be capable of making enough to create a proof-of-concept demo to gain publisher support?

    I like the concept, but I don't want to get my hopes up over another cool sounding title that has no chance of ever getting released at retail.

    Hell, this IS their proof of concept. I imagine they're using that website to look for publishers. I'm pretty sure that someone will agree to throw some bling at them, it's got enough originality to be worth a try.

    And for my money I like the way it looks. It's still too early to tell what the final product will look like (as I said, who the hell knows what their current budget is), but the concepts and what I see here show some promise.

    Yep, that was my first thought too (well the concept part, not it looking good). They're fishing for publishers and in all likelyhood, probably won't end up getting one.

    And why precisely won't they be getting one? Because it's not on the PS3? :|

    If anything Wii publishers are looking for stuff like this when it's presented by people who can actually produce results, I.E. those videos from a working prototype.

    I probably won't get it because the gameplay is as deep as pointing a flashlight at things.

    Also because it's not on the PS3.
    Same for me, but mostly the PS3 part. This game is clearly made for the PS3.

    Goomba on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neva wrote: »
    I wish I knew if you were kidding or not.

    I was kidding. I don't even own a PS3.

    I was referring more to the "gameplay isn't more than shining a light at things" comment.

    I have a fucking flood of counterexamples just waiting for you to say that you were serious.

    Speed Racer on
  • NevaNeva Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neva wrote: »
    I wish I knew if you were kidding or not.

    I was kidding. I don't even own a PS3.

    I was referring more to the "gameplay isn't more than shining a light at things" comment.

    I have a fucking flood of counterexamples just waiting for you to say that you were serious.

    All the counterexamples in the world won't make pointing a light at things fun. Well sometimes I keep a flash light at my desk so I can shine it at things. I'm not sure if I do that for fun though.

    Neva on
    SC2 Beta: Neva.ling

    "Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
  • JihadJesusJihadJesus Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neva wrote: »
    Neva wrote: »
    I wish I knew if you were kidding or not.

    I was kidding. I don't even own a PS3.

    I was referring more to the "gameplay isn't more than shining a light at things" comment.

    I have a fucking flood of counterexamples just waiting for you to say that you were serious.

    All the counterexamples in the world won't make pointing a light at things fun. Well sometimes I keep a flash light at my desk so I can shine it at things. I'm not sure if I do that for fun though.
    Ico: hauling a worthless girl around a mostly deserted castle
    SotC: climbing on big dudes
    Katamari: rolling stuff
    etc

    Every game can be made to sound stupid if you reduce it to that level of description. That doesn't mean it is stupid - that depends on how the developers actually use the basic mechanic, whether it involves swords or flashlights or god damn beach balls.

    JihadJesus on
  • GoombaGoomba __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2007
    You're implying that there is more to this game other than pointing at stuff. I didn't see anything to hint at that at all in the video.

    Goomba on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Making shit come to life is more than pointing at stuff.

    Speed Racer on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2007
    Goomba wrote: »
    You're implying that there is more to this game other than pointing at stuff. I didn't see anything to hint at that at all in the video.

    Yeah, I'm sure there aren't puzzles or any shit like that. Just point, point, point, roll credits.

    Bionic Monkey on
    sig_megas_armed.jpg
  • GlalGlal AiredaleRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Rook wrote: »
    Vegan wrote: »
    You make 3D any worse than that, and it starts to literally hurt your eyes. Well, mine anyway.
    I hear this statement a lot. Anyone who claims that certain "bad" graphics literally hurt their eyes is merely crying for attention.
    Try playing System Shock 1.
    94718869600oq6.gif

    It looks just fine to me. :|

    Glal on
  • GoombaGoomba __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2007
    Making shit come to life is more than pointing at stuff.
    It's not if all yuo do is point at shit to make them come to life.

    I guess there might be puzzles, yeah, but stillll.

    Goomba on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Just jumping isn't much of a game.

    I guess there might be gaps and different enemies to jump over or on, yeah, but still.

    Speed Racer on
  • GoombaGoomba __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2007
    Just jumping isn't much of a game.

    I guess there might be gaps and different enemies to jump over or on, yeah, but still.
    Mario is actually a pretty lame game. My least favorite.

    Goomba on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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