The Last Guardian trailer analyzed in depth

by Jem Alexander { Jun 23rd 2009 at 9:30PM }

What are gamers, if not obsessive? It's the reason collector's editions and gotta-catch-em-all games like Pokemon exist. Another example of our obsessive nature? Overanalysis. Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has picked apart Team Ico's The Last Guardian trailer in an effort to determine whether the footage was taken in-game or not. The video rundown (which you can view on Eurogamer) is certainly interesting, particularly to those with some knowledge of 3D artistry. Even if not, at least it's an excuse to watch the trailer again.

The final say: Digital Foundry just doesn't know whether all the footage is in-game or not, as "some scenes appear to have anti-aliasing, while others have none at all. Some scenes are confirmed 720p, while others -- due to the compression of the video asset -- are much more difficult to discern." Tricksy. We'll no doubt find out once we see more of the game in action. Which will be soon, right? Please?

Tags: analysis, the-last-guardian, trailer

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Ridgecity @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:38PM

I think this will will one of the most beautiful games ever. Reminds of The Neverending Story".

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:43PM

It will be like if Stanley Kubrick had directed The Neverending Story.

Ridgecity @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:47PM

forgot to say even if the game does some tricks with video, I thinks it's fair if the illusion is there. I'm sure those feathers would be pretty taxing for the PS3 the way they look on the trailer to have that frame rate, in game they would have to be toned down, as the video says, the kid looks like their previous characters while the whole game looks too real.

Whatever the case I'm buying a PS3 just for this game.

BananaBoat @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:23PM

In an interview with the creator, it was revealed that the feathers have their own individual physics, which will interact with the wind in the game world (among other things, like being hit with an arrow, etc). Without watching the analysis (I'll do that shortly) I can say that I think a lot of the footage is in game. Certainly the area where the boy is sneaking past a guard looks as if it is in game, as does the part where Toriko is chomping the barrel (in the same interview, he mentioned that everything will be physics based, instead of pre-animated. He mentioned the barrel as an example).

At the time, SOTC was a technical marvel compared to everything else that had come out on the PS2. I have every confidence that Team Ico will push the graphical capability of the PS3 in various ways.

PR0F3TA @ Jun 24th 2009 12:31PM

@ Ashitaka

you just made my day with that post. i forgot how deep it was...

Heavytoka @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:38PM

I've been waiting for this game forever it seems like lol

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:40PM

March 2011

Markez @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:41PM

I know this isn't a popular opinion but I'm going to throw it out there anyway... So far, to me, it looks like a next gen Ico. Not there's anything wrong with that, but I'm not seeing or understanding the new strides they're making in gameplay mechanics? Can someone help me out?

Akamaru @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:44PM

Because of all the gameplay footage you've seen? Hows about we wait until more actual gameplay mechanics are shown before we troll them.

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:45PM

Oh yeah? And you're looking like a last-gen Jabba The Hutt.

Markez @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:48PM

Yeah, thanks kids. I was being serious. From what I've seen, it looks like the gameplay mechanics are similar to Ico, with the leader helping the follower so to speak. Yes, footage thus far has been minimal. I was actually trying to see if anyone had any input as to what the gameplay would be like on this new one.

sony boy @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:51PM

but...but...it has a humoungousorous cute kitty which will likely die later on...*wipes off tears*

the big griffin could add new gameplay mechanics,tho. who knows.

Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:52PM

I don't think anyone knows anything about the gameplay. It's Team Ico, whatever they do will feel fresh, they are just such a unique studio.

Random G @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:00PM

I sure we'll be doing a lot of exploring as the boy, as well as the cat dragon. I just hope that both parts are equally fun.

Hopefully, it won't be like the King Kong game. I had to suffer through the human levels just to play as Kong.

Syncognition @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:10PM

I would imagine that the gameplay mechanics would be more of a blend of Shadow of the Colossus and Ico. In Ico, your character basically has to escort a helpless puppet around and solve puzzles. In SotC, much of the fights were really puzzles that had to be solved by figuring out what the trick was to coax the colossus into doing a specific behavior that would allow you to defeat it.

I think with the lack of a human companion in this game, we are going to find that the creature basically acts like an animal with certain behavioral patterns and you'll have to do specific actions in order to coax the creature (as in SotC) into doing what is required to progress cooperatively through a puzzle environment (as in Ico). There is evidence of this in the fact that the child appears to be rewarding the creature for completing specific tasks, like how a dog owner gives treats when their dog successfully completes a trick or command.

When you think about it for a minute, it really seems like the only natural progression for the series. Basically team Ico appears to have been training us to solve puzzles cooperatively with a companion character and manipulate creature AI with their previous two games, so the third should take a step forward in both of those concepts.

BananaBoat @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:32PM

I think the main thing that The Last Guardian will bring over Ico is that the antagonists of the game will be more than fairly mindless drones that do one task over and over until you kill them. Trying to get through the world, while dodging and/or subverting sentient (human it seems) enemies should be more of a challenge than it was in Ico.

There is a scene in the beginning of SOTC where Wander holds up his sword and easily takes care of the shadow beings (or whatever their official English name is). Contrasted with how difficult it was to take care of them with the stick in Ico, it seemed like they were saying right from the start of SOTC that you wouldn't have to worry about those annoying pests in SOTC, and that the protagonist that time around was a man, compared to Ico (who was obviously a boy). In TLG however, it seems as if simply smacking the human (and heavily armed/armored) opponents with a stick isn't going to cut it. I'm hoping that you'll have to rely on Toriko in order to smartly get around them, or to use the environment in order to get rid of them.

(I'm excited to know what time frame the game is set in within the universe. I'd assume it is after SOTC since the humans have what appears to be metal armor, compared to the cloth armor in SOTC. The fact that I'm nerding out over the lore implications isn't lost on me)

PR0F3TA @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:36PM

@ Syncognition

wow man, nice theory on the gameplay... here is hoping it turns that good.

@ Markez

smh...

Ashitaka @ Jun 24th 2009 9:04AM

@ BananaBoat

Actually I'm inclined to believe that the Last Guardian is a prequel to SotC and that its story will supposedly indicate:
- How the architecture and the shrines where you save in SotC are built.
- How the ancient, powerful civilization that lives in this land (depicted by the humans wearing metal armour) gets wiped out.
- How the land turns into the Forbidden Land of SotC.
- How the Colossus are created/Dormin is sealed.
- Who the Last Guardian is (Toriko is a possibility).
- What the Last Guardian guards (my bet is that it guards the entrance to the Forbidden Land and thus it guards the 16 Colossus).
- How the Last Guardian dies/disappears of the Forbidden Land.

BananaBoat @ Jun 24th 2009 11:05AM

@ashitaka

That is certainly a good theory. If it turns out to be true, I'd wonder why the later civilizations didn't use metal armor, and reverted to cloth armor instead. Then again, as you mentioned, it could just be that the civilization was lost after the events that led to the forbidden land becoming forbidden, or it could be that the new god (or deity) gives his/her followers such power that they don't need armor.

As much as I'm hoping for great gameplay, I'm also hoping for a little more insight into this unspoiled universe (luckily the first two games didn't sell like Halo, so no one bothered exploiting the franchise)

ArchiGamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:43PM

I predict an emotional ending that make cry like a little girl...

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:44PM

the kitty-dragon gets hungry and eats the kid

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:46PM

I predict seeing this very comment every single time this game is mentioned here on joystiq, and so far I'm right.

Unplugged @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:47PM

I predict something incredibly sad and emotional the makes me cry like a little girl followed by a happy ending that makes me cry like a little girl.

Or I could just cry like a little girl during the whole game.

deanb @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:48PM

The kid get's hungry and eats the Kitty-Dragon.

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:50PM

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/8/

You know it's true.

U U D D L R L R B A SELECT START @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:20PM

I predict this prediction in the comment board of every posted update on this game.

Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:20PM

the kid and the puppy dragon both get hungry and go to mcdonalds, but that doesn't satisfy them, so they eat themselves.

Duke @ Jun 24th 2009 12:57PM

Zerokku - that pretty much sums up what we all know. I'm hoping the kid dies!

cielo @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:50PM

This is going to suck. What is this Free Willy? Natal will pwn this

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:53PM

Cry Moar

WiredKnight @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:56PM

Obvious troll is obvious.

Markez @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:57PM

The worst part is that this idiot's original comment doesn't even make any sense. It's like saying Totino's Pizza Rolls are going to own your mom's potato pancakes, or that Jimmy Stewart is going to work over Terrell Owens this season.

coffins outside the door @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:58PM

Isn't Natal a way to play games, not a game itself?

ArchiGamer @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:03PM

WTF? That comment doesn't even make sense.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:33PM

I'll bite, just for funsies.

Yes, something that allows you to dance around swatting virtual dodgeballs will clearly be better than an actual game...and this is coming from someone who hates playing team ico games.

Ashitaka @ Jun 24th 2009 9:13AM

@ Coffins

Whaaa? Natal is a way to play videogames? I thought it was just a way to show what the bottom of an avatar shoe looks like!

Well BAM! There it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDzXqK4fh-A

deanb @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:50PM

Try to watch read the notes and watch the trailer for what its commenting on is really hard, had to stop n replay it alot.
Either way it all looks beautiful, so who cares what effects they've done to it.

Jesus (PSN: Luttdawg) @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:56PM

You sound cranky. Did you and Master Chief run out of lube?

WiredKnight @ Jun 23rd 2009 9:57PM

I wouldn't be surprised if the trailer was made of both cg and in-game cinematics.

Evi1d33d @ Jun 23rd 2009 10:37PM

I think the flaws in the graphics (pointed out by the commentary) shows that it's rendered realtime by the still in development game engine.

BananaBoat @ Jun 23rd 2009 11:16PM

@Evi1d33d

Those are my thoughts exactly. Even if some of the trailer is showing cut-scenes, they are most likely in engine, which means that they are being rendered in real time. That the same trailer exists (but with lesser graphics) tells me that it's most likely running in-engine, and that the graphics have simply improved since the older trailer. Why would they go through the hassle of animating two nearly identical trailers?

I love this kind of analysis, but there are a couple of things that need to be said regarding it. The first is that the PS3 is like last-gen's buff PC gaming rig. It's not going to be able to run everything at maximum (16x crazy hybrid AA, and HDR, and 16x AS, and etc etc). There is always going to be something to pick out and gripe about, even in the finished product, but that doesn't detract from the overall merit of the graphics (I'm sure they've got all of those problems nixxed...on the buff as hell PC's the game is being developed on :P). The second thing to be remembered is that the game has gone from what is seen in the first trailer, to what is seen in the E3 trailer, in one years time. With that kind of a leap in one year, one can only imagine what the game will look like with another year in the oven.

Need...game....now.....