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==Development History== |
==Development History== |
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| − | [[Image:IcoEnemyConcepts.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The enemies in ''[[Ico]]'' were originally designed to be very similar to the armored knights in ''The Last Guardian''. These foes were easily able to overpower Ico (top row), but he could use the environment to gain an advantage over them by striking from a |
+ | [[Image:IcoEnemyConcepts.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The enemies in ''[[Ico]]'' were originally designed to be very similar to the armored knights in ''The Last Guardian''. These foes were easily able to overpower Ico (top row), but he could use the environment to gain an advantage over them by striking from a low or high position (middle row). Ico could then subdue and restrain these foes (bottom row), making the way forward safe at last.]] |
The intriguing backstory behind the development of the armored knights goes all the way back to ''[[Ico]]''. During that game's development, the [[Queen]]'s [[castle]] was inhabited not by [[shadow creatures]], but by imposing knights with horned helmets. These foes would have proved formidable and challenging, since Ico could not hope to directly match the strength of a fully-grown man. He would have to use the castle's own complex architecture to gain an advantage, by attacking them from high or low ground where he could not be reached as easily. |
The intriguing backstory behind the development of the armored knights goes all the way back to ''[[Ico]]''. During that game's development, the [[Queen]]'s [[castle]] was inhabited not by [[shadow creatures]], but by imposing knights with horned helmets. These foes would have proved formidable and challenging, since Ico could not hope to directly match the strength of a fully-grown man. He would have to use the castle's own complex architecture to gain an advantage, by attacking them from high or low ground where he could not be reached as easily. |
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Revision as of 01:45, 4 September 2009
The boy attempts to sidle along a wall to avoid one of his mysterious pursuers.
Many ominous armored knights stand in the way of the boy in The Last Guardian. Whether they are pursuing him or Trico is unclear; though they pose little threat to the latter, the boy must be careful around them. Sneaking by them is one option, but when that fails (and when Trico cannot protect him), the boy must fend for himself - either directly or by using the environment to his advantage.
The knights may not even be human, as they exhibit a few interesting behaviors in the trailer; in one scene, the boy climbs up a length of chain while two knights simply stand by and watch as he ascends, much like the shadow creatures of the two previous games.
The armor used by the knights is somewhat bird-like, having beaks, glowing eyes, and feather-like plating.
Development History
The enemies in Ico were originally designed to be very similar to the armored knights in The Last Guardian. These foes were easily able to overpower Ico (top row), but he could use the environment to gain an advantage over them by striking from a low or high position (middle row). Ico could then subdue and restrain these foes (bottom row), making the way forward safe at last.
The intriguing backstory behind the development of the armored knights goes all the way back to Ico. During that game's development, the Queen's castle was inhabited not by shadow creatures, but by imposing knights with horned helmets. These foes would have proved formidable and challenging, since Ico could not hope to directly match the strength of a fully-grown man. He would have to use the castle's own complex architecture to gain an advantage, by attacking them from high or low ground where he could not be reached as easily.
The design was scrapped for several reasons. In order for this system to work, the castle would have had to be designed in such a way that there would always be a place where Ico could go to gain an advantage in attacking a knight more safely, and in a way where a knight could not simply follow him to this place. In addition, the knights did not fit with the castle and its shadowy queen; they were more in line with Ico's captors (and thus the familiar, human world beyond) than anything as mysterious than the Queen. Shadow creatures had none of these problems. They could materialize from any surface into any environment, they were challenging to Ico without being overpowered, and they were entirely believable as minions to the enigmatic Queen.
The Last Guardian, however, sees the return of these knights, who now share aspects of both the conceptual and finalized enemies of Ico. They do not appear to be as strong as Ico's knights, but they feel more authentic in this world. With a few revisions on an old concept, the knights are now just enough of an obstacle to pose a creative challenge without being overpowered. Though much about these foes remains a mystery, we do at least know how they came to be.
