Dune is the developer name given to the unused arena of Worm, one of the unused colossi.
Description[]
The battleground was set inside of a circular sand pit that was slightly wider than the 8th colossus' Underground coliseum, in the middle of a desert surrounded by dunes.
No textures from the main texture segment of the arena include man-made objects. However, a separate texseg related to Dune and Parthenon named "dune_par_erea_gate" does, listing textures commonly found in temples from the arenas of the 1st and 6th colossi, and a texture named "oh_taimatsu" (fire pillar). This same texture is also in Valley and is presumed to be the same texture used in ICO's fire pillars.
"Gate" areas typically do not indicate that the location had a literal gate, but rather a separate model of a path leading to the arena. Examples of these include the passages to the 8th colossus' arena and the inner area of the 15th colossus' Parthenon with the fallen pillar, which is named "parthenon_area_gate".
The shapes of Dune and the "dune_par_erea_gate" passage can both be seen in a picture with a bird's-eye view of the general area from the Japanese magazine CG World.[1]
Location[]
Dune was placed in an early version of quadrant G1, before it was inhabited by the 15th colossus, as it used to be located in H1.
An interview with the development staff of Shadow of the Colossus released by the Japanese graphical design company CG World[2][3] contains a drawn bird's-eye view map showing, among other things, the rough shape of the G1 quadrant before the 15th colossus was moved into the site. The map proves that G1 used to consist of a large, circular pit encircled by sand dunes, with a narrow pathway, or 'gate', connecting it to H1 (Parthenon) around the southeast. Those features are highly consistent with what is known about the Worm colossus and its arena, as explained above.
Trivia[]
- Worm's arena was previously speculated to have been located at B2 or areas near it, due to some remnants of land being found in the Preview and earlier versions of the game. It was debunked however, when it was discovered that those same types of lands existed all across the map; as it can be seen in early footage from the Nico bonus DVD, which shows the same cliffs and ground in the F5 quadrant, near the entrance to the 1st colossus' arena. The same type of land as B2 can also be seen in G0.
- An old ambient texture of 'G2' (Poseidon's Lake) found in earlier versions of the game shows an extension of the desert connecting to F2, F1 and G1; with what appears to be a border of the earlier version of the G1 quadrant back when it housed Worm. No feature like this exists in any actual model from the versions available, and it can be assumed that the texture is from much earlier in development.
- Huge dunes can be seen in the final version of G1, making a circle around a Save Shrine. This is most likely a memento of the time when Worm lived in the quadrant which now houses the 15th colossus.
- Unlike the old arena, the dunes are now much closer together, the hole in the middle was replaced with a shrine, and the dunes themselves now have proper textures (the dune texture did not exist beforehand).
- The image from CG World magazine showing nine quadrants of two different versions of the map seems to separate normal explorable locations and colossi arenas by having them be red and blue in color respectively. In the left image the arenas in blue are: Proto, Poseidon's Lake and Parthenon. In the right image the arenas in blue are: Proto, Canyon, Poseidon's Lake, Leo's Cave and Parthenon. Strangely, Dune isn't blue. This could mean that by this point Worm was already removed from the game.
Gallery[]
The game | ICO ( Demo · Revisions from U.S. version · Ico HD ) | |
Characters | Ico · Yorda · The Queen · Shadows · Shinkan | |
The Castle | Idol Gates · Yorda's language · Saving Benches Altar • Warehouse • Spiral Stairs • Old Bridge • Stairs • Trolley 1 • Trolley 2 • Crane • Chandelier • Drawbridge • Main Gate • Graveyard • Dark Room • Sunbeams • Stone Pillar • East Crag • East Arena • East Idol Stairs • East Reflector • Waterfall • Sluice • Cogwheel • Gondola • Water Tower • West Crag • West Arena • West Idol Stairs • West Reflector • Cage • Pipe • Elevator • Wharf • Queen's Room • Sandy Beach | |
Other Media | Ico ~Melody in the Mist~ · Official Game Guide · Ico: Castle in the Mist |
Characters | Wander · Mono · Agro · Dormin · Lord Emon · Guards · Shadows |
---|---|
Colossi | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI |
Locations | The Forbidden Lands · Shrine of Worship · Colossus Arenas |
Main Items | Power-ups (Lizards · Fruit) · Weapons (Ancient Sword · Sword of the Sun · Queen’s Sword · Sword of Dormin · Bow & Arrow · Ancient Bow · Harpoon of Thunder · Life Sword) · Collectibles (Relics) |
Gameplay | Hard Mode · Save shrines · Time Attack · Reminiscence Mode · Watermellon · Barrel |
Media | Roar of the Earth (OST) · Official Art and Guide Book · Nico Bonus DVD · Film · Interview Archive |
Releases | OPM Demo · PS2 original · PS3 remaster · PS4 remake · Credits |
Early Builds | Preview version · PSU Preview version · E3 Demo |
Unused Content | Unused Colossi · Colossus Test Stages · Unused Locations · Beta Mountains · Development Timeline of Shadow of the Colossus |
References[]
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/File:New%26OldMaps.jpg | Map showing the shapes of Dune and the "dune_par_erea_gate" passage from the CG World magazine.
- ↑ https://teamico.fandom.com/wiki/Interview_Archive#Shadow_of_the_Colossus | Interview Archive.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111106103505/http://www.wgn.co.jp/store/dat/4088/ | CGWORLD - Vol. 88