SCEE sits down with the creators of ICO for a Q&A session explaining why their game must not be missed.
Q: Why is the ‘mood’ of ICO so different from most other games on the market? What prompted the more contemplative style that ICO entails?
A: It’s often said that ICO appears to be influenced by movies. But we rather feel its style is more documentary and nonfictional. Though some plots and in-between explanations are prepared in the game, they are not the main things; we’d like players to enjoy the environment they are in. This attitude would prove the significance why ICO uses real-time graphical expressions. Maybe contemplative, but at the same time ICO entails a solid goal; you must escape from the castle, that is the player’s motive.
Q: Although ICO looks to be more about mood and gameplay than anything else, it definitely does a few things that push the PS2 farther than most games. Can you give some examples that we may not know about yet?
A: Expressions of light and shadow. ICO describes not only lights themselves; lens reflection and flare, but also their reactions towards the objects in the atmosphere. To give an example, a stage floor gets gradually filled with light or shadow, sometimes in combination. Adjusting sets of lighting is not good enough to depict the realistic light and shadow.
Q: Just how big is the game world (centred around the castle) in ICO? How much play-time, roughly, will most players get out of it?
A: It usually takes at least 10 hours for the first play-through.
Q: How about the ‘pick up and play’ qualities of the game? Is this one that people are going to have to decipher, or will most be able to jump into the game and do well without outside instruction?
A: We would say the latter.
Q: The game’s graphical style and world design is as unique as its mood. Where did the inspiration come from, other than the obvious European influences?
A: We aimed at fusion between European scenery and that of Japanese rural or suburban towns. Design-wise, we laid stress upon ICO’s picturesque quality in colours and density.
Q: What prompted the ‘language barrier’ in the game, where Yorda and Ico speak entirely different languages? Was it done for gameplay reasons or more because of the style?
A: The main character never understands what Yorda says. The reason why we set up the language barrier is that we would not be able to express 16 years old Yorda’s AI naturally, even if we used the maximum power of the PS2 hardware ability. If she speaks eloquently with so much ready-text, the player cannot help but feel it sounds cheap. Also we wanted to fill the gap between the cinematic scenes and the gameplay in characters’ “acting.” So we concluded that subtle expressions such as holding hands and calling names are more natural ways of communication. And it somehow added philosophical meanings.
Q: What sort of added bonuses, if any, will there be in the game for the hardcore ‘completist’ player?
A: There will be some great added features in the PAL version.
Q: What kinds of people are you hoping to entice with ICO? It’s definitely a low-key title compared to other Sony releases; just who is it angled at?
A: Those who feel hesitant towards or bewildered by complicated games.
Q: Does the difficulty of the game adapt to the player’s skill level, or is it at a set level (or levels)?
A: It is at a set level.
Q: Finally, any chance of some news on upcoming projects from the same folks?
A: We can’t tell you now, however, we’d like to create games with more interactive and human touch.
