Nerd Cubed mentioned in his video on The Last Guardian that the mixed reviews were a bit odd because the typical game reviews from places that focus almost entirely on gaming were more negative whereas the reviews from non-typical sources were mostly positive. He said it was because the people trying to play the game like a game, focusing only on completing the objective and nothing else, weren't enjoying it as much as the people who don't play a lot of games and therefore played more like a pet simulator. The pet simulator people established a stronger bond with Trico, so when it came time to complete the objectives Trico was much more responsive and the game was more enjoyable.
5:54 is brilliant, Trico cares more about the boy than the rules of the system he is in. Thanks for making these, I learn a lot from your analysis Mark.
@@telefonbarmann4514 I'm guessing it's not a bug but the level of your relationship didn't reach the required amount, or to put it simply and harsh like other people "Seems like you didn't take care of Trico enough"
@@shunkazami6767 I'm pretty sure i picked every single spear out of him and calmed him when stressed. He was really responsive too..control wise. maybe i didn't stand in the exact right spot. but he jumped after i disposed the two mirrors. That was quite fiddley though.^^
@@telefonbarmann4514 I hadn't had this happen to me in my 3 playthroughs, but this might be because I was fast enough to bump both soldiers before getting caught
I legitimately got goosebumps when Trico jumps into the guards to save you despite the shield, and that's just from watching this video. The impact after spending hours playing the game must be phenomenal.
That's actually really interesting about the moment where Trico 'breaks the rules', because there's a very clear point in the story where that happens anyway. Cool to see that this stuff can happen before predetermined story beats. I definitely think TLG will be viewed with a more universal reverence once more time has passed and more little easter eggs like this have been discovered. Dope video as always man!
Great work as always! I'm usually a stickler for smooth mechanics and tight technical presentation, but despite The Last Guardian's fumblings in these areas, I have to admit that it completely won me over. Trico is easily one of the most incredible video game creations of all time. I've never seen a game come even close to simulating a living creature as well as TLG does, and it's a monumental achievement. More than that, I love that you focused on the developer's choice to make the game potentially frustrating to play. I LOVE It when developers are bold enough to do this sort of thing - to not bow to the idea that "fun" (in the traditional sense) is the end-all-be-all of game design, but to see that there is so much more that can be expressed through systems. This is one of the best games I've ever played.
I was going to post something similar, but you've summed up my thoughts. The Last Guardian is easily the greatest, most resonating game I've played in the past decade. Just astounding.
Daniel King I agree Daniel. I just finished the game yesterday's and it will stick with me for a very long time. It's probably the most memorable gaming experience I've had this generation. My dog was staring at me as the game finished and as I openly wept. No other game or movie brought me to tears the way The Last Guardian did. Truly a remarkable experience.
Consistently excellent work. The idea of games being more than just "tight controls" or "good platforming" is something I really believe in and you conveyed that point excellently. I'm playing through TLG right now and even though not everything is working for me on every level, I'm glad to see people try these sort of unconventional approaches to game design. I mean I love Platinum games, Doom, Titanfall etc. but I also love that it's not all we have
Hey! So, if you're wondering about spoilers: There are no significant story spoilers in this video. There's nothing about the ending and no footage from the second half of the game. But if you want to go in completely fresh then come back later. I discuss some nice mechanical surprises that you might prefer to see first hand. Also, I haven't forgotten about Boss Keys! The episode on Twilight Princess will be the next video on this channel. Subscribe and hit the little bell icon to be notified as soon as it lands. Cheers, Mark
Mark Brown I had to leave the game industry for personal reasons, and Majin was the last game I worked on. I'm glad you liked it. Your videos make me want to go back... if only Japanese dev companies paid a living wage... *sigh*
Dude I sheared a tear with that, I have never play Last guardian but that concept of breaking the mechanic, That is so powerfull... Thanks for sharing.
6:06 I almost cried thanks to this. Yeah, I might need to play this game. There could not be a larger contrast between the storytelling of the Japanese and Western games mentioned. And I know which one I love.
Lol what? You can love both western AND Japanese storytelling. You don’t need to shove out one for the other and there’s been plenty of times when they’ve crossed and done things that are similar as not every Japanese and western developer is the same! There’s not a “larGeR coNtRasT” AT ALL between the two, it just DEPENDS on which developer and person who makes whatever they make, that’s it! Stop trying to make everything a competition in the worst way, because you’re misrepresenting what’s actually occurring for every single developer and writer out there!
In my mind when someone says "Trico is uncooperative" its the same as someone saying "Bloodborne is too hard!" (I know Dark Souls is the more common example but I've only played Bloodborne). Bloodborne is hard but it only reaches cruel levels if the player refuses to understand what the game is telling them. I remember playing Bloodborne and being the exact same and so I stopped playing in a fit of rage. Then about a month later I began to REALLY understand what it was telling me, the little noises, the true give and take of different weapon forms and so on. I learned the language of Bloodborne and was rewarded when I understood it. The Last Guardian is the exact same in my eyes. I would wait for Trico to catch up, I would take time between instructions to not confuse them and would reward it would food and belly rubs. By near the end of the game Trico became like a trained dog, they would sit when I told them, catch all barrels when I threw them and know what I wanted when I pointed out my commands. It was rewarding to train a creature that at the beginning should have eaten me into a guardian. To me The Last Guardian was my game of the year. I formed an emotional attachment to an AI that was realistic, intelligent and investing. Having to be a little more patient is more than a fair trade off. Though in a quick note the button reminders and camera can suck a dick.
Onex7805 Then this is simply difference in opinion, I never had any problems with Trico' AI and I'm willing to bet anyone with a bit of patience won't either. That seems to be the correlation I have found.
The only problem is that Trico is prone to glitching out and halting progression. I had to restart my system three times throughout to get him past points where he glitched and froze. That's just what you get for having such an absurdly ambitious NPC in a game.
@@dangerousish7837 Just because you didn't have this issue doesn't mean it doesn't exist I had a similar problem where you need to tell Trico to dive, there was nothing else for me to do but to tell him to dive, no matter what I did I wouldn't budge and I had to restart the game for him to do it This is not a small glitch and that's something that broke the game and the immersive experience for many, many players
Got started playing The Last Guardian this weekend and am loving it. I didn't get Trico jumping through that guard with the stained glass eye. I don't think I got caught after knocking the first down though. By that point I was getting into a rhythm of doing the thing and running away to lead the guards, then running back to do the thing again. So i guess because I was handling it Trico didn't jump over. Either that or he hates me.
Mellow Gaming you can in fact disrm both mirrors. in the perfect way, you mislead thenfirst two soldiers, then make on loose his shield and throw it at thenother. also you can throw the mirrors to get rid of them.
At one point, when I had to let go of a ledge and fall for Trico to catch me, it was immediately obvious what I had to do - and so, I let go immediately ... and fell to my doom. It would have been easy to just write this off as a failure of the AI to acknowledge my input, but it was upon my redo that I noticed that Trico took some time to brace himself, look up, and then eagerly flap his wings in agitation. I realized that the game was trying to communicate to me what I had to do, and I had to be receptive of its signals. This moment changed how I saw The Last Guardian ... and actually, media and art as a whole.
I have to say that curiosity for me surmounts any scores or opinions that determines whether I'll buy a game or not. When The Last Guardian got released and I heard some criticisms about the game, I refrained from watching any of those videos. We tend to rely on opinions and abstract numerical scores to determine if a game is worth our time, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day how I determine whether something is worth my time is based on my own curiosity, regardless of what anyone thinks. I'd like to see more games like The Last Guardian, created by developers who have genuine interest in forwarding this medium.
Yes! I love me some demos, if Nintendo could provide a demo for Breath of The Wild, a game that we've been waiting for since 2011, then other companies surely can do it.
Also, I think that Uedo does a good job of using clunky controls and awkward animations to further increase the emotion of characters. Like, Wander is clumsy as hell, and I don't think Shadow of the Colossus would be half the game if he animated as well as, say, Ezio Auditore.
One good example of storytelling through gameplay mechanics in The Last Of Us is when Joel approaches a ledge towards the end of the game to lift Ellie up, and Ellie doesn't come over - every other time in the game she's immediately appeared, so it's disorienting for the player when she doesn't, and helps the player really understand how traumatized she is.
Thank you. For all the discussion this game has seen, I'm glad that someone finally stood up for Ueda on making a game that might not cater to every player. I feel like The Last Guardian has seen reception almost identical to Star Fox Zero, but where Star Fox Zero's cumbersome experiences is more an unintentional side effect of the game's design, the frustrating bits in The Last Guardian were made with purpose. In that sense, Star Fox Zero set out to be a fun game and failed to deliver that experience for many people, but The Last Guardian set out to be a game about building a relationship with an animal, and even at times when The Last Guardian isn't "fun", it's still doing a good job of achieving that goal.
Kevin J. Dildonik Although it is done just right. If you give Trico as much love as he needs by healing his wounds, removing spears, feeding him and petting him constantly. Trico would respond a lot better then the way people are making it out to be.
"So would you admit some percent of users will experience extreme frustration at some point in their playthrough? That's giving me the win there" No, because it's the player's job to look after Trico, if they don't look after Trico, Trico won't look after you, pretty basic and the game drills that into you. That's a pretty dumb argument, if the player isn't doing what's expected of them of course they're going to get frustrated, that's like saying "players that don't level up the right stats in Dark Souls are going to get frustrated, that's bad game design". Having Trico do static things like sit down whenever he doesn't want to do something would just dumb the game down into "play until Trico mopes, pet him until he stops, rinse and repeat". Trico is supposed to act like a wild animal, a pet dog isn't going to visibly show you if it doesn't want to listen to your orders, it just won't do it, Trico is a wild animal and will do the same. If the player isn't interested in actively building a relationship with Trico then they're missing the entire point of the game, they're not going to have fun and might as well play something else. You can't blame the dev's for players having a bad time when they're not doing what they're intended to do.
Just to expand a little, when you think that Trico is a wild animal, it actually behaves more like a pet/domestic one than a completely wild one. And if any of you lamenting on Trico misbehaving ever tried into making, say, a cat (which is what Trico partly is) do something it does not want, it does not even look at you, you do not exist in their world, fuck you human essentially. So if you want true immersion, Trico would have either eaten the boy or completely left him to fend for himself at the very beginning.
JimJamBanx Yeah maybe players not taking care of Trico and getting frustrated would be to blame if the game ever bothered to tell you that you have to do that to begin with. Now, obviously I don't want the game to shove a ten hour tutorial down my throat, but what this game lacks above all else is proper conveyance. Which is funny when you consider how much the game shoves immersion breaking button prompts in your face that tell you how to play, even when you're 6 hours in. And to break this misconception that Trico acts like a realistic wild animal; if Trico was a wild animal, then it would either ignore you entirely, or it would eat you right from the start. So people who praise this game for being immersive and non-gamey are actually quite mistaken; It is very much just another "video game", just one with mechanics that are poorly conveyed and terribly implemented, and samey and super simplistic puzzles/enemy encounters
I find that The Last Guardian is such an incredible game because Trico is seen not just as a game aspect or part of the story, but as a companion. In the game, both you and Trico have your weaknesses and strong points, and together are able to go on your journey feeling like equals. Trico's AI is extremely well made and having Trico be an animal-like creature only makes you love him more. All of this, along with a gorgeous environment really makes this game amazing. I absolutely love this game so much.
Also, every part of the game is part of the story, not just the crazy flashbacks when you get swallowed by Trico, but simply walking around with Trico feels like you're progressing on your big journey. :)
I’m so glad I found a video talking about the moment trico saves you even though the eye is there. I talk about it so often, and it’s like you were repeating everything I said about it. The Last Guardian is so beautiful. One of the most beautiful gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
I didn't play this game but the moment when Trico jumped to save the boy while the soldiers had that glass shield made me feel weird. It made me want to cry but in a different way... I don't think there's anything stronger to convey an emotion than a game disrespecting it's own rules. I can't play the last guardian but I definitely want to see more of this kind of stuff in games. I didn't experience any meaningful emotion in years and the fact that this footage made me do so without even playing the game speaks volumes about the potential of games.
Not having played The Last Guardian, I loved both this analysis and Fumito Ueda's approach to video game design. While perhaps not every game should strive to be as "artsy" or deep as this one, there are far too few that do and it's so encouraging to see someone take these risks and do something new, create something with meaning like any work of literature or art. This is how you propel video games as a medium and both the game and its creator deserves a lot of credit for it!
Fantastic video, as usual :) I loved The Last Guardian, and beyond all the things said in the video, something that really struck me was how the lack of control was beneficial (at least in my case) to make the relationship with Trico stronger and authentic. Relationships involves an inevitable lack of control: both (supposedly) want to follow the same path, together, but the actual accomplishment of this is something out of our control, because we never know how much the other is committed to doing it. In my opinion, the game best approached this idea of absence of control not when I was asking Trico to do something it was not understanding, but when I just stopped issuing commands to him and realized that he was finding the way out on his own, taking me with him. It was very unique to have this sensation of not knowing where the beast would take me next, and also making our trust stronger because I was seeing he was finding the best way to guide us though our common goal. In most games, an NPC just taking you to the next part of the level would feel like an "on-rails" mechanic that might sound cheap nowadays, however, in the way Ueda uses it, to convey a message and a feeling, it's brilliant.
When the player is in control everything will be more powerful. That's why I find Trico's expression more impactful, it's not a cutscene, it's part of the gameplay whenever it happens. Because that's most important to make a good game. To remember that it's a game.
The point I'd like to see emphasised from this video is that Ueda creates "life" in an ostensibly rigid and mechanical computational system with what, from a technical standpoint is either randomised system elements, or interactions so complex as to be incomprehensible to the end user and thus appear as random. I find this really interesting, because you can tie this to the idea of producing "juice" in games - it's about adding feedback to our interaction loop that is complex enough to transcend the usual rigid nature of computers and feel "alive", but that also feels "natural" to players. When the two come together, people's approach to games begins to change from approaching it like a rigid computer system and more like approaching it as virtual life experience. Little nuances and details - shakes, particles, and gradiated, fluid responses to game actions - are not things you would think of as being the same as attempting to create a realistic, living creature with which we form a natural bond, but they come from the same intention and have a similar effect.
The funny thing about Elizabeth is she could have just made herself "hide" in a tear during combat. If she had a black and white fuzzy filter over her character model during fights it would explain why she isn't getting shot and would be easily explained by the games preexisting logic. (Think Limbo from Warframe if anyone has played that)
This game is so incredibly under-appreciated. One of the most emotional games I've experienced. I also enjoy that a lot of the deeper mechanics are discovered, not explained. And I found the puzzles extremely clever.
Excellent video discussing why I think Fumito Ueda is an absolute gem in the game industry who's career I will always follow intently. I loved The Last Guardian, for exactly what this video is about: the amazing relationship that you establish with Trico. They joy I felt when being reunited with Trico was real and I would spend a good five minutes petting him and getting him to nuzzle me. I've never experience that in a video game (or other medium) and I was blown away by it. Also the length that the boy and Trico go to help each other continued to impress and surprise me. The feeling when moving about on Trico is amazing as well. The weight and impact of his movement is exhilarating like no other game. The game world felt very grandiose, with it's impressive towers and wonderful view points. It had a very Hayao Miyazaki feel; like Laputa and the idea that man will rise and fall but nature will persist, which for me established some dread that my bond with Trico wasn't mean to last.
This is exactly why The Last Guardian was my game of the year in 2016 - because it utilised the unique mechanics (or language as you put it) of video games to tell its story through the bond one forms as a player with Trico. Unlike many other games which are only interested in entertaining or distracting you as a player, or games that rely too much on the cinematic techniques of film, The Last Guardian is actually trying to say something of meaning in a way only video games can - through interaction, as you rightly point out Mark. I will always love video games for the amount of variety of experiences one is able to get, from the shallow to the deep, but it is always the deeper stuff that really sticks with me and has the greatest impact, and The Last Guardian (as with ICO and Colossus) is certainly amongst those games. Great video as always!
I only recently discovered your content. I've been neglecting video games for the past couple years, but hearing your thoughts on games makes me want to play games with a more critical eye for detail. It really is an amazing and unique art form.
i want naughty dog to learn from fumito ueda i hope they do with their talent they can do anything . i have played last of us and watched last guardian walkthrough but storytelling through gameplay mechanics will always have a large impact everytime , the last guardian is a masterpiece everyone should experience it
This kind of stuff is plastered all over The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. It just goes unnoticed because their games also use alot of cutscenes and dialogue for storytelling. In TLG the ONLY way they tell the story is through these actions, which makes them stand out more.
Strateqize thats right they are mostly cinematic gameplay i mean what they do is top-tier no studio is even close to them , they are so talented chaps i just want their story to be told through gameplay more and not rely on cutscenes to make one cry ;)
Strateqize yh neil druckmann has said it's all about switching up core mechanics to give characters full story arcs. Bruce straleys favorite game is ico & you can see the influence in uncharted 2 & tlou.
Strategize nd has tried to improve interactivity by giving you optional dialogues in u4 but you know It's still not enough. the companions don't feel like independent people who can act on their own, you as the player do all the stuff, the shooting, puzzle solving, platforming etc without relying your companions
+ofek 1 Your companions do a shit load of stuff in UC4 especially. They shoot, help with melee moves, stealth kill guys, call out guys, help with puzzles and traversal. Obviously the player still has the most agency, which you'd expect since Uncharted is still an action game after all. Like I said, alot of this stuff IS in Naughty dog's games, they just don't rely on it therefore the bigger things such actions sequences and well directed cutscenes take alot of the credit.
Glad to hear someone else standing up for The Last Guardian! I loved the game. Working with Trico always felt natural to me, even when it was difficult. Trico's loyalty mechanic makes sense of a lot of things now. So many other players complained that they couldn't get Trico to do what they wanted, but apart from the beginning of the game I didn't have much of a problem. Looking back, all the time I spent petting Trico, finding all the barrels I could, and learning how to communicate with him, I was building a relationship with him not just in the narrative, but in the game mechanics as well. It's genius, really.
First: Awesome. Love your series. As for what you mentioned with the invincible Elizabeth... I saw it as displaying that it's not Elizabeth who needs protecting. We tend to justify our behavior by telling ourselves lies. Parents often use the fiction of "they need my protection" and it was just taken to the Nth degree in Bioshock. It actually worked really well for me. Elizabeth doesn't need protecting. It's just a distraction for Booker to not face his real issues which is the ONE THING that puts a flaw in his role as being a father. He doesn't deal with himself.
maybe im just a sap, but that scene in the last guardian that you described with the shield guards made me cry. it was so endearing! :3 glad im not alone
I'm a little bit gutted about Dunkey's video on The Last Guardian because he uploaded so quickly after it released and he made it look bad. I love TLG so much and I want everyone to give it a chance.
The video was funny as hell, but yeah more people need to realize that he makes games look way worse than they are for the sake of comedy. His stuff is so heavily edited that he doesn't even use live commentary most of the time.
Dunkey does that with all games though.. Its like watching Zero Puncuation, its interesting and does bring up many negative points but its not necessarily a good way of finding criticisms that you may agree with, by itself. IE ANy sensible person wouldn't not buy a game just because ZP or Dunkey made "negative" videos on it. They work as companion pieces of laying out critique but most people are going to find their own reviewers who have similar perspectives to their own so they can get a good idea of the games value, to them. (for example I completely agree with Dunkey's video on Battlefield 1 his problems are why I haven't enjoyed a single BF games since B: BC 2, yet it was Supperbunnyhop talking about these same problems more in depth that made me decide this was yet another BF game that wasn't for me. Likewise SBH has a more compelling video on Lisa the Painful, which I do plan on trying because of. Despite Dunkey literally calling it "the worst game ever")
DiscoClam isn't dunkey a shitposter? I mean his videos are mostly for comedy so I wouldn't take his word as absolutely serious unless there are obvious glaring issues with a game. With that said however it was dunkey's vid on Lisa that actually piqued my interest in the game, despite him calling it "the worst game ever"
I just wanted to let you know that this channel it's probably 'one' if not the best places on youtube about insightful content and appreciation for video games. Thank you very much for your material!
One of my favorite mechanic in games! I remember "Brothers: a tale of two sons" also breaking their own gameplay rule, and it was one of the most impactful storytelling moment I ever played!
This game is probably one of my most favorite games ever. I also looked at a bunch of Let's Plays and noticed that it emotionally affected lot's of players, even brought many of them to tears :O
all of team ICO's games are in my top 10 games of all time. because even with a surface that looks and feels messy, the core of those games are above and beyond anything a lot of the industry is doing. I'm just happy to see someone looking at the triumphs of this work or art instead of its flaws. yes there are many of them, but I find a lot of those imperfect touches to add to their game design artistic stamp
Excellent video, Mark! Your point on the interactivity of video games as a means of entertainment really hammered home why I love games so much; games are ultimately stories that we help to write as players. Though there are exceptions, a story's narrative can be affected by our actions, and great game designers can utilize design techniques to guide the players towards the correct path. I'm looking forward to your future videos, and here's to 2017!
Good call! Not all players will experience it, but everyone who does should be able to experience it fresh. I wish I’d spotted this before I watched the video.
Thank you for introducing Fumito Ueda to me and explaining the language of video games. So many games rely on old tricks like videos and text to tell the story. It was truly amazing to realize that games can tell stories in a new way. Thank you.
I think the character animation goes really unnoticed and how detailed both, the boys' and Tricos' animation are; both feel like they're real and not some video game character that you're there to just control. I really think appreciation has to be given to making them look vivid and alive, and it's not an easy task to create such subtle animations, because many games have barebones animation, althou this, of course will vary from game to game.
The Last Guardian was an absolute joy to play. While I too struggled at first to get Trico to follow directions, I realize in hindsight that it was a frustration that stemmed from my expectations as a gamer. After the first major cutscene or two, however, I became so invested in my relationship with Trico and our journey together that the controls didn't really matter anymore. Of course, as an animal lover I was constantly shoving the spear-throwers, petting Trico, and going out of my way to search for barrels - and apparently that makes the AI more responsive. So cool!
Superb work, man! This was one of your best episodes. Using game mechanics to tell a story is one of my favorite elements of game design, and I'm delighted whenever a big-name title is up to the challenge.
These videos are the golden standard. Informative. Entertaining. Addicting. Your work is Quality. I'm extremely late in finding this channel...but I'm glad I did.
I loved The Last Guardian. For me, it's a must-have-game for every PS4 owner (but I don't think it's a system seller). There were moments that I cried - not because of a sad moment or anything like that, but because I found myself deeply caring about Trico. In the end, she was a living being to me - and I don't recall any other game that made me feel this particular emotion. Thank you so much for your work and this video in particular! It really inspired me. Best regards from Brasil! :)
Thanks for airing the "not always fun" point. I think this is an important bit and is coming up in all sorts of (especially indie) games these days. Undertale's genocide route comes to mind, wherein your thirst for the other half of the highly layered story might push you to hurt friends you've made in previous playthroughs. That's not fun, and purposefully so. Other art forms have to do this too. Say, when contemporary classical music uses harsh sounds and timbres to create responses in kind with its listeners. Anyway, thanks for an excellent video as always! More more more!!!
Again a really great video Mark! The quality of these analyses is unmatched on YT, as far as I can tell anyway. So thank you for making these and even more I hope that these will come in handy for a resume when you find that you want to get a job in the gaming industry or similiar.
You articulated what I've been thinking all along so well. From the E3 2016 trailer I knew this was going to be special. The music alone sold me and it's certainly in my top games list. And the VR demo is pure magic!
Man I could listen to you even if you talked about friggin' noodles. The fact that you speak about games makes it all the more better plus the fact that you do it rather well, wow. Will support in the future. Thanks man
I whole-heartedly agree. As someone who has multiple pets, I think Ueda's decision about the AI was fantastic and the connection felt with Trico throughout the overall journey makes me not care as much for the issues that are present (like the camera or annoying prompts).
I didn't play the last guardian but I've seen some reviews, but now that I've watched your video on it I'm starting to think about how all the negatives the reviewers are a result of not understanding art...
This game is immediately familiar to anyone who has had a pet and tried to train them to do something. Sometimes they are attentive and understand your intentions sometimes they get confused and frustrated, and sometimes they just do whatever they want. It's a technical achievement that the AI scripting is subtle enough to fool us into thinking Trico has wants and intentions, but it was also a design achievement that the game (as yet since I haven't finished it yet but at least past all the footage shown here) managed to capture the awkwardness of building a relationship in a vulnerable state while avoiding putting players in the kind of frustrating circumstances that break the magic circle. I got frustrated, yes, but it was always with Trico, or at my (and transferrably the Kid's) inability to see the solutions, or at the daunt of the task ahead.
I learned in my second play through that you can jump on the backs of the armor enemies and rip their heads off, but you still need trico to distract them.
I fall on the side of loving it. As someone who has grown completely tired of games becoming more and more like movies (here's looking at you Telltale Games and Naughty Dog -- even though I do love Uncharted and The Last of Us), it's completely and utterly refreshing to have people like Ueda out there who always try to tell their stories through gameplay. I can understand why some don't like it, but I frigging loved every moment spent with this game. For better or worse, they're always trying to convey their stories through gameplay and I respect the hell out of that.
Very nice video, Mark. I hadn't heard of The Last Guardian before, but even in your video, after you explained the mechanics and rules of the game, when Treeco jumps past the guard with the glass-eye shield, the moment hit me with a lot of weight. I'm definitely a fan of developers who use mechanics as narrative within games. It's these games that truly shine; everyone who experiences one of their critical moments knows that that feelings they evoke couldn't have come from any movie or book or painting. And it's almost shocking how deep that connection can be--to act and have the narrative not only respond, but to influence how we choose to act, and why.
In some sense this is the antithesis of the design philosophy of nintendo. Rather than starting with the gameplay, it starts with an idea of creating a bond with a creature, then fabricates the gameplay and story to best facilitate said, well, feeling.
He started with the Narrative Design then with his Design by Subtraction, the gameplay just follows, still, on how he have done it is still majestic as F
The comparison to Dark Souls i think is perfect. if you're looking for Trico to be this perfect companion robot then you will come away disappointed. If you want Dark Souls to be easier then it's best you quit playing and play something else. TLG was my game of 2016, the complaints on the performance issues are valid but at the same time I vividly remember Ico and SotC also having performance issues and being ok with that because the game itself was so satisfying and special.
So when I found out about Trico's AI being a bit stubborn at times, I didn't really have the game on my radar anymore, but this idea of story through gameplay and interaction is something I've always felt was the key to building and appreciating games and put it back on my list of games to pick up when I have the time. Thanks Mark, keep up the great and informative work.
Just remember, don't tell him to do multiple things at once when you play. Just like any pet, they'll get confused or ignore you~ This is where most people go wrong because they expect Trico to react very quickly where Trico takes a few seconds to understand what you said and then a few more seconds to prep to do what you want to do. He still has more stubborn moments of course, especially at the very beginning when you hardly know each other.
Thanks for this vid! Ive always liked Ueda's games from an aesthetic view since i've never really played any of his games but wow that part when trico saved the boy - really opened my eyes to how powerful games can really be.
Playing this game in front of my friend, he commented on how frustrating it seemed to control Trico. I said I'm really enjoying how organic it feels to try to understand this animal that I've only interacted with for about an hour. I'm glad you picked up on that! I've waited 11 years for this game and I couldn't be happier!
Thanks, Mark, this one goes straight to Favorites folder. If anyone ever questions videogames being a unique artform of their own, this is the video I'm showing them. I mean, that moment at 5:59 is as powerful and emotional as any movie scene can ever hope for!
Another great video. The Last Guardian is my game of the year, I've been a big fan of Ueda's games for a while so I'm able to deal with the jank. I just recognise that it's an extremely slow paced game so you need to work with it at a slow pace, obviously this wont be for everyone. It's those little character moments all told while in gameplay that make it, for me. Interactive character development. All the puzzles even if they aren't super complex all serve the purpose of furthering this relationship. In fact I think there's so much to be said about just one part of the game alone, *spoilers*, the bit when you're separated from Trico, it explores such a range of emotions in this moments by separating you from you companion and putting you up against an incredible opponent, on your own. Great stuff.
Your point about Dark Souls reminds me of something one of my design professors always says about target audience; "You can't turn some people on without turning others off." I think that is very relevant to this game as well. Entering it, I expected a masterpiece, and to be honest, was sorely disapointed. I got fed up with Trico, didn't care all that much about the world, and found myself just holding the commands down because he wouldn't listen to me otherwise (still do that because it tends to be the best way to make it happen). But then a shift happened (and for spoilers sake I won't mention it) where suddenly I didn't feel like Trico was a dumb shit who I was relying on to get me from A to B, but rather someone who I wanted to bring to B with me, because it's clear he cares. Shouldn't have doubted Ueda, but hey, I'm human. Great episode as always, and of course I come back with another question for you: do you think Resident Evil 7 is a smart move by Capcom? There's certainly been mixed opinions on this one, but I am very excited. Long time fan since 2 (first M rated game I played), I am very happy with the emphasis on horror. I played the demo to full completion, getting the coin and all, and am eagerly awaiting the release but haven't watched much to avoid spoilers. Thanks for reading these and responding to most, always makes me happy to see when a channel or person interacts with their viewers, makes me and the community of watchers feel appreciated. Though you're probably half sick of seeing me pop up on every video haha.
Mark, that was a brilliant analysis! You really took out what I loved about The Last Guardian. I love games that make you feel things because that translates to fun for me. Some people just want a challenge. I want an experience.
I have never experienced your videos before but WOW, this is amazing stuff. Well thought out, well analysed, well crafted discussion of game design and mechanics. You really know your stuff!
Another good thing about the example you used, of the game showing Trico's fear for the boy's safety overcoming his fear of the stained glass is, it might not happen on that encounter. I managed to knock both those guys over with no problem. For me, that moment of Trico over coming his fear came much later, when you first approach the tower and a swarm of those armor guys pour out while you're trying to push two of the glass eyes off a bridge. It's a much more emergent way of hitting the same emotional beat that 'Last of Us' did through its script, or the ensuing encounter, where if Joel takes out the everyone silently while Ellie provides overwatch, more guys spawn in so she gets the opportunity to shoot, ensuring the following cut scene makes sense.
Ooh this is brilliant. As someone who thinks on how different mediums make themselves unique by their formal(as in, the form of the medium) power, this is such an inspiration. Thanks for the brilliant video, as always!
What an excellent video! Watched it twice in a row. :) It's always amazing when a game manage to pull off a story through its mechanics. Another great example of this would be Brothers, a Tale of Two Sons.
This is the most beautiful game I have ever played. I didn't think about it too much from a designers perspective, but the fact that it felt like an experience unique to me seems absolutely incredible in hindsight.
The moment Trico jumped to save the boy ignorinng his fears, was the moment I cried and reminded me why Fumito Ueda's are my favorite games. Such a strong scene, the feeings this game made me go though was mesmerising. Art. Thank you with all my heart for making this video.
Wow, I always thought of designing rules for gameplay and only that. I never thought about curating an instant where a well-established gameplay rule is broken to further the narrative. That’s quite a clever design!
I recently watched Liam Triforce's retrospective about the Team Ico games and he made a point that I completely missed in all the times I played ICO: After the gates are opened and the two characters are crossing the bridge, once the bridge begins to separate Yorda actually holds out her hand for Ico to jump and grab onto thus flipping the roles for one moment. It's very similar to what happens in The Last Guardian with the shield knights in that the AI is now breaking out of their comfort zone. Ico always initiated holding hands with Yorda and Trico would wait until the glass eyes were destroyed before moving on; in these two moments, WE the players became dependent on the AI.
While I could never get into this game and the relationship was never sold to me from the very beginning (and I dislike the sacrifice of early gameplay consistency which can discourage players from continuing)... I really really appreciate the mention of that guard sequence as narrative through mechanics. It's not something I would have known about otherwise, and it's a really brilliant moment in terms of design.
The Last Guardian landed really well for me. It's probably my least favorite of the Ico trilogy but it's still a favorite. I found the controls good since they were designed for the feel of the game rather than just defaulting to what they had before. They could have had a stamina circle and make you hold down a button to keep a hold on trico like in Shadow of the Colossus, but that would have changed the relationship between the beast and the boy. It would have meant that effort was needed to be together with the beast where-as you talked about here-the co-dependent relationship means it takes effort to let go and be on one's own. The controls may have been less than ideal, but they reinforced the ideals of the game in a way that resonated with me.
That bit where Trico jumped to save the boy was so...touching. My heart skipped a beat.
And i got something in my eye :,(
Why are my eyes so watery
I was actually tearing up when that happened!
Same, that was brilliant!
@@corbinengelman8854 boi, shut your sensitive ass up
Nerd Cubed mentioned in his video on The Last Guardian that the mixed reviews were a bit odd because the typical game reviews from places that focus almost entirely on gaming were more negative whereas the reviews from non-typical sources were mostly positive. He said it was because the people trying to play the game like a game, focusing only on completing the objective and nothing else, weren't enjoying it as much as the people who don't play a lot of games and therefore played more like a pet simulator. The pet simulator people established a stronger bond with Trico, so when it came time to complete the objectives Trico was much more responsive and the game was more enjoyable.
5:54 is brilliant, Trico cares more about the boy than the rules of the system he is in. Thanks for making these, I learn a lot from your analysis Mark.
this didn't happend in my playthrough. Did i stumbled on a bug?
@@telefonbarmann4514 I'm guessing it's not a bug but the level of your relationship didn't reach the required amount, or to put it simply and harsh like other people "Seems like you didn't take care of Trico enough"
@@shunkazami6767 I'm pretty sure i picked every single spear out of him and calmed him when stressed. He was really responsive too..control wise. maybe i didn't stand in the exact right spot. but he jumped after i disposed the two mirrors. That was quite fiddley though.^^
@@telefonbarmann4514 I hadn't had this happen to me in my 3 playthroughs, but this might be because I was fast enough to bump both soldiers before getting caught
I legitimately got goosebumps when Trico jumps into the guards to save you despite the shield, and that's just from watching this video. The impact after spending hours playing the game must be phenomenal.
It sure is.
That's actually really interesting about the moment where Trico 'breaks the rules', because there's a very clear point in the story where that happens anyway. Cool to see that this stuff can happen before predetermined story beats.
I definitely think TLG will be viewed with a more universal reverence once more time has passed and more little easter eggs like this have been discovered. Dope video as always man!
Hated the game back in 2016 and didn't finish it. Now I just finished and it's my favourite game of all time.
Unfortunately this game is forgotten nowadays
When trico broke the rules it brought a tear to my eye!! Haven't even played this game (yet) but it seriously gets me for some reason .
Relatable, have a nice day.
Did you play it? I found it incredibly moving.
Great work as always! I'm usually a stickler for smooth mechanics and tight technical presentation, but despite The Last Guardian's fumblings in these areas, I have to admit that it completely won me over. Trico is easily one of the most incredible video game creations of all time. I've never seen a game come even close to simulating a living creature as well as TLG does, and it's a monumental achievement.
More than that, I love that you focused on the developer's choice to make the game potentially frustrating to play. I LOVE It when developers are bold enough to do this sort of thing - to not bow to the idea that "fun" (in the traditional sense) is the end-all-be-all of game design, but to see that there is so much more that can be expressed through systems.
This is one of the best games I've ever played.
HERE HERE!!
I was going to post something similar, but you've summed up my thoughts. The Last Guardian is easily the greatest, most resonating game I've played in the past decade. Just astounding.
I couldn't agree more! :)
Daniel King I agree Daniel. I just finished the game yesterday's and it will stick with me for a very long time. It's probably the most memorable gaming experience I've had this generation. My dog was staring at me as the game finished and as I openly wept. No other game or movie brought me to tears the way The Last Guardian did. Truly a remarkable experience.
You said it better than I ever could! Kudos.
Consistently excellent work. The idea of games being more than just "tight controls" or "good platforming" is something I really believe in and you conveyed that point excellently. I'm playing through TLG right now and even though not everything is working for me on every level, I'm glad to see people try these sort of unconventional approaches to game design. I mean I love Platinum games, Doom, Titanfall etc. but I also love that it's not all we have
Hey!
So, if you're wondering about spoilers: There are no significant story spoilers in this video. There's nothing about the ending and no footage from the second half of the game. But if you want to go in completely fresh then come back later. I discuss some nice mechanical surprises that you might prefer to see first hand.
Also, I haven't forgotten about Boss Keys! The episode on Twilight Princess will be the next video on this channel. Subscribe and hit the little bell icon to be notified as soon as it lands.
Cheers, Mark
Mark Brown It would mean the world to me if you played Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom. No need to make a video. Just play it.
I have played it! And I briefly thought about it while making this video... Maybe I'll try it again one day. It was quite nice :)
Mark Brown I had to leave the game industry for personal reasons, and Majin was the last game I worked on. I'm glad you liked it.
Your videos make me want to go back... if only Japanese dev companies paid a living wage... *sigh*
fantastic video as always :D thank you
Please do a video on Super hot VR
Dude I sheared a tear with that, I have never play Last guardian but that concept of breaking the mechanic, That is so powerfull...
Thanks for sharing.
The fourth game will be about slaying a girl
As a giant mythical beast?
Or beying slain by a girl?
@@germaindesloges5862 slaying witch's and laying bitches. Or was it slaying bitches and laying witches.
@@alike2833 the Witcher would like to have a word with you about that
LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
6:06 I almost cried thanks to this. Yeah, I might need to play this game.
There could not be a larger contrast between the storytelling of the Japanese and Western games mentioned. And I know which one I love.
6:06 the moment you realises the narrator start crying softly
Lol what? You can love both western AND Japanese storytelling. You don’t need to shove out one for the other and there’s been plenty of times when they’ve crossed and done things that are similar as not every Japanese and western developer is the same! There’s not a “larGeR coNtRasT” AT ALL between the two, it just DEPENDS on which developer and person who makes whatever they make, that’s it! Stop trying to make everything a competition in the worst way, because you’re misrepresenting what’s actually occurring for every single developer and writer out there!
In my mind when someone says "Trico is uncooperative" its the same as someone saying "Bloodborne is too hard!" (I know Dark Souls is the more common example but I've only played Bloodborne). Bloodborne is hard but it only reaches cruel levels if the player refuses to understand what the game is telling them. I remember playing Bloodborne and being the exact same and so I stopped playing in a fit of rage. Then about a month later I began to REALLY understand what it was telling me, the little noises, the true give and take of different weapon forms and so on. I learned the language of Bloodborne and was rewarded when I understood it.
The Last Guardian is the exact same in my eyes. I would wait for Trico to catch up, I would take time between instructions to not confuse them and would reward it would food and belly rubs. By near the end of the game Trico became like a trained dog, they would sit when I told them, catch all barrels when I threw them and know what I wanted when I pointed out my commands. It was rewarding to train a creature that at the beginning should have eaten me into a guardian.
To me The Last Guardian was my game of the year. I formed an emotional attachment to an AI that was realistic, intelligent and investing. Having to be a little more patient is more than a fair trade off.
Though in a quick note the button reminders and camera can suck a dick.
That seems like bad game design. That's not an excuse for poor ai.
Onex7805
Then this is simply difference in opinion, I never had any problems with Trico' AI and I'm willing to bet anyone with a bit of patience won't either. That seems to be the correlation I have found.
The only problem is that Trico is prone to glitching out and halting progression. I had to restart my system three times throughout to get him past points where he glitched and froze. That's just what you get for having such an absurdly ambitious NPC in a game.
@@KenshiRyden I never had that issue
@@dangerousish7837 Just because you didn't have this issue doesn't mean it doesn't exist
I had a similar problem where you need to tell Trico to dive, there was nothing else for me to do but to tell him to dive, no matter what I did I wouldn't budge and I had to restart the game for him to do it
This is not a small glitch and that's something that broke the game and the immersive experience for many, many players
Got started playing The Last Guardian this weekend and am loving it. I didn't get Trico jumping through that guard with the stained glass eye. I don't think I got caught after knocking the first down though. By that point I was getting into a rhythm of doing the thing and running away to lead the guards, then running back to do the thing again. So i guess because I was handling it Trico didn't jump over. Either that or he hates me.
That's part of what makes it great - Trico only jumps if you're in danger. If you can do it yourself you won't see this behaviour until later :)
Mellow Gaming I had the same experience were Trico didn't jump until I pushed both enemies holding the mirrors. Amazing detail .
Mellow Gaming you can in fact disrm both mirrors. in the perfect way, you mislead thenfirst two soldiers, then make on loose his shield and throw it at thenother. also you can throw the mirrors to get rid of them.
That part where Trico ignores her fear to help you... That stopped my heart and made me squeal. Such excellent storytelling.
At one point, when I had to let go of a ledge and fall for Trico to catch me, it was immediately obvious what I had to do - and so, I let go immediately ... and fell to my doom. It would have been easy to just write this off as a failure of the AI to acknowledge my input, but it was upon my redo that I noticed that Trico took some time to brace himself, look up, and then eagerly flap his wings in agitation. I realized that the game was trying to communicate to me what I had to do, and I had to be receptive of its signals. This moment changed how I saw The Last Guardian ... and actually, media and art as a whole.
I have to say that curiosity for me surmounts any scores or opinions that determines whether I'll buy a game or not. When The Last Guardian got released and I heard some criticisms about the game, I refrained from watching any of those videos. We tend to rely on opinions and abstract numerical scores to determine if a game is worth our time, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day how I determine whether something is worth my time is based on my own curiosity, regardless of what anyone thinks. I'd like to see more games like The Last Guardian, created by developers who have genuine interest in forwarding this medium.
#BringbackDemos
Yes! I love me some demos, if Nintendo could provide a demo for Breath of The Wild, a game that we've been waiting for since 2011, then other companies surely can do it.
6:00 your narration is so on point that a game I've never even played can make me cry.
Also, I think that Uedo does a good job of using clunky controls and awkward animations to further increase the emotion of characters. Like, Wander is clumsy as hell, and I don't think Shadow of the Colossus would be half the game if he animated as well as, say, Ezio Auditore.
Glad to know I'm not the only one that shed tears at that. Thanks.
I shed a tear as well when I got to that timestamp. I, too, have never played that game. Truly moving. Mr. Fumito Ueda did an amazing work there.
One good example of storytelling through gameplay mechanics in The Last Of Us is when Joel approaches a ledge towards the end of the game to lift Ellie up, and Ellie doesn't come over - every other time in the game she's immediately appeared, so it's disorienting for the player when she doesn't, and helps the player really understand how traumatized she is.
I remember that, nice catch.
Thank you. For all the discussion this game has seen, I'm glad that someone finally stood up for Ueda on making a game that might not cater to every player. I feel like The Last Guardian has seen reception almost identical to Star Fox Zero, but where Star Fox Zero's cumbersome experiences is more an unintentional side effect of the game's design, the frustrating bits in The Last Guardian were made with purpose. In that sense, Star Fox Zero set out to be a fun game and failed to deliver that experience for many people, but The Last Guardian set out to be a game about building a relationship with an animal, and even at times when The Last Guardian isn't "fun", it's still doing a good job of achieving that goal.
Kevin J. Dildonik Although it is done just right. If you give Trico as much love as he needs by healing his wounds, removing spears, feeding him and petting him constantly. Trico would respond a lot better then the way people are making it out to be.
"So would you admit some percent of users will experience extreme frustration at some point in their playthrough? That's giving me the win there" No, because it's the player's job to look after Trico, if they don't look after Trico, Trico won't look after you, pretty basic and the game drills that into you. That's a pretty dumb argument, if the player isn't doing what's expected of them of course they're going to get frustrated, that's like saying "players that don't level up the right stats in Dark Souls are going to get frustrated, that's bad game design". Having Trico do static things like sit down whenever he doesn't want to do something would just dumb the game down into "play until Trico mopes, pet him until he stops, rinse and repeat". Trico is supposed to act like a wild animal, a pet dog isn't going to visibly show you if it doesn't want to listen to your orders, it just won't do it, Trico is a wild animal and will do the same.
If the player isn't interested in actively building a relationship with Trico then they're missing the entire point of the game, they're not going to have fun and might as well play something else. You can't blame the dev's for players having a bad time when they're not doing what they're intended to do.
Just to expand a little, when you think that Trico is a wild animal, it actually behaves more like a pet/domestic one than a completely wild one. And if any of you lamenting on Trico misbehaving ever tried into making, say, a cat (which is what Trico partly is) do something it does not want, it does not even look at you, you do not exist in their world, fuck you human essentially.
So if you want true immersion, Trico would have either eaten the boy or completely left him to fend for himself at the very beginning.
JimJamBanx
Yeah maybe players not taking care of Trico and getting frustrated would be to blame if the game ever bothered to tell you that you have to do that to begin with.
Now, obviously I don't want the game to shove a ten hour tutorial down my throat, but what this game lacks above all else is proper conveyance. Which is funny when you consider how much the game shoves immersion breaking button prompts in your face that tell you how to play, even when you're 6 hours in.
And to break this misconception that Trico acts like a realistic wild animal; if Trico was a wild animal, then it would either ignore you entirely, or it would eat you right from the start.
So people who praise this game for being immersive and non-gamey are actually quite mistaken; It is very much just another "video game", just one with mechanics that are poorly conveyed and terribly implemented, and samey and super simplistic puzzles/enemy encounters
If people aren't getting it, then it's the developers fault. Not the gamers.
I find that The Last Guardian is such an incredible game because Trico is seen not just as a game aspect or part of the story, but as a companion.
In the game, both you and Trico have your weaknesses and strong points, and together are able to go on your journey feeling like equals.
Trico's AI is extremely well made and having Trico be an animal-like creature only makes you love him more.
All of this, along with a gorgeous environment really makes this game amazing. I absolutely love this game so much.
Also, every part of the game is part of the story, not just the crazy flashbacks when you get swallowed by Trico, but simply walking around with Trico feels like you're progressing on your big journey. :)
I’m so glad I found a video talking about the moment trico saves you even though the eye is there. I talk about it so often, and it’s like you were repeating everything I said about it. The Last Guardian is so beautiful. One of the most beautiful gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
I didn't play this game but the moment when Trico jumped to save the boy while the soldiers had that glass shield made me feel weird. It made me want to cry but in a different way...
I don't think there's anything stronger to convey an emotion than a game disrespecting it's own rules. I can't play the last guardian but I definitely want to see more of this kind of stuff in games. I didn't experience any meaningful emotion in years and the fact that this footage made me do so without even playing the game speaks volumes about the potential of games.
Not having played The Last Guardian, I loved both this analysis and Fumito Ueda's approach to video game design. While perhaps not every game should strive to be as "artsy" or deep as this one, there are far too few that do and it's so encouraging to see someone take these risks and do something new, create something with meaning like any work of literature or art. This is how you propel video games as a medium and both the game and its creator deserves a lot of credit for it!
Fantastic video, as usual :)
I loved The Last Guardian, and beyond all the things said in the video, something that really struck me was how the lack of control was beneficial (at least in my case) to make the relationship with Trico stronger and authentic. Relationships involves an inevitable lack of control: both (supposedly) want to follow the same path, together, but the actual accomplishment of this is something out of our control, because we never know how much the other is committed to doing it. In my opinion, the game best approached this idea of absence of control not when I was asking Trico to do something it was not understanding, but when I just stopped issuing commands to him and realized that he was finding the way out on his own, taking me with him. It was very unique to have this sensation of not knowing where the beast would take me next, and also making our trust stronger because I was seeing he was finding the best way to guide us though our common goal. In most games, an NPC just taking you to the next part of the level would feel like an "on-rails" mechanic that might sound cheap nowadays, however, in the way Ueda uses it, to convey a message and a feeling, it's brilliant.
When the player is in control everything will be more powerful. That's why I find Trico's expression more impactful, it's not a cutscene, it's part of the gameplay whenever it happens. Because that's most important to make a good game. To remember that it's a game.
The point I'd like to see emphasised from this video is that Ueda creates "life" in an ostensibly rigid and mechanical computational system with what, from a technical standpoint is either randomised system elements, or interactions so complex as to be incomprehensible to the end user and thus appear as random.
I find this really interesting, because you can tie this to the idea of producing "juice" in games - it's about adding feedback to our interaction loop that is complex enough to transcend the usual rigid nature of computers and feel "alive", but that also feels "natural" to players. When the two come together, people's approach to games begins to change from approaching it like a rigid computer system and more like approaching it as virtual life experience.
Little nuances and details - shakes, particles, and gradiated, fluid responses to game actions - are not things you would think of as being the same as attempting to create a realistic, living creature with which we form a natural bond, but they come from the same intention and have a similar effect.
The funny thing about Elizabeth is she could have just made herself "hide" in a tear during combat. If she had a black and white fuzzy filter over her character model during fights it would explain why she isn't getting shot and would be easily explained by the games preexisting logic.
(Think Limbo from Warframe if anyone has played that)
This game is so incredibly under-appreciated. One of the most emotional games I've experienced. I also enjoy that a lot of the deeper mechanics are discovered, not explained. And I found the puzzles extremely clever.
Excellent video discussing why I think Fumito Ueda is an absolute gem in the game industry who's career I will always follow intently. I loved The Last Guardian, for exactly what this video is about: the amazing relationship that you establish with Trico. They joy I felt when being reunited with Trico was real and I would spend a good five minutes petting him and getting him to nuzzle me. I've never experience that in a video game (or other medium) and I was blown away by it. Also the length that the boy and Trico go to help each other continued to impress and surprise me. The feeling when moving about on Trico is amazing as well. The weight and impact of his movement is exhilarating like no other game. The game world felt very grandiose, with it's impressive towers and wonderful view points. It had a very Hayao Miyazaki feel; like Laputa and the idea that man will rise and fall but nature will persist, which for me established some dread that my bond with Trico wasn't mean to last.
This is exactly why The Last Guardian was my game of the year in 2016 - because it utilised the unique mechanics (or language as you put it) of video games to tell its story through the bond one forms as a player with Trico. Unlike many other games which are only interested in entertaining or distracting you as a player, or games that rely too much on the cinematic techniques of film, The Last Guardian is actually trying to say something of meaning in a way only video games can - through interaction, as you rightly point out Mark. I will always love video games for the amount of variety of experiences one is able to get, from the shallow to the deep, but it is always the deeper stuff that really sticks with me and has the greatest impact, and The Last Guardian (as with ICO and Colossus) is certainly amongst those games. Great video as always!
I only recently discovered your content. I've been neglecting video games for the past couple years, but hearing your thoughts on games makes me want to play games with a more critical eye for detail. It really is an amazing and unique art form.
i want naughty dog to learn from fumito ueda i hope they do with their talent they can do anything . i have played last of us and watched last guardian walkthrough but storytelling through gameplay mechanics will always have a large impact everytime , the last guardian is a masterpiece everyone should experience it
This kind of stuff is plastered all over The Last of Us and Uncharted 4.
It just goes unnoticed because their games also use alot of cutscenes and dialogue for storytelling.
In TLG the ONLY way they tell the story is through these actions, which makes them stand out more.
Strateqize thats right they are mostly cinematic gameplay i mean what they do is top-tier no studio is even close to them , they are so talented chaps i just want their story to be told through gameplay more and not rely on cutscenes to make one cry ;)
Strateqize yh neil druckmann has said it's all about switching up core mechanics to give characters full story arcs. Bruce straleys favorite game is ico & you can see the influence in uncharted 2 & tlou.
Strategize nd has tried to improve interactivity by giving you optional dialogues in u4 but you know It's still not enough. the companions don't feel like independent people who can act on their own, you as the player do all the stuff, the shooting, puzzle solving, platforming etc without relying your companions
+ofek 1 Your companions do a shit load of stuff in UC4 especially. They shoot, help with melee moves, stealth kill guys, call out guys, help with puzzles and traversal.
Obviously the player still has the most agency, which you'd expect since Uncharted is still an action game after all.
Like I said, alot of this stuff IS in Naughty dog's games, they just don't rely on it therefore the bigger things such actions sequences and well directed cutscenes take alot of the credit.
All I can say that I loved every moment of The Last Guardian. Sure, there where frustrating times but somehow I think that added to the experience.
Glad to hear someone else standing up for The Last Guardian! I loved the game. Working with Trico always felt natural to me, even when it was difficult. Trico's loyalty mechanic makes sense of a lot of things now. So many other players complained that they couldn't get Trico to do what they wanted, but apart from the beginning of the game I didn't have much of a problem. Looking back, all the time I spent petting Trico, finding all the barrels I could, and learning how to communicate with him, I was building a relationship with him not just in the narrative, but in the game mechanics as well. It's genius, really.
First: Awesome. Love your series.
As for what you mentioned with the invincible Elizabeth... I saw it as displaying that it's not Elizabeth who needs protecting. We tend to justify our behavior by telling ourselves lies. Parents often use the fiction of "they need my protection" and it was just taken to the Nth degree in Bioshock. It actually worked really well for me. Elizabeth doesn't need protecting. It's just a distraction for Booker to not face his real issues which is the ONE THING that puts a flaw in his role as being a father. He doesn't deal with himself.
maybe im just a sap, but that scene in the last guardian that you described with the shield guards made me cry. it was so endearing! :3 glad im not alone
I'm a little bit gutted about Dunkey's video on The Last Guardian because he uploaded so quickly after it released and he made it look bad. I love TLG so much and I want everyone to give it a chance.
DiscoClam just rent it then
The video was funny as hell, but yeah more people need to realize that he makes games look way worse than they are for the sake of comedy. His stuff is so heavily edited that he doesn't even use live commentary most of the time.
Dunkey does that with all games though.. Its like watching Zero Puncuation, its interesting and does bring up many negative points but its not necessarily a good way of finding criticisms that you may agree with, by itself. IE ANy sensible person wouldn't not buy a game just because ZP or Dunkey made "negative" videos on it.
They work as companion pieces of laying out critique but most people are going to find their own reviewers who have similar perspectives to their own so they can get a good idea of the games value, to them.
(for example I completely agree with Dunkey's video on Battlefield 1 his problems are why I haven't enjoyed a single BF games since B: BC 2, yet it was Supperbunnyhop talking about these same problems more in depth that made me decide this was yet another BF game that wasn't for me. Likewise SBH has a more compelling video on Lisa the Painful, which I do plan on trying because of. Despite Dunkey literally calling it "the worst game ever")
The Last Guardian was ok, but it was no Knack, I can tell you that.
DiscoClam isn't dunkey a shitposter? I mean his videos are mostly for comedy so I wouldn't take his word as absolutely serious unless there are obvious glaring issues with a game. With that said however it was dunkey's vid on Lisa that actually piqued my interest in the game, despite him calling it "the worst game ever"
The part about Trico getting over it's fears was beautiful...there's so much potential in the kind of unique stories we can tell with this medium
I just wanted to let you know that this channel it's probably 'one' if not the best places on youtube about insightful content and appreciation for video games. Thank you very much for your material!
One of my favorite mechanic in games! I remember "Brothers: a tale of two sons" also breaking their own gameplay rule, and it was one of the most impactful storytelling moment I ever played!
Kickass video, you really hit the nail with Ueda's game design philosophy and style!
5:51 *Morgan Freeman voice* It was at this moment Mark knew, he screwed up.
the point about the specific languages used by the different artistic mediums is spot on, well done in all respects
This game is probably one of my most favorite games ever. I also looked at a bunch of Let's Plays and noticed that it emotionally affected lot's of players, even brought many of them to tears :O
all of team ICO's games are in my top 10 games of all time. because even with a surface that looks and feels messy, the core of those games are above and beyond anything a lot of the industry is doing. I'm just happy to see someone looking at the triumphs of this work or art instead of its flaws. yes there are many of them, but I find a lot of those imperfect touches to add to their game design artistic stamp
Excellent video, Mark! Your point on the interactivity of video games as a means of entertainment really hammered home why I love games so much; games are ultimately stories that we help to write as players. Though there are exceptions, a story's narrative can be affected by our actions, and great game designers can utilize design techniques to guide the players towards the correct path.
I'm looking forward to your future videos, and here's to 2017!
There is a significant spoiler in this video at around 5:30 that ends at 6:20
This is something I believe all players will not want unveiled to them.
Good call! Not all players will experience it, but everyone who does should be able to experience it fresh. I wish I’d spotted this before I watched the video.
This should be a pinned comment. After saying "no spoilers" the video totally spoiled that moment for me.
I thought the same thing when i watched that moment. Instantly regretted watching. The rest of the video is great though.
Its too late. Every comment talks about this
Agreed, pretty big cock-up on Mark’s part.
Thank you for introducing Fumito Ueda to me and explaining the language of video games. So many games rely on old tricks like videos and text to tell the story. It was truly amazing to realize that games can tell stories in a new way. Thank you.
I think the character animation goes really unnoticed and how detailed both, the boys' and Tricos' animation are; both feel like they're real and not some video game character that you're there to just control.
I really think appreciation has to be given to making them look vivid and alive, and it's not an easy task to create such subtle animations, because many games have barebones animation, althou this, of course will vary from game to game.
I always wanted to play The Last Guardian knowing that Ueda was behind, now I have more reasons to play it. Another flawless video Mark!
The Last Guardian was an absolute joy to play. While I too struggled at first to get Trico to follow directions, I realize in hindsight that it was a frustration that stemmed from my expectations as a gamer. After the first major cutscene or two, however, I became so invested in my relationship with Trico and our journey together that the controls didn't really matter anymore. Of course, as an animal lover I was constantly shoving the spear-throwers, petting Trico, and going out of my way to search for barrels - and apparently that makes the AI more responsive. So cool!
Glad you mentioned Brothers, one of the best examples of storytelling through gameplay I can think of
Superb work, man! This was one of your best episodes. Using game mechanics to tell a story is one of my favorite elements of game design, and I'm delighted whenever a big-name title is up to the challenge.
These videos are the golden standard. Informative. Entertaining. Addicting. Your work is Quality. I'm extremely late in finding this channel...but I'm glad I did.
I love your videos! its xmas everyday you upload.
I loved The Last Guardian. For me, it's a must-have-game for every PS4 owner (but I don't think it's a system seller). There were moments that I cried - not because of a sad moment or anything like that, but because I found myself deeply caring about Trico. In the end, she was a living being to me - and I don't recall any other game that made me feel this particular emotion.
Thank you so much for your work and this video in particular! It really inspired me.
Best regards from Brasil! :)
Thanks for airing the "not always fun" point. I think this is an important bit and is coming up in all sorts of (especially indie) games these days. Undertale's genocide route comes to mind, wherein your thirst for the other half of the highly layered story might push you to hurt friends you've made in previous playthroughs. That's not fun, and purposefully so.
Other art forms have to do this too. Say, when contemporary classical music uses harsh sounds and timbres to create responses in kind with its listeners.
Anyway, thanks for an excellent video as always! More more more!!!
Again a really great video Mark! The quality of these analyses is unmatched on YT, as far as I can tell anyway. So thank you for making these and even more I hope that these will come in handy for a resume when you find that you want to get a job in the gaming industry or similiar.
Always a good day when there is a new game makers toolkit. Keep up the great work
You articulated what I've been thinking all along so well. From the E3 2016 trailer I knew this was going to be special. The music alone sold me and it's certainly in my top games list. And the VR demo is pure magic!
Man I could listen to you even if you talked about friggin' noodles. The fact that you speak about games makes it all the more better plus the fact that you do it rather well, wow. Will support in the future. Thanks man
I whole-heartedly agree. As someone who has multiple pets, I think Ueda's decision about the AI was fantastic and the connection felt with Trico throughout the overall journey makes me not care as much for the issues that are present (like the camera or annoying prompts).
I didn't play the last guardian but I've seen some reviews, but now that I've watched your video on it I'm starting to think about how all the negatives the reviewers are a result of not understanding art...
All the negatives reviews are because people have different opinions and different ideas of what's fun. Be open minded here please.
Known Scone Games fair enough
Known Scone Games, true but i'd be willing to bet that's not how the reviews are presented
Reviews are implied as the reviewer's opinion, I don't know what you mean Magenta :o
very true, but phrasing likew "this game controls terribly" leads me to think some reviewers think their opinions are objective truths
This game is immediately familiar to anyone who has had a pet and tried to train them to do something. Sometimes they are attentive and understand your intentions sometimes they get confused and frustrated, and sometimes they just do whatever they want. It's a technical achievement that the AI scripting is subtle enough to fool us into thinking Trico has wants and intentions, but it was also a design achievement that the game (as yet since I haven't finished it yet but at least past all the footage shown here) managed to capture the awkwardness of building a relationship in a vulnerable state while avoiding putting players in the kind of frustrating circumstances that break the magic circle. I got frustrated, yes, but it was always with Trico, or at my (and transferrably the Kid's) inability to see the solutions, or at the daunt of the task ahead.
I learned in my second play through that you can jump on the backs of the armor enemies and rip their heads off, but you still need trico to distract them.
I fall on the side of loving it. As someone who has grown completely tired of games becoming more and more like movies (here's looking at you Telltale Games and Naughty Dog -- even though I do love Uncharted and The Last of Us), it's completely and utterly refreshing to have people like Ueda out there who always try to tell their stories through gameplay. I can understand why some don't like it, but I frigging loved every moment spent with this game.
For better or worse, they're always trying to convey their stories through gameplay and I respect the hell out of that.
Very nice video, Mark. I hadn't heard of The Last Guardian before, but even in your video, after you explained the mechanics and rules of the game, when Treeco jumps past the guard with the glass-eye shield, the moment hit me with a lot of weight. I'm definitely a fan of developers who use mechanics as narrative within games. It's these games that truly shine; everyone who experiences one of their critical moments knows that that feelings they evoke couldn't have come from any movie or book or painting. And it's almost shocking how deep that connection can be--to act and have the narrative not only respond, but to influence how we choose to act, and why.
In some sense this is the antithesis of the design philosophy of nintendo.
Rather than starting with the gameplay, it starts with an idea of creating a bond with a creature, then fabricates the gameplay and story to best facilitate said, well, feeling.
He started with the Narrative Design then with his Design by Subtraction, the gameplay just follows, still,
on how he have done it is still majestic as F
The comparison to Dark Souls i think is perfect. if you're looking for Trico to be this perfect companion robot then you will come away disappointed. If you want Dark Souls to be easier then it's best you quit playing and play something else. TLG was my game of 2016, the complaints on the performance issues are valid but at the same time I vividly remember Ico and SotC also having performance issues and being ok with that because the game itself was so satisfying and special.
So when I found out about Trico's AI being a bit stubborn at times, I didn't really have the game on my radar anymore, but this idea of story through gameplay and interaction is something I've always felt was the key to building and appreciating games and put it back on my list of games to pick up when I have the time. Thanks Mark, keep up the great and informative work.
Just remember, don't tell him to do multiple things at once when you play. Just like any pet, they'll get confused or ignore you~
This is where most people go wrong because they expect Trico to react very quickly where Trico takes a few seconds to understand what you said and then a few more seconds to prep to do what you want to do. He still has more stubborn moments of course, especially at the very beginning when you hardly know each other.
Thanks for this vid! Ive always liked Ueda's games from an aesthetic view since i've never really played any of his games but wow that part when trico saved the boy - really opened my eyes to how powerful games can really be.
Playing this game in front of my friend, he commented on how frustrating it seemed to control Trico. I said I'm really enjoying how organic it feels to try to understand this animal that I've only interacted with for about an hour. I'm glad you picked up on that! I've waited 11 years for this game and I couldn't be happier!
this has to be your best vid so far, it's a ode to videogames as a medium and an art, it would be teaching material
Found this channel about a week ago. I can honestly say that it's one of the best finds I've ever done on UA-cam. Amazing content!
Your videos are nothing short of fantastic- I just found your channel and am quickly consuming as much as I can! Thank you for doing what you do!
Thanks, Mark, this one goes straight to Favorites folder. If anyone ever questions videogames being a unique artform of their own, this is the video I'm showing them. I mean, that moment at 5:59 is as powerful and emotional as any movie scene can ever hope for!
Another great video. The Last Guardian is my game of the year, I've been a big fan of Ueda's games for a while so I'm able to deal with the jank. I just recognise that it's an extremely slow paced game so you need to work with it at a slow pace, obviously this wont be for everyone. It's those little character moments all told while in gameplay that make it, for me. Interactive character development. All the puzzles even if they aren't super complex all serve the purpose of furthering this relationship. In fact I think there's so much to be said about just one part of the game alone, *spoilers*, the bit when you're separated from Trico, it explores such a range of emotions in this moments by separating you from you companion and putting you up against an incredible opponent, on your own. Great stuff.
Glad to be supporting such a brilliant show! I can't wait to apply all of the things you have been showing us in my own games!
Your point about Dark Souls reminds me of something one of my design professors always says about target audience; "You can't turn some people on without turning others off." I think that is very relevant to this game as well. Entering it, I expected a masterpiece, and to be honest, was sorely disapointed. I got fed up with Trico, didn't care all that much about the world, and found myself just holding the commands down because he wouldn't listen to me otherwise (still do that because it tends to be the best way to make it happen). But then a shift happened (and for spoilers sake I won't mention it) where suddenly I didn't feel like Trico was a dumb shit who I was relying on to get me from A to B, but rather someone who I wanted to bring to B with me, because it's clear he cares. Shouldn't have doubted Ueda, but hey, I'm human. Great episode as always, and of course I come back with another question for you: do you think Resident Evil 7 is a smart move by Capcom? There's certainly been mixed opinions on this one, but I am very excited. Long time fan since 2 (first M rated game I played), I am very happy with the emphasis on horror. I played the demo to full completion, getting the coin and all, and am eagerly awaiting the release but haven't watched much to avoid spoilers. Thanks for reading these and responding to most, always makes me happy to see when a channel or person interacts with their viewers, makes me and the community of watchers feel appreciated. Though you're probably half sick of seeing me pop up on every video haha.
i hoped you would include thomas was alone at the end, as it builds relationships through gameplay beautifully.
Mark, that was a brilliant analysis! You really took out what I loved about The Last Guardian. I love games that make you feel things because that translates to fun for me. Some people just want a challenge. I want an experience.
I have never experienced your videos before but WOW, this is amazing stuff. Well thought out, well analysed, well crafted discussion of game design and mechanics. You really know your stuff!
The last two minutes are GOLD. Thanks for saying it so well.
Another good thing about the example you used, of the game showing Trico's fear for the boy's safety overcoming his fear of the stained glass is, it might not happen on that encounter. I managed to knock both those guys over with no problem. For me, that moment of Trico over coming his fear came much later, when you first approach the tower and a swarm of those armor guys pour out while you're trying to push two of the glass eyes off a bridge. It's a much more emergent way of hitting the same emotional beat that 'Last of Us' did through its script, or the ensuing encounter, where if Joel takes out the everyone silently while Ellie provides overwatch, more guys spawn in so she gets the opportunity to shoot, ensuring the following cut scene makes sense.
Ooh this is brilliant. As someone who thinks on how different mediums make themselves unique by their formal(as in, the form of the medium) power, this is such an inspiration. Thanks for the brilliant video, as always!
What an excellent video! Watched it twice in a row. :) It's always amazing when a game manage to pull off a story through its mechanics. Another great example of this would be Brothers, a Tale of Two Sons.
Wow very well said. This game came out of nowhere for me last year and became my game of the year. I agree with all points. Subbed
This is the most beautiful game I have ever played. I didn't think about it too much from a designers perspective, but the fact that it felt like an experience unique to me seems absolutely incredible in hindsight.
Not gonna lie, I got emotional at 6:00
The moment Trico jumped to save the boy ignorinng his fears, was the moment I cried and reminded me why Fumito Ueda's are my favorite games. Such a strong scene, the feeings this game made me go though was mesmerising. Art. Thank you with all my heart for making this video.
Wow, I always thought of designing rules for gameplay and only that. I never thought about curating an instant where a well-established gameplay rule is broken to further the narrative. That’s quite a clever design!
Glad you mentioned Brothers. That one specific moment is surprisingly powerful when you realize what is going on.
Your videos are both informative and highly entertaining for all video games fans. Thank you for making them.
I recently watched Liam Triforce's retrospective about the Team Ico games and he made a point that I completely missed in all the times I played ICO:
After the gates are opened and the two characters are crossing the bridge, once the bridge begins to separate Yorda actually holds out her hand for Ico to jump and grab onto thus flipping the roles for one moment. It's very similar to what happens in The Last Guardian with the shield knights in that the AI is now breaking out of their comfort zone. Ico always initiated holding hands with Yorda and Trico would wait until the glass eyes were destroyed before moving on; in these two moments, WE the players became dependent on the AI.
Wow. That was such an intense scene. Thank you for the video.
While I could never get into this game and the relationship was never sold to me from the very beginning (and I dislike the sacrifice of early gameplay consistency which can discourage players from continuing)... I really really appreciate the mention of that guard sequence as narrative through mechanics. It's not something I would have known about otherwise, and it's a really brilliant moment in terms of design.
This is a fantastic look at the importance of game storytelling. Thank you!
The Last Guardian landed really well for me. It's probably my least favorite of the Ico trilogy but it's still a favorite. I found the controls good since they were designed for the feel of the game rather than just defaulting to what they had before. They could have had a stamina circle and make you hold down a button to keep a hold on trico like in Shadow of the Colossus, but that would have changed the relationship between the beast and the boy. It would have meant that effort was needed to be together with the beast where-as you talked about here-the co-dependent relationship means it takes effort to let go and be on one's own. The controls may have been less than ideal, but they reinforced the ideals of the game in a way that resonated with me.
That was beautiful. Thanks!