The Last Guardian - New Footage Impressions

After a White Knight Chronicles presentation, the developers from Level-5 wanted to show us a video that they put together with designer Fumito Ueda. We haven't heard much about the game since the trailer was unveiled officially at Sony's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference, but we did get to see a bit of previously unreleased (and unleaked) footage to get an idea of the game's direction. In an interview with the man behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Fumito Ueda talked about how realism can be achieved through the imagination. Ueda also wanted to clarify that the creature we saw in The Last Guardian trailer was not a bird, dog, or cat but an imaginary creature that could be a combination of the three.

Ueda went on to say that he spent a lot of time detailing how the tail would move. Because of the interaction between the tail and the boy, there needs to be as much detail as possible. His goal was to create a strange and fantastical world that felt real and to show that the imagination could lead to a connection with realism. It's obvious that a lot of attention was paid to every little detail, from the grass and feathers of the creature to how the boy interacts with his surroundings. Ueda still wasn't able to discuss the story, but he did say he likes the unexpected and would like to surprise people with the ending.

We were then shown some brief footage of the game. It was mainly of the environments so that we could get a feel for how much effort was put into creating this peaceful but elaborate temple. After the camera panned to the blue sky, it settled on several locations so that we could see and hear the different sounds of nature. From the steady flow of water from a small fountain to the gentle howl of the wind, it was amazing to just be able to listen to the subtle sounds of dust being blown across a field or the sharp crackle of a fire. We then heard a lone horn play in the distance as the camera focused on a large feathered beast that was sleeping peacefully. A flute began to play, and we saw a young boy reading in a quiet room. He eventually approached the resting creature and moved in slow exaggerated steps to avoid waking it. Once he approached the enormous doglike face, he reached out to pet it. The sleepy creature woke up and stretched its birdlike feet before reaching behind its ear to scratch it like a dog and shake itself out.

The trailer ended, and we were left with more questions we wanted answered. No release date or other details have been shared, but stay tuned to GameSpot for more 2009 Tokyo Game Show coverage.