At the occasion of E3 lots of new video footage has been released for upcoming games. Most of it is just more of the same. But there’s at least one exception. From our “sister company” thatgamecompany. We had the pleasure of trying out an early build of their upcoming Playstation Network game Flower earlier this year. And while that was a very memorable experience, the new clips show that the team around Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago have not been sitting still.
It’s so nice to see some designers being really creative and inventive. And not just applying the standard cookie cutter approach to whatever content comes their way. Let’s contrast the glory above with the absolute “horror” below.
It’s common knowledge that the Silent Hill series has been in decline since version 3. So why continue down the same path of “improving the combat” and adding more “cool features” when you know that the fans don’t appreciate this much at all? Lack of inspiration? Lack of love? (not lack of budget, that’s for sure…)
Crosshairs in Silent Hill? What is this a first person shooter? And that stupid blinking-on-screen-quick-hit-that-button-VCR-controls-in-disguise-whoever-invented-that-and-thought-it-was-a-good-idea interaction that nobody likes? Chasing enemies?? (Whatever happened to “RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!”?) And no, I will not mention the character design. What character design?
Let’s just forget that ever happened.
Wash it all away with more Flower.
Really love those windmills. It grounds the game firmly in our contemporary world rather than offering a simple escape. More of that, please!
Those windmills.. The E-on power company here in the UK sticks them up throughout the countryside. Half of them look nice in their surroundings, but people complain of the noise they make. Personally, I like them.
I really do love the concept of Flower. It’s one of those games you could just enjoy for hours on end.
The grass motion is beautiful! Sure its the only motion with the flowers and the eoliennes, those windmills.
I’m looking foward to that.
I hope they are going to realese an demo so my ps3 possesor friend sees the beauty and buys it, so i can eventually play it… It worked with echocrome and flow, why not flower?
Looks like Sonic without loops… and Sonic (Flower, not Silent Hill).
Indeed. I also got this feeling of a platform game. Running along a trail and picking up gold coins/petals. But in first person view. Jenova and his crew are big believers in traditional game structures. They just implement them in a fresh and expressive way.
Sending so much love to you guys from LA!
It feels like the wind. One of those games that is a much more complete escape due to its’ grounding in reality. It reminds me a lot of Cloud (http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/), another beautiful game.
From the same creators, I. T.
Cloud has also been made by thatgamecompany, so i guess it’s kinda normal that they’re games gave the same feelings. And a agree on the similitude of what we feel in these games.
Wind is a wonderful element.
That silent hill video is funny. Yes! run after the boy with an axe! (why would he be hiding in this hotel?!?)
ummm…..lol