Your ultimate aim is to reach the top of that monolith, but the path there is littered with side-trails and distractions. When we weren't shooting adorable aliens for lols, we solved puzzles, gathered resources for gadgets, and occasionally fought brightly-coloured monsters. At one point Hutchinson hunted down a warbling multi-headed chicken-like creature, shot it, then laughed as it poofed into two smaller creatures that ran off screaming in opposite directions.
It's a lush, vibrant world, filled with uniquely arresting plants and beasties. "I think we're a bit dystopian right now, everything is grey and brown and negative". "I wanted to get back to that positive feeling I had growing up", he said. "Optimistic" was almost the very first word Hutchinson deployed, describing his attempt to recapture the spirit of games from his childhood. Ideally in 10-12 hours, if they commit to "turning over all the rocks". As Hutchinson repeatedly told me, he's very keen for players to reach the end. Hutchinson and his team want players to take their time, in a world that "pushes back on you" without being overbearing. It's a romp through a planet that sometimes tries to kill you, and often only once you're busy trying to kill it. This is no desperate struggle for survival. In some ways, to talk of overlords is to distract from what Journey To The Savage Planet is. Your goal is to determine whether the planet you've landed on is habitable, check out an unexpected alien monolith, and send data back to your corporate overlords. You’re the latest recruit of Kindred Aerospace, an organisation that proudly declares itself the fourth best space exploration company in the universe. "Hidden content is wasted content", they used to say at Ubisoft.
Gone, though, are the mantras that defined their work for the man. It's staffed by industry veterans taking refuge from big-budget open worlds including Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, Hutchinson himself having been the creative director of Far Cry 4. Journey To The Savage Planet is the first game from Hutchinson's company, the 25-strong Typhoon Studios. You don't always need to visit other planets to find savagery. Hutchinson kicks the bird into the maw of a carnivorous plant, then cackles as the sated beast retracts to open up a new path. About setting off on "a purely positive mission to get out there and find something for people." It's about finding a new colony for humanity. He's the creative director of Journey To The Savage Planet, and he's guiding me through his new studio's "optimistic and colourful" sci-fi exploration game. Or rather at the feet of Alex Hutchinson. It’s all pupils and cuteness, a squeaking, big-eyed blob snuffling happily away at my feet. There is an alien bird in front of me, and it is adorable.
0 kommentar(er)
