Ueda Talks Animation In The Last Guardian

Despite information being a little light on the ground, The Last Guardian is already high up on many ‘most wanted’ lists.

At CEDEC 2010, Fumito Ueda and Japanese animator Yasuo Otsuka discussed the power of animation in the visual entertainment industry, and how it impacts games such as The Last Guardian.  Ueda-san showed off an image board which became crucial when making the game, saying;

“I made the game to give life to this picture. The game concept and the rest came after that.  I think great animation is one of the most important advantages the Japanese entertainment industry has over other regions.”

To hammer the point home, Ueda-san has commented that the beast in The Last Guardian – Trico – is not just a bunch of textures, as it fully exists in the game’s world and has an animated skeleton underneath all that fuzz and feathers.

I have to say, I fully agree with his stance on animation.  Whether it be a football game, wrestling game or even a 2D side scroller such as ‘Shank’ – the fluidity of the animation is of paramount importance and can actually make or break the experience.

Source: Teamicogamers