Clattertron

[dc]A[/dc]s I wandered around the world of Ico, I noticed the rooms and spaces were big and tall–in fact, pretty much everything was big and tall.

Go Big

Big, empty spaces. Tall towers and walls. Gavin touched on the tower and high building imagery in his first post—how such visuals are common in fantasy.

Everything is just big in some way or another in this video game. The fact the main character, Ico, is a child might amplify the appearance too. Compared to Ico, everything is bigger: even his companion Yorda (she towers over him a bit). Again, consider Sara’s post on the child avatar.

The scale of everything in Ico adds to the fantasy and wonder of the world. Ico features exaggerated surroundings, which has a subconscious alien feel: you don’t belong. The story is pretty much about Ico being somewhere he should not, so the visual style makes sense.

“They Didn’t Have Wookiees in Mind.”

In some of the large spaces, I can’t help but wonder what beings the rooms were designed for—assuming, for a second, the building is more than just a level in a video game, and part of a ‘real’ world.

The large spaces reminded me of a scene in the film Forbidden Planet. An ancient advanced race, the Krell, lived on a the planet of Altair IV, and died off long ago. Yet, remains of Krell society survive—technology, buildings, and machines. While the audience never sees what the Krell looked like, the surviving arches and doorways hint at their appearance. The door was not made with a human body in mind, and looks very different to us.

It is a simple art direction trick, and an excellent example of less is more. All we know is, the Krell were big and not humanoid.

Ico uses a similar device with its cavernous rooms and tall walls. Just about everything is bigger than the player—including shadow spirits of various size–making the world equal parts captivating and unnerving.

Don’t Look Down

Speaking of unnerving, Ico is not afraid to let you drop from high up and die. Most of my game overs are the result of slipping off a ledge or the like. Again, the camera doesn’t help with this issue—nor do the controls. Navigating a ledge is tricky, but it is all part of the game.

Like I said in my first Project Ico post, the lack of an ever-present soundtrack, or other distractions, really puts the focus on the terror of the heights in Ico. Dropping from heights in 3D video games is always a creepy thing (at least for me), yet in Ico they seem even worse. Compare to the Uncharted series, which also features similar ledge navigating and climbing situations. In Ico, maneuvering along ledges is scarier than in Uncharted, which has a score to add to the adventure element, as well as Drake’s own jokes and sound effects.

Uncharted still has an edge, yes, but not as nearly as intense as Ico is in its quiet moments. Ico is The Wages of Fear intense while Uncharted is Speed (sure, let’s go with that comparison).

–

Read Sara Clemens’ Project Ico posts on Videodame

Read Gavin Craig’s Project Ico posts on GavinCraig