Fumito Ueda Designed The Last Guardian to Be Timeless (Gamespot Interview)
The game has been in development for approximately 8 years, and in that time, tastes change, expectations changed. I mean, gaming has moved a lot in those 8 years. I was curious if the project has needed to shift or pivot in order to match changing expectations or if it remains completely true to its original intent all along.
I'll give you the short answer: it's the latter. We carried out what we set out to do, and it's the original vision that we now see in this completed game. Sure, over the course of years, a lot of things have changed. But we knew from the very beginning that we wanted to create something that was timeless, something that was going to last a very long time--that was going to hold up for "X" amount of years. I think Sony as a whole understood that from the very beginning. It really did matter for the Last Guardian that we've remained true to the original vision and carried that out.
That seems like such an ambitious goal--to set out to make something that's timeless. How do you even begin to approach something like that? I mean, what makes a game timeless?
No one has confirmed that this is the right thing to do. I can't even tell you that this is the answer, or this is the formula, and if you follow my formula, you'll make a timeless video game. There's no confirmation or affirmation from anyone. It's just my instinct and my gut that's telling me that this is what I hope will become a timeless video game. I ask myself, "What we're making right now, 5 years from today, will that hold up? Will I be happy or satisfied with it looking back?" I guess that's my way to measure whether it could potentially be a timeless creation.
I remind myself to check in with my future self. Is it going to hold up well? Is it going to age well? It's not just the visual side that I look at, but also the theme that's in the game, and the level design that's in the game. Now, I don't know if this will work. Like I said, no one is telling me it's going to. But I feel like that is the factor that helps me make my decisions as to whether it's going to last a long time, and not just become something that is consumed, and digested, before moving on to the next thing.
From a personal angle, why is the goal to create something that is timeless?
The answer is quite simple: because that's what I love. It's not just with games. It's with film. It's with art. Anyone can get excited one day over something and then the next day forget about it. That's everyday life. But I like things that leave a long-lasting impression on me. It becomes a part of me. It stays with me. I can maybe grow with it. That's the type of stuff that I like. It's important that I am doing that for my own creations as well.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shadow-of-the-colossus-creator-fumito-ueda-designe/1100-6445261/