Affinity Motivation

Ico was imprisoned to his fate for reasons of speculative superstition. During his meandering attempt to escape the massive crumbling castle he was entombed within, he encounters a young girl whom he learns is called Yorda. Upon liberating her from her iron prison she is shortly abducted by dark magical creatures which attempt to sink Yorda into the castles very composition.

At the sight of such monstrous magic I myself would surely be afraid, but Ico, himself a boy with horns whom appears no older than a pre-teen shows no fear in his attempts to rescue Yorda from the beast with nothing more than a stick of wood. This selfless act of courage is quite surprising and as it turns out is essential to his survival and subsequent escape from the mysterious castle.

The motivations of Ico are unclear, perhaps he felt an affinity with Yorda as she too has been entombed beyond her will. Or perhaps Ico felt an attraction to Yorda, or even a sense of companionship in the few moments they have together before the attempted abduction. Whatever his motivations, they clearly help them both to tackle the adversity they find themselves in, because without Yordas’ help Ico would not be able to escape, and vice versa.

Despite the apparent lack of character development the player immediately feels compelled to help the avatar escape with the mildly distracted Yorda in tow. The abduction is a brilliant moment which is dealt with sensitively and with a true sense of emotion, impelling both characters into the hearts of the player to assist in their extradition. It’s one of my favourite moments in any game and one which I play with frivolous empathy.

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It's a Tragedy...

Studying Greek Mythology as part of my English Degree has allowed me to conclude that the story behind SotC is a tragedy. I have discussed the transcript of the game with a good friend of mine, an English lecturer at Lincoln University here in the UK and we both agreed that the game can comfortably be classified as such and that this tone helps impact the game upon the moral consciousness of the player.

If the protagonist ‘Wander’ had survived the ordeal to resurrect the maiden the story would not have the same impact. Tragic events allow stories emotional weight and deliver messages or carry feelings the characters experienced during the tale to the player.

A similar conclusion can be drawn against Ico. Although in this tale the ‘hero’ did not meet death, his heroin’s fate was not clear and many speculate that she was not resurrected, but her soul became the Queens possession. Her soul therefore became a part of the crumbling castle, never to escape. The ending of Ico requires the player to draw their own conclusions about the fate of Yorda and I suppose it depends greatly on the attitude of the player, pessimist or optimist.

The Last Guardian may also have the same tone throughout, although early observations believe the story to have a warmer feel to it plainly because of the relationship between the beast and the boy. It’s safe to assume from previous experience that The Last Guardian may have some moments of bitter pain or loss equal to the fall of Agro in SotC.

Team ICO appear to portray tragedy consistently and with a purpose, to draw in the player into the game deeper than if it were devoid of tragedy. This is something I have come to expect and indeed revel in experiencing.

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Yawara! Ico

YAWARA! anime, also known as Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, is a Japanese manga series by Naoki Urasawa. I just thought I would post this video showing Yawara as Yorda as it made me wrinkle my forehead then laugh out loud. Very strange...

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About a Boy

Imagine inheriting something that sets you apart from your friends and family; a physical feature you cannot hide but which will see you cast out from your homeland.

A tragic inevitability haunts your birth - you know you will never reach adulthood. Alone and entombed, exiled from your family as a harbinger of bad luck, isolation is your only friend...

Now imagine finding a kindred spirit in the darkness that surrounds you. Looking up and seeing a light so bright that it illuminates your path and asks for your help.

Suddenly, escape seems possible. There are two of you now, and together you know much can be achieved. You know that a friendship like this can overcome whatever lies in your way...

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Relationships with a Pixel

Team ICO’s games are enjoyable because they capture a feeling for the player that is seldom explored in games. If you’ve ever played a modern videogame then chances are you will have had a relationship with your on-screen avatar whether it be to shout at them for not doing what you want, to feeling a little sad when they are killed to even feeling fear for them when threatened.

Team ICO tends to exploit this feeling by showing the player this relationship on screen between two characters. By doing this the player can’t help but feel in some way connected to the characters, like a surrogate parent nurturing the on-screen relationship and protecting it. In Ico for instance, the relationship between Ico and Yorda is so innocent and childlike that one can’t help feel for them both and every effort is made by the player to protect them both.

I have played other games where this doesn’t happen. Tomb raider for instance; my time with Lara Croft was quite a dominant relationship to the point where I would find interesting and gruesome ways for her to be killed. I think this happens because I don’t feel protective of the avatar and indeed she is there to obey me. In Ico, Yorda and Ico are relying on each other for protection and look to me for guidance therefore I immediately feel a different kind of connection other than to dominate.

It’s this dynamic which is at the centre of Team ICO’s games and one which I look forward to exploring with each new release. From what I know of The Last Guardian, this dynamic is again exploited in the relationship between the young boy and the creature, Trico.

There are examples of this in other games within the industry. Games of note are ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ for the PS2 and the Gamecube, the relationship between Jade and Pey'j. You may also want to look at the recent ‘Prince of Persia’ game and the relationship between the Prince and the Princess, although this is less successful due in part to the lack of substance the game presents. Team ICO seems to understand this dynamic more than any other game developer and this is one of the reasons their games tend to feel much more human than the crowd.

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Ico

Ico is the first game from Team ICO. Released in 2001 on the Playstation 2, Ico was originally destined for the Playstation 1, but it was decided by Sony that the fledgling consoles weak game line-up at launch needed stronger better games. And so Ico's release on the PS1 was cancelled and it was developed and released for the PS2 instead.

Ico is very unusual and is not like most other Playstation games. Ico blends soft flowing imagery with harsh angular architecture to produce a dreamlike quality which is rarely seen in games.

Ico is also the name of the playable character, a young boy with horns. His aim is to escape a dark crumbling castle in which he was imprisoned. Early on he rescues a young girl called Yorda from a cage suspended from the castle ceiling and they both must escape while avoiding being captured by strange dark creatures which also inhabit the castle. These creatures are not unlike those seen standing around Wander in SOTC every-time a colossus is defeated. The creatures attempt to kidnap Yorda if she’s left alone for too long and you have to call to her or grab her hand and pull her to safety while attacking them with a stick or a sword. It’s all very tense at times and the creatures are quite persistent.

The main attraction is the castle which is quite simply massive. Each room contains a puzzle or a path which is related to another rooms puzzle. It’s quite difficult to understand how the rooms link together and you must keep track of where you are and where you came from. This is the challenging part of Ico, the castle is a massive puzzle of interlinking rooms and pathways that for the most part don’t give any clues as to how they relate to each other. Only persistence and careful thinking about how the rooms relate to each other will allow you understand the puzzles.

It took me about a year to complete Ico. When I did it felt very rewarding. I won’t spoil the ending for you, needless to say it is worth the effort should you choose to undertake such a task as beating the castle and its secrets.



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Ico

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