In television adverts for Horizon Zero Dawn, when player-controlled character Aloy says that the Earth has been reclaimed by nature, but for machines rather than ourselves, she's not entirely on the money—or the shards, I suppose, to use the game's "post-post-apocalyptic" currency. Yes, the world of some 1,000 years from now is much changed, and inhabited by mechanical creatures of curious design and mysterious origins. But Horizon Zero Dawn isn't a game built around its clanking, stomping goliaths. Its origins are of a more human nature."Looking back at the concept art for the game, there's an early image where there's this young, female, tribal hunter with red hair, sitting on the side of a valley, looking out over this extraordinary vista," Horizon's narrative director, John Gonzales, recalls. "So, Aloy showed up there, in the initial world concept conceived by the studio's art director, Jan-Bart van Beek, which dates back something like six years. That was before I came on board, about three and a half years ago."Once committed to Guerrilla Games' maiden voyage into role-playing territories, the Amsterdam-based company having built its name on the Killzone shooter series, Gonzales set about bringing this then-nameless warrior, this hero in waiting, to life. Initial inspirations included Ellen Ripley ( Alien), Sarah Connor ( The Terminator), and San from Princess Mononoke, "but as we dug into her story, she transcended any particular starting reference."Continue reading on Waypoint.
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