Upcoming PlayStation 4 game "Horizon Zero Dawn" looks absolutely beautiful in its depiction of an Earth-like world ruled over by robots. It seems as though the world is not only overrun by robots, but also by nature, and it makes sense that the game's world would be inspired by nature in our own world.
Gamespresso interviewed some members of the "Horizon Zero Dawn" development team to find out how they managed to put together the visually stunning game. The robots in the game were modeled after the real-life behaviors and instincts of animals, according to Managing Director Hermen Hulst.
The hulking machines in "Horizon Zero Dawn" ended up feeling like dinosaurs and gigantic mammals from way back in history, which was a perfect fit for their size. Some of the robots do take on characteristics of smaller animals; it's all a matter of finding out which real-life equivalent works for each model.
The robots' behavior in "Horizon Zero Dawn" is also telling of how they'll attack Alloy, the main character, and how she can interact with them and eventually defeat them. The game's art director, Jan-Bart Van Beek, lists different animal inspirations for the various robots in the game world, and each of them really does have patterns of their own.
The animal designs in "Horizon Zero Dawn" were also created with utility in mind, such as crab-like robots becoming walking treasure chests or a huge wildebeest-like robot that can provide map information, says Game Director Mathijs de Jonge.
In other news, "Horizon Zero Dawn" will be optimized for the upcoming PlayStation 4 Pro, which provides 4K video capability that the original PlayStation 4 doesn't have. According to Digital Foundry, the game can render up to a whopping 2160p on the PS4 Pro. It might not be full 4K yet, however, as games will not be able to natively support 4K for a while.