4Players: First of all: Thank you for two excellent games Ueda-san, thank

Fumito Ueda leads videogames into new directions. His titles ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are already classics.

Fumito Ueda: (smiles, nods...)

4Players: We love these games because of their distinctive atmosphere. There is something special about this kind of fantasy. How do you create those worlds? What was the first step on ICO?

Fumito Ueda: To answer your second question first...It's actually quite a long time since ICO. And I don't quite remember for sure, but I think it was a Japanese TV-commercial that was kind of the trigger. There was a commercial with a very tall woman holding hands with a little boy. And I think that kind of triggered ICO. In terms of how I create the worlds...It really comes from gamedesign. So I take everything which needs to be there, everything that's necessary. And then it ends up like it is. So it's more from gamedesign.

4Players: We have graphics, sounds, gameplay, story and much more. What are the most important aspects for you in gamedesign?

Fumito Ueda: If I had to single something out I think it's kind of the image, the visual screen. The image that's reproduced during gameplay. So that's the first thing I kind of have an image

A new dreamteam? The hero and the beast.

4Players: For a long time videogames could just spark simple feelings like revenge or anger. What can we expect in the future? Do you think that videogames should develop a more mature approach like Heavy Rain or a more emotional approach like Flower?

Fumito Ueda: Actually before your question I've never really thought of which direction it should go. But what I look for or what I'm kind of referencing is movies. Because I think it's evolved further than games have in terms of modern entertainment. And so whatever I think can be expressed in films I think can be expressed through games.

4Players: You graduated from the Osaka University of Arts. When you look back on your studies: What are the most valuable things you learned?

Fumito Ueda: Actually during university I was studying abstract visual like paintings and so on... So I think maybe I'm doing the exact opposite because it's not abstract obviously. And so what I think what I learned through my studies is not really about technique or craftsmanship...that type of idea...but more about the ability to plan and to come up with ideas in the planning stage.

4Players: For a long time there were clear differences between western and eastern gamedesign, between American and Japanes titles. Recently some developers like Konami and Capcom try to approach the American way of gamedesign. What is your opinion about this?

Fumito Ueda: Personally I'm a player or user that enjoyed European and North American games. And so I don't feel any strangeness or awkwardness in the fact that Japanese games are trying to incorporate such style. 

4Players: When we look at the upcoming title The Last Guardian: What is your vision?

Fumito Ueda:

Looks like there is a new giant for Shadow of the Colossus...

4Players: ICO is a platformer with an interesting relationship between a hero and a girl, Shadow of the Colossus is an action-adventure with a new kind of silent exploration and spectacular fights on moving giants. How would you describe The Last Guardian?

Fumito Ueda: It's very difficult to give a precise description of The Last Guardian. So I think the most simple way to say it is that I'm trying to combine the best elements of the previous two titles to make The Last Guardian.

4Players: It's a pity that The Last Guardian is not playable here at the Tokyo Game Show. Could you show a glimpse of the gameplay by describing one scene?

Fumito Ueda: Have you already seen the new trailer?

4Players: No, I just know the one you showed at E3...

Fumito Ueda: We have a new one for TGS. You definitely should check it out. To give you an example of the gameplay...For example the beast has some kind of a favourite food. Like a fruit or something. So you need to get somewhere higher up that the main character could not get up to. Then the main character can take that fruit and throw it up high. Then the beast will show some kind of interest and maybe stand up so that the character can climb up on the beast in order to get to wherever it needs to be. And so that kind of simple games is one feature. 

4Players: We found out that you had an Amiga 500 when you were young! This

What's beneath the surface?

Fumito Ueda: Actually I even had an Amiga 1200. My favourite games were Lemmings, Flashback and there are many more. I like games where there is detailed action that is reproduced on the screen. Actually there are not so many but there are some shops in Japan that were retailing the computer and when I graduated from university I felt a limit I can go with fine art. So I started familiarizing myself with computers and one was the Amiga because it could manipulate images very easily.

4Players: Thank you very much, Ueda-san.       

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