Horizon: Forbidden West with Guerrilla's Mathijs de Jonge
Aug 22, 2022
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Mathijs de Jonge, Game Director for both the Horizon series and Killzone series, discusses building a sequel to a successful first entry while balancing new and existing features. They also talk about Guerrilla's approach to creating a massive and ambitious title like Horizon Forbidden West, including improving accessibility and melee combat, and the playtest process.
Balancing familiar features with new ones is crucial for creating a fresh sequel to a successful game.
The transition from linear to open-world gameplay presented new challenges that required extensive prototyping and studying of other games.
The positive feedback from players and the excitement generated by Horizon led the development team to stick with their chosen path.
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Matthias De Yuan Discusses Directing Horizon Forbidden West
In this podcast episode, Matthias De Yuan, the game director for Horizon Forbidden West, talks about the decision-making process behind balancing familiar features from the first game with new features to keep the sequel fresh.
Transitioning from Killzone to Horizon
The development team at Guerrilla Games felt the need for a change after working on the Killzone series. The concept of Horizon stood out as fresh and different, offering a new challenge for the team.
Challenges and Solutions in Open World Design
Transitioning from linear, first-person shooters to open-world, third-person gameplay presented new challenges for the team. They studied other open-world games, designed the world with content distribution in mind, and went through extensive prototyping to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.
Overcoming Doubts and Finding Direction for Horizon
During the development of Horizon, the team faced doubts and considered changing directions due to the similarities with another game. However, positive feedback from players and the excitement generated by the concept led them to stick with Horizon as their chosen path.
Maintaining Balance and Quality throughout the Development of Horizon Forbidden West
The team at Guerrilla Games focused on continuous playtesting and iteration to ensure a balanced and high-quality experience for Horizon Forbidden West. They emphasized the importance of immersion, accessibility, and enjoyable combat encounters throughout the game's development.
Ted Price chats with Guerrilla'sMathijs de Jonge. Mathijs is the Game Director for both the Horizon series and Killzone series. Together they discuss building a sequel to a highly successful first entry in a new series; balancing fresh new features with existing ones that were crucial to fans of the first title; and Guerrilla's approach to building a massive and ambitious title like Horizon Forbidden West. Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.
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