'I am Alive' game, inspiration from where? (No FFXIII crap!)

You haven't seen the 'I am Alive' trailer?

Why not? It's great! Here's the link... watch it before we continue.


So are you ready to hear inspirations? Well Ubisoft isn't a company to shy away from creating very imaginative but very... how should I put it.... Copy cat ideas. This is by no means a bad thign, and they also come up with their fair share share of unique original introductions into the gaming industrys (BG&E)

Prince of Persia demonstrates this, with an ICO like buddy, an Okami like aim (and aesthetic) and battles that should feel predominantly like Boss Battles... Shadow of the Colossus anyone? Again... not a bad thign at all.

Check my comments below if you think I sound down on PoP, I am but, let's not go into that here.


Moving on, 'I am Alive' seems to take a far more inspiration from cinema, specifically because we've only seen a cinematised trailer. But what do you guys notice? 

Yeh huh, 'Day after Tomorrow', 'I am Legend' etc. Good spots

But the actual trailer is superbly directed, giving us some great hints at the games mechanics, or objectives. Water seems to be in short supply, and the city is in ruins, and it's still something people are adjusting to, having occurred less than a week earlier.  

And the lack of Water thing has been done in movies too. I can't rememebr which... anyone care to remind me? Once again a great idea, fresh to games, and fresh to this scenario; a destroyed city (fresh in both cinema and games).

But here is was gives me real faith in this game (specifically because it's an awesome movie) is the game's trailer clearly references a superb movie, with best intentions. And to be honest, it has less effect than the movie does, but then it would be unfair to suggest a teaser ever could ahve more effect than a movie.

I am about to give you a clip, of the opening scene of Children of Men. It's about 2 minutes long, but you can skip to about 1:00 and you won't miss it.

Now compare this scene on the street, to the one in the trailer.

Here's the link.

Nigh on plagiarism! They both have long unedited shots (a huge technical feat on the movies side) that follow and then circle the respective protagonist, as they place a coffee cup on a power box, and the camera pans round as their is an explosion. 

Share your references below.

EDIT: I changed a lot of things that could be interpretted as negative. Because I am not negative abotu this. I did leave plagiarism in, but I meant it light heardtedly, I am VERY impressed with this game.

[ry-guy]

Show me a game that doesn't have some sort of inspiration that it draws on.

Even Pong has its inspiration from Table Tennis.

[NO_PUDding]

I am not saying it's bad. I really wanna see what the game is about. I lvoe the movie, so I love it.

[ry-guy]

I guess I misunderstood the tone at which you wrote the blog, hehe.

Yeah I saw the beginning and immediatly thought of The Day After Tomorrow with the mall glass.

[NO_PUDding]

No I think you are right... I must ahve worded this badly...

Temptist thought I wa sbeign negative too. I shan't reword it, hopefully peopel will read an see. I am hyped about this, and a little negative about PoP, but I never meant to even share that.

I just tend to hate cel shaded games when they are marketed (by the developes themselves) as artistic. Not as much goes into cel shading as making a true artistic direction, and I am bored with cel shading being an excuse to claim artistic direction.

That's my only qualm with PoP and I ahve no qualms with I am Alive. But thanls for the heads up Ry-guy, I am clearly typing somethign neagtive :P

[ry-guy]

I have the same issuses sometime.

Tone does not come across the internet very well, unfortuantly.

[Tempist]

Um, I know it's not an original game type as Raw Danger and Disaster Report are already out there.

Aside from that Prince of Persia draws roots from DOS era games. So it's a long running franchise. And since when does boss battles being boss battles turn into a bad thing.

I think you have some good ideas, but to a degree they're a little wrong headed.

[NO_PUDding]

Fixed... I never meant to be negative... read above comments.

[Tmac]

I honestly clicked the link to see the hot chick that's about it.

[Isaac]

With repetitive gameplay and an overhyped storyline (seriously, the poor attempt at Science fiction made me puke, Asimov would have cringed if he only knew), Assassin's creed was underwhelming at best, and for that reason I am not looking forward to 'I am Alive', it is probably just another overhyped BS which Jade Raymond will help sell with her beautiful yet money hungry smile of hypocrisy. I hate many games that Ubisoft has made or published that are more flash than actual substance, Kane and Lynch also comes to mind. Their success is undeserved and they are becoming the next EA.

Ubisoft's latest attempts to make cool games have failed as of late and I have no hope for any of their upcoming titles, including Hawx, Conviction and End War. Haze anyone? Their games evidently have great marketing teams behind them; unfortunately, they have very untalented game designers (save a few exceptions).

[NO_PUDding]

I really can't decide. This is another point I may bring up in a blog.

All the time in the early days of the PS3, everyone was saying they are a crap developer for the awful ports, people were bashing them. I was always very impressed by Ubisoft.

And Assassins Creed did quite a bit for me. But to me Ubisoft is like a lot of things loved by the mainstream. It pretends it's depthier than it actually is, so mainstream players can get involved and feel like they are actually experiencing something.

Indeed Ubisoft's marketing is great. Great soundtracks, from recently Sigur Ros, UNKLE and Massive Attack. It's that all there is to it?

I like Assassins Creed as I mentioned, less because of the gamplay, and because despite it's failings, it delivered on the free-running. I loved the story, and the universe in which is was set, and it was hugely fashionable due to the whole Da Vinci code thign which was popular then. And the idea that Templars exist in the future is such a juxtaposition of two gaming stereotypes. Knights and fantasy and Sci-Fi forces plotting to take voer the world.

Both were toned down, so once again Templars, rather than trying to take over the world, want to diminish the control of the church, and Assassins a usually neutral player in the story of the crusade is theorised, a large player.

Clever to me.

But indeed, as I said, I do have qualms with Prince of Persia. It takes inspiration from the things I mentioned. But I hate how they are so proud of the art direction when it's purely glorified cel shading.

And as for the Tom Clancy franchises, well they are becoming ridiculous. Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six were where it could have stayed. But it feels milked now that there is a combat flight simulator, an RTS, and a massive technical shooter (Hawx, Endwar and GRAW respectively) all crammed in under the same name. The last good Splinter Cell was Chaos Theory, and it was brilliant. But Conviction isn't even worthy of Tom Clancy's name. It's not technical, by any means. It's sickening.

Outside of that, I don't think you can blame their independant support failure on them. Haze, and Kane and Lynch weren't developed internally, and they were VERY unfortunate.

Anyway, a great point to bring up. I still ahve faith in them, but it's quickly diminishing, and BG&E2 will have to be great to win me over. I like that they are subverting their previously Cel Shaded game with realistic graphics.

[kingmuscle]

just like i thought I am legend