The Works of Fumito Ueda
Title | The Works of Fumito Ueda PDF eBook |
Author | Damien Mecheri |
Publisher | Third Editions |
Total Pages | 206 |
Release | 2019-05-21 |
Genre | Games & Activities |
ISBN | 2377843700 |
Go behind the scenes of the creation of the Fumito Ueda trilogy ! Fumito Ueda has worked on 3 games: ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Each of them was able to express the depth of their author's reflection, his love of purity and showed a real poetry. Are video games art ? This study of the Futimo Ueda's work focuses on the question of the artistic essence of video games. EXTRACT When the game ICO was released in 2001, it had several decades’ worth of video games behind it. The game itself was significantly influenced by video games that had touched its creator, Fumito Ueda: Another World by Éric Chahi and Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner. Yet, when a player takes the ethereal Yorda’s hand, when they feel this physical contact through the vibrations in the controller, something happens. Something new and profound. Something that can only exist through a video game. A simple idea, attached to the R1 button, and digital interaction opens a new door. Of course, this insignificant-seeming gesture is but a small representation of what can really happen. Its strength lies elsewhere; it draws from everything that makes up ICO: its art direction (everything in chiaroscuro), its vanishing lines, its simple and clear game mechanics, its lack of visual interface, its quest for physical realism, its minimalist narration, its extraordinary sensibilities. It is an opening to an evocative otherworld that lets our imagination soar. Contemplative, slow and nearly speechless, ICO offers an uncommon, poetic adventure, rejecting traditional video game standards while still drawing from them. Many remained indifferent to it. Just as many were touched as rarely before. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Passionate about films and video games, Damien Mecheri joined the writing team of Gameplay RPG magazine in 2004 and wrote several articles for the second special edition on the Final Fantasy saga. With this same team, Damien continued his work in 2006 for another publication known as Background, before continuing the adventure online in 2008, with Gameweb.fr. Since 2011, he has written and co-written numerous works for Third Éditions, including The Legend of Final Fantasy X, Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave and Welcome to Silent Hill: Journey to the Center of Hell and actively participates in the “Level Up” and “Video Game Almanac” collections from the same publisher.
ICO: Castle of the Mist
Title | ICO: Castle of the Mist PDF eBook |
Author | Miyuki Miyabe |
Publisher | VIZ Media LLC |
Total Pages | 284 |
Release | 2011-08-16 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1421542862 |
When a boy named Ico grows long curved horns overnight, his fate has been sealed—he is to be sacrificed in the Castle in the Mist. But in the castle, Ico meets a young girl named Yorda imprisoned in its halls. Alone they will die, but together Ico and Yorda might just be able to defy their destinies and escape the magic of the castle. Based on the video game filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) called a “masterpiece,” Japan's leading fantasist Miyuki Miyabe has crafted a tale of magic, loss, and love that will never be forgotten. -- VIZ Media
The Art of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Title | The Art of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End PDF eBook |
Author | Various |
Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
Total Pages | 179 |
Release | 2016-05-10 |
Genre | Art |
ISBN | 1630087068 |
Journey alongside Nathan Drake once again, as Naughty Dog and Dark Horse Books team up to bring you this comprehensive and breathtaking exploration into Uncharted 4: A Thief's End! Numerous never-before-seen designs and concept art accompanied by commentary from the developers give you behind-the-scenes access to the creation of this gaming masterwork. This beautiful oversized hardcover is a must-have for any fan of the Uncharted franchise and high quality video game art. The Art of Unchartend 4 will be released by Dark Horse simultaneoulsy with the new game, Uncharted 4.
NieR: Automata World Guide Volume 2
Title | NieR: Automata World Guide Volume 2 PDF eBook |
Author | Square Enix |
Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
Total Pages | 308 |
Release | 2020-12-15 |
Genre | Games & Activities |
ISBN | 1506715753 |
Over 300 full-color pages collected into a hardcover volume that explores the secrets and strategies of Square Enix's NieR:Automata! Revisit the characters, combat, and environment that enchanted players with stunning action and profound adventure from video game director Yoko Taro. Discover the intricacies of Submergence City, learn more about the characters and enemies with the Data Library, and master the Androids' arsenal! Also featuring concept art and commentary, this second volume of the NieR:Automata World Guide is a must have item for fans of the game! Dark Horse Books and Square Enix come together again to present this adaptation of the original Japanese volume, officially offered in English for the first time!
The Strange Works of Taro Yoko
Title | The Strange Works of Taro Yoko PDF eBook |
Author | Nicolas Turcev |
Publisher | Third Editions |
Total Pages | 232 |
Release | 2019-05-21 |
Genre | Games & Activities |
ISBN | 2377842364 |
Throughout his career, Taro Yoko was despaired by the image of humanity returned by most big budget video games. Taro Yoko's strange work reviews the entire career of this extraordinary creator, his games (Drakengard, NieR) and sheds light on the link that constitutes his work. Check out this complete book on Taro Yoko, which explores the contours of its games, their development, the complexity of their stories and their thematic depth. With a preface by Taro Yoko himself ! EXTRACT Nowadays, most of the players who have heard of Taro Yoko do not associate his name to any particular face. Inconvenienced by public appearances, the director systematically equipped himself with a device to cover his face during meetings with the press, at least since the creation of NieR. Shortly before the announcement of NieR: Automata at the E3 2015, Yoko even had a mask made, based on the character Emil, by a plastic artist from PlatinumGames for a mere four hundred euros. Since then, he has worn it every time he is in the presence of photo and video cameras. His persistence in hiding his face under this thick layer of plastic naturally arouses curiosity. One might be led to believe that this is a communication strategy or the eccentricity of an enigmatic creator. Nevertheless, the visual anonymity of the director is in no way a means to nurture the mystery of his personality. Far from comparing himself to the likes of Banksy (a famous street artist and statement maker, who prefers to remain anonymous), Yoko just prefers to let his games speak for themselves. In fact, ask him, and he will answer with no difficulty that he grew up in Nagoya, in the Japanese prefecture of Aichi. Restaurant managers (izakayas, ramens, tempuras, etc.), his parents flitted from one restaurant opening to the next and entrusted their son’s education to his grandmother. WHAT CRITICS THINK Overall, I enjoyed my time with The Strange Works of Taro Yoko, especially as a fan of the man’s works [...] It’s a great companion piece for long-time fans, and if you’re looking for more unofficial content to read about for the Drakenier universe, you can’t go too wrong. - RPG Site ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nicolas Turcev - Journalist specialized in pop culture, he has contributed to the following magazines: Chronic’Art, Carbone, Games and Gamekult, and occasionally participates in the video game analysis site Merlanfrit. He is also the author of several articles of the Level Up collection at Third Éditions.
Dark Souls. Beyond the Grave - Volume 1
Title | Dark Souls. Beyond the Grave - Volume 1 PDF eBook |
Author | Damien Mecheri |
Publisher | Third Editions |
Total Pages | 304 |
Release | 2019-02-19 |
Genre | Games & Activities |
ISBN | 2377840000 |
Story of a saga video games... If the Dark Souls series managed to seduce players and journalists, it was mainly by word of mouth. It was such a great success that Dark Souls 2 was named “Game of the Year” 2014 by the vast majority of gaming magazines and websites. To date, this saga is one of the most important in the gaming industry. The odd thing is that these games are well known for their difficulty and their cryptic universe. This publication narrates the epic success story, but also describes its gameplay mechanics and its specific lore across more than 300 pages. Characters, plots and the scenario of the three Souls (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II) are deciphered by Damien Mecheri and Sylvain Romieu, who spent a long year studying these dense and enigmatic games down to the smallest detail. The serie Dark Souls and her spiritual father Demon's Souls will not have secrets for you anymore! EXTRACT In May 2014, Hidetaka Miyazaki succeeded Naotoshi Zin as president of FromSoftware, after the studio was purchased by Kadokawa Shoten. This was a highly significant promotion for the person who had led the company’s most successful project, Dark Souls. And yet, he did not lose from view what had attracted him to the field: an insatiable creative drive. In spite of his new status within the studio, one of the conditions he requested and was granted was to remain creative director of his new project: Bloodborne. This allowed him to successfully design this spiritual successor to the first Souls game, while also assuming his new responsibilities. Given his drive to work and create, it is not surprising how quickly Miyazaki moved up through the ranks. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Passionate about films and video games, Damien Mecheri joined the writers team of Gameplay RPG in 2004, writing several articles for the second special edition on the Final Fantasy saga. He continued his work with the team in another publication called Background, before continuing the online adventure in 2008 with the site Gameweb.fr. Since 2011, he has come aboard Third Éditions with Mehdi El Kanafi and Nicolas Courcier, the publisher’s two founders. Damien is also the author of the book Video Game Music: a History of Gaming Music. For Third Éditions, he is actively working on the “Level Up” and “Année jeu vidéo” collections. He has also written or co-written several works from the same publisher: The Legend of Final Fantasy X, Welcome to Silent Hill: a journey into Hell, The Works of Fumito Ueda: a Different Perspective on Video Games and, of course, the first volume of Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave. Curious by nature, a dreamer against the grain and a chronic ranter, Sylvain Romieu is also a passionate traveler of the real and the unreal, the world and the virtual universes, always in search of enriching discoveries and varied cultures. A developer by trade, he took up his modest pen several years ago to study the characteristics and richness of the marvelously creative world of video games. He writes for a French video game site called Chroniques-Ludiques, particularly on the topic of RPGs, his preferred genre.
Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 2
Title | Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 2 PDF eBook |
Author | Square Enix |
Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
Total Pages | 328 |
Release | 2018-12-18 |
Genre | Games & Activities |
ISBN | 1506706622 |
Explore the art and adventure of the quintessential entries in the Final Fantasy saga with this gorgeous 300-plus-page hardcover. Collecting concept art, design notes, creator retrospectives, and more from Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX, Dark Horse's journey through the creation of the groundbreaking role-playing masterpiece continues! Dark Horse and Square Enix are thrilled to present the second of three volumes that officially translate Square Enix's detailed history chronicling the creation of the Final Fantasy franchise's seventh, eighth, and ninth games. Filled with captivating art and creator commentary, Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 2 remains completely authentic to its Japanese source material with unrivaled access for a Western audience. This prestige compendium is a must-have addition for any Final Fantasy enthusiast's collection.