In a pair of exclusive interviews, Sony’s Aram Jabbari talked to [a]list daily about unprecedented buzz for PlayStation 4, and Young Horses creative director Kevin Zuhn shed light on the inspiration behind the quirky launch title OctoDad: Dadliest Catch.
A big part of Sony’s strategy to continue building interest for its new console revolves around giving people hands-on. The company took the first opportunity to put it under consumers’ thumbs at Comic Con last month. Jabbari says gamers can rest assured they’ll have plenty of chances to try PS4 before it hits shelves.
“We want to get the Dual Shock 4 in more peoples’ hands,” says Jabbari. “We want to make sure that people are seeing games like Killzone: Shadow Fall, games like Knack and Drive Club firsthand to witness what the next generation of gaming is going to be all about.”
Sony has already announced that PS4 will be playable at upcoming shows Gamescom and GameStop Expo, both of which will have consumers attending. While it hasn’t confirmed when, it’s only a matter of time before demo stations show up at retailers.
While the great majority of potential PS4 buyers haven’t had a chance to try out the system yet, Jabbari calls fan response since its announcement “overwhelming.”
One of the more unexpected launch titles drawing that buzz is OctoDad, a comedy adventure game from developer Young Horses. The team at Young Horses made the first version of OctoDad as students at Chicago’s DePaul University. The game, which was originally free-to-play, quickly gained notoriety and became a student finalist at the 2011 Independent Games Festival. The startup developer is now basking in Sony’s support as their off-the-wall game plays a prominent role in the PS4 hands-on push.
Young Horses’ Zuhn describes the game, which follows an octopus trying to pass off as human, as a “sort of mockery of normal life.”
“We were inspired by old cartoons like the Animaniacs, an old video game called Jurassic Park: Trespasser, and some of David Lynch’s films, oddly enough,” says Zuhn, adding, “I know, it doesn’t make sense.”
Check out the full interviews.
