When building Horizon Forbidden West, the team at Guerrilla focused on making the world feel alive and real. To create a sense of a living world, we’ve provided more ways than ever for players to interact with it. This means delivering not only breathtaking action and adventure, but also smaller moments steeped in the culture of the tribes living in the Western Forbidden region, adding an extra layer of realism. .
Please note that this article contains some spoilers for Horizon Forbidden West.
As Aloy explores this new frontier, she discovers many fun things to do: Melee pits in settlements, Rescue Contracts in the wilderness, Outposts and Camps full of rebels, Cauldron, Ancient Ruins and of course: Attack Machine.
A tactical approach
Machine Strike is a puzzle-based board game that Aloy can play with characters across the Western Forbidden. In this strategy game, players move small pieces representing the iconic Horizon machines around the board, ‘fighting’ with each other. Invented by the combat-minded Tenakth, the purpose of Machine Strike is to wipe out your enemy’s machine board. To win, the player must not only hold the strongest piece, but also implement a strong strategy. And the further West you go, the tougher your opponent becomes.
Bart van Oosten, Head of World Design at Guerrilla, is one of the masterminds behind the new mini-game for this sequel. “We started prototyping right after Frozen Wilds! Many open world RPGs use these types of activities to create immersion in the world, which is always about a group of players, so we decided to remove the concept from there. ‘
‘Initially it was just random cubes with random rules, but we wanted to combine the stats of each machine, meaning the table had to be scalable to accommodate those ideas. . That’s how we got to the tile system. Each tile has a specified value that affects the stats of any machine parts that come in contact with them, such as increasing the attack power from the Meadow tile. Next we made a paper prototype of the game, which we played a lot! This helped us find the set of rules and arguments. It took us almost a year to perfect the entire mini-game.”
“We have stripped down the design to be as minimalistic as possible. This keeps the dashboard clear and allows players to create their own strategies,” said Bart. “Readability is important, so with the art direction in mind, we tried everything from simple discs to ornate designs and landed somewhere in between: the game felt like it was made created – and played – by the artisans of Forbidden West.”
Authentically crafted in the Western Forbidden
Implementing Machine Strike into the game itself is a collaborative effort between teams ranging from AI and Visual Design to Narrative and User Interface. Concept Artist Christian Auer was part of the team that helped define the visual image of Machine Strike. “All the pieces should look appealing without being too related to any particular tribe, as this game is played by so many residents of Forbidden West – whether it be an Oseram blacksmith or a Tenakth goodwill war. We also wanted each piece to feel special, like a collector’s item, so they had to carry some credibility in their design. ‘
‘The scale of the pieces made this an interesting challenge for us. The metal components on each piece are much smaller than anything else we normally see on our props, so we decided to use simpler details to enhance the overall design. body. The wood begins to be much coarser to show the marks left by the hand tools that carved each piece. However, we later decided that the manual interface was a distraction from the core design, so we ended up with a more textured treatment. This better communicates our overall goal for the pieces. ‘
‘We also introduce wear to the pieces so the wood gradient isn’t as monotonous. You can see this by how the carvings are lighter in places where there is more dust and darker at the bottom, where the wood has been burned or waxed. These details help establish the authentic craftsmanship that goes into each work from the artisans of the Forbidden City. “
Learning curve
Before Aloy reached the Western Forbidden, one of the first settlements she discovered was the mining town of Oseram Chainscrape. Inside the lively brewery at its heart, Aloy is able to meet Salma, a friendly and upbeat Oseram who readily explains the rules of the game. “A very important guide to getting people interested in Machine Strike,” says Bart. “We wanted to make it as casual as possible, like a friend sharing their latest hobby with you about some drinks. Our narrative team has done an amazing job conveying information in a warm and understandable way. ‘
‘As with any board game, there’s still a lot of information even though the basics are pretty simple. Some people may not want lengthy explanations, so we’ve divided the guide into a few sections. The most basic concepts are explained first and the rest is learned through playtime, glossary or additional tutorial sessions – you can even press L3 during Machine Strike for easy access to all all this information. ”
Ready for a challenge?
Machine Strike is one of many activities you can encounter in Forbidden West, but it is one that Bart and Christian are particularly proud of. Bart said: “It’s great to see people enjoying the game. “I am very happy with what we have achieved and hope many people will enjoy it in the future. We know Machine Strike might not be for everyone, so we tried to include it as unobtrusively as possible. ‘
‘And if you’re stuck with a certain character, my top tip is to always look for the best position for your unit, be in a high position or put your pieces out of range. And don’t be afraid of overload. As Salma said: ‘It’s often the best way to turn the game in your favor.’
Christian agrees that it’s great to see our community’s response to the game. “As artists, trying to make something look as believable as possible, this is the best response we could hope for. I’m glad the players are enjoying the game as much as we did! ”
Many residents of Forbidden West are eager to test Aloy’s skills – are you up for the challenge?
