Team Ico’s
action-adventure game Shadow of the Colossus sees the player take the role of
protagonist Wander as he travels a long distance with what appears to be a dead
girl on his horse to a remote land with a castle in the centre. Once at the
castle wander is told by an unseen entity that he must defeat sixteen colossi
to bring the girl back to life. The intro cut scene is narrated by another
character who explains a small amount of the back story that wander has
travelled to forbidden lands and that Dormin (the entity) must be prevented
from using a forbidden spell. This brief back-story at the beginning of the
game already lays down clues that what Wander hopes to achieve could have
tragic consequences. By the end of the game when Wander has defeated all of the
Collosi it is revealed that Dormin has used him in ordered to possess his body
and walk amongst the mortal world. Though a tragic love story, Shadow of the
Collossus is evidence of how research into obedience and authority in games
could lead to innovative design concepts. Could a game be designed around
multiple paths of the player obeying and disobeying authority?
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