Skate or die. Capture the quiet tranquility of a strange world. Take a feline approach (and perspective) to a cyber city. Intriguing buildings will be PlayStation bound for the next year thanks to the inventive minds of independent game developers around the world. And these adventures promise to be all the more immersive as the creatives take advantage of PlayStation 5’s features. From the coarseness of a grind vibrating through the DualSense wireless controller to 3D audio that pinpoints incoming threats, here’s how a selection of studios are looking to amplify their moment-to-moment gameplay with the power of PS5.
strayed
Developer: BlueTwelve Studio | Release date: Available now
Swann Martin-Raget, producer: Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set in a mysterious cyber city. We took full advantage of the DualSense controller’s capabilities to immerse the player in the feeling of being a cat. At any time, players can press the Circle button to meow into the game and the sound will come from the game and the controller speaker. The adaptive triggers have a satisfying amount of pressure to push as the cat scratches surfaces such as couches and rugs. When objects such as glass bottles are knocked over, players can feel the impact of the cat’s tiny paws via the controller’s haptic feedback. Players can even feel the cat purr through the controller when it sleeps. The DualSense controller makes being a cat even more fun, and we hope players enjoy exploring and interacting with Stray’s world.
rollerdrome
Developer: Roll7 | Release date: August 16, 2022
David Jenkins Head Q/A: I really love the DualSense controller and the great little bits of feedback we’ve been working to get the player through it. From different types of vibrations based on what happens to Kara (landing, grinding, dodging, getting hit), or the audio signals that tell you when your ammo is low or you are about to be knocked out by Sniper, to the different levels of resistance you get when you pull the trigger on each of our weapons (especially the Z-11’s charging).
It all really helps the player to to feel like skating through the arenas, dodging missiles, grinding rails and taking out House Players in a way that other controllers just can’t. Everything has this great sense of weight and physicality – especially when something particularly heavy comes into play.
Season: A letter to the future
Developer: Scavengers | TB
David Boily, Technical Director: Season: A Letter to the Future is an immersive sensory experience where you travel, unravel and record the strange world around you. Players will feel every pedal as they ride and feel the steepness of the hills using the adaptive triggers. We’ve combined this feeling with the haptic feedback from the DualSense controller, as it mimics the roads and trails you’ll discover on your journey. And breathe in and record every detail of the world’s rich soundscapes using 3D audio. This really comes together when you’re going downhill and you can just rely on the bike’s momentum to move you, feeling the fresh air pass your ears. These are some of our favorite tools that we use during development to invite our players to be immersed in the mysterious world of Season.
tchia
Developer: Awaceb | Release date: early 2023
Phil Crifo, game director: We wanted Tchia’s gameplay to feel as smooth and intuitive as possible, but we also wanted to build mechanics that super invested players could master and get really good at it. Tchia’s slingshot is a versatile tool that allows players to push things in the open world and during enemy encounters, but we also have special shooting range challenges in the game. Thanks to the motion control technology of the DualSense controller, we were able to implement a motion-activated aiming adjustment function that allows players to move the controller to fine-tune the aiming of Tchia. We hope this system can be useful for people with reduced finger/thumb mobility who are unable to perform fast and accurate joystick movements. We also think it’s a great feature for those who are less familiar with game controllers or just want an extra level of aiming accuracy.
animal welfare
Developer: Shared Memory | Release date: Q1 2023Billy Basso, Solo Developer: Animal Well is a game full of secrets, some more or less obvious than others. Despite its deceptively simple pixel art style, it is highly detailed and atmospheric. The PlayStation 5’s GPU provides both the eerie shadows that obscure the landscape and the light that guides you. The DualSense controller can alert you to subtle signals that your eyes may miss. Maybe there’s something lurking in the tall grass. Or seemingly dense growth is actually hollow inside. The 3D audio can give an indication of a threat – or a hidden secret – nearby. You must rely on all your senses to discover all the mysteries of Animal Well.
0 Comments