2019-03-01_Official_PlayStation_Magazine_-_UK_Edition

066

Falcon Age

W

e tend to see games from

the perspective of colonisers

but not too many games deal

with the colonised,” Chandana

Ekanayake, co-founder and

studio director at Outerloop

Games, tells us. “It’s an old

theme but we feel like we can

offer a new perspective to it.”

Ara lives on a dying, resource-

drained planet, her home being

stripped bare of raw materials by

machine colonisers. Befriending a

young falcon, she learns more

about the lost art of falconry that

goes back to her family roots, and

joins up with the resistance to

push back against the invaders

alongside her new friend.

CLAWS OUT

“While we were brainstorming

ideas for games we wanted to

make, I saw a YouTube clip of

golden eagle attacking a mountain

goat that sparked my interest,”

Ekanayake explains. “[When

prototyping] the first time we were

able to whistle for the falcon in-

game and experience her landing

on our hand was the moment we

knew that this could work.” Played

in first person, it feels perfectly

natural to have your falcon friend

right next you. And, of course, to

have the option to play in PS VR

using PS Move controllers (though

you can play with a DualShock if

you prefer).

“We offer comfort controls for

players that are more prone to

motion sickness, and also offer lots

of options for players that want to

customise locomotion,” Ekanayake

tell us. “In VR, we default to a

teleshift that teleports the player

with blinks and orientation

controls. Players can turn on an

option to walk through the

environment and use standard

FPS controls if they want.”

FORMATPS4, PS VR/PLAYERS 1 /DEVOUTERLOOPGAMES

A bird in the hand is worth a lot in PS VR

Colonisation

Sci-Fi

VR

Falconry

Reclaim

Tec hnolog y

Partners

Grow