“For people who pay close attention to the score, you’ll find that there are themes for different creatures and spaces.” “The music and the gameplay are coupled, so as you progress through, it evolves and changes as you go,” furthers Cornish. “Sharks are normally portrayed as these scary monsters and you see hints of that here at the beginning of the game, but we definitely take that story to some interesting places.”Ībzu’s sonorous score is composed by fellow Journey alumnus Austin Wintory, who worked closely with Giant Squid sound designer Steve Green to create an “audio narrative” that works in conjunction with the visual tale the studio are telling. “Throughout the game we’re going to explore the diver’s relationship with that shark,” says lead programmer Brian Balamut. Later, as you pass through the mouth of a cave, a shark enters stage right and grabs that drone out of the water, shaking it this way and that like a dog with a toy. Early on, your diver recovers an underwater drone from the sea bed, which blinks into animated life and drifts along at your flank. We want to make you feel like you can move at your own pace, explore the environment and let the narrative unfold.”Ībzu’s story is told without words. “Without all the conventional trappings of games, with air gauges and timers pushing you forward, making you feel rushed. “Really one of the core ideas was wanting to capture the essence of scuba diving, connecting with the life,” Cornish elaborates. There are kelp forests and fish just like these off the coast of southern California, near Santa Monica where Giant Squid are based. “The fish behaviour feeds into this organic, dynamic environment.” “Every single leaf, every bit of kelp is independently simulated and can interact with divers or creatures in the game,” says engineer Derek Cornish.
Even the kelp forests, dense collections of tall, brushlike seaweed, are beholden to unseen algorithms. Abzu studio Giant Squid have developed simulations for shoaling behaviour, as well as a food chain dominated by bigger predators you can cling to and steer. It’s hard to express how unusual that freedom of movement is until you feel it for yourself swimming in Abzu is akin to hopping and skipping through Mario 64’s castle.Īs you propel yourself through the water, shoals of little yellow fish fall in behind you, shifting in and out of orbit like iron filings around a magnet. As a wetsuited and flipper-footed diver, you can pitch at any angle, twisting and flipping fully upside down. For another, it’s a game that celebrates underwater swimming’s illusion of weightlessness.