Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn
Developer(s)	Guerrilla Games
Publisher(s)	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)	Mathijs de Jonge
Producer(s)	Mark Norris
Writer(s)	John Gonzalez
Platforms	PlayStation 4
Release date(s)	2016
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Horizon Zero Dawn is an upcoming action role-playing video game in development by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 in 2016. It will be the first intellectual property developed by Guerrilla Games since Killzone in 2004 and will be the studio's first attempt in developing a role-playing game.

Gameplay

File:Horizon Zero Dawn gameplay screenshot.jpg

Players can use weapons, such as a bow and arrow or the Ropecaster, to attack and immobilize enemies.

Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game in which players take control of Aloy, a hunter and archer, as she progresses through a post-apocalyptic land ruled by mechanized creatures, such as robotic dinosaurs. The game is set 1,000 years in a future in which humanity has long abandoned Earth due to the world being dominated by robotic creatures. The creatures' component, such as electricity and the metal they are composed of, are vital to Aloy's survival, and she can loot creatures' corpses to find useful resources. The game's role-playing elements are said to be between that of Assassin's Creed and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Players can use a variety of ways to kill enemies, such as setting traps like tripwires, shooting enemies with arrows, using explosives, and melee combat. Silent takedowns are also available. Players can also craft items by collecting materials and machines parts. The game features an open world that can be explored when players are not completing missions. A dynamic day-night cycle and weather system will be featured. Guerrilla Games have stated that the game will not have loading screens.

Development

Guerrilla Games began developing Horizon Zero Dawn in 2011, following the release of Killzone 3. When conceiving the idea for a new game, about 40 concepts were pitched. Among these was Horizon Zero Dawn, which game director Mathijs de Jonge considered "the most risky" of the concepts. When this concept was chosen, a team of 10–20 began building prototypes of the game; many of the elements featured in the prototypes remained in the game throughout development. Approximately 20 different stories were written for the game, exploring varying concepts for the game, such as different player characters. John Gonzalez, who previously acted as lead writer for Fallout: New Vegas (2010), was hired to write the game's story. The main elements of the story have also remained intact since early development. Upon the completion of Killzone Shadow Fall in late 2013, the remainder of the team began working on Horizon.

The game's concept explores the juxtaposition between the danger and beauty of the world, particularly analyzing the concept of humanity not being "at the top of the life list". The team aimed to emphasize the game's exploration element by featuring a quest system, as well as including items throughout the world that can be used to craft or replenish health. The game will not feature any tutorial, to encourage players to learn the methods of defeating enemies through trial and error. The team wished for the game to have a simple user interface design, specifically avoiding complicated menus for crafting. The team found the game to be a technical challenge. They felt that the game engine, which was designed for games such as the Killzone series and was previously used for Killzone Shadow Fall, was difficult to alter for Horizon, in terms of draw distance and loading. To discover how some game elements work differently in open world games, the team sought help from talent in the design, art and technical fields.

The concept arts, which feature robotic dinosaurs, as well as the game's codename, were leaked on September 14, 2014. Horizon Zero Dawn was officially announced during Sony Interactive Entertainment's E3 2015 press conference, and is set to be released worldwide in 2016 for the PlayStation 4.