在游戏中，我们与动物之间的关系有了改变，这也在一定程度上影响了现实中我们对待动物的方式。

原作者：Jess Joho 译者：Willow Wu

《最后的守护者（The Last Guardian）》于去年12月发行，很多玩家都在抱怨大鹫Trico太难控制了。不仅如此，从设计、AI、到游戏中的各种小问题，玩家有说不完的牢骚，Trico太固执了。

但是这些负面评价中有一些确实是无法反驳的（比如说不顺手的操作方式或者是视角问题），这是由于游戏设定Trico有它自己的个性。这就会涉及到宏观层面上的问题：在现实生活中我们是如何对待伴侣动物的，对它们有什么期待，开发者是如何把现实中的这种文化态度转化到游戏中。

很多人都记错了游戏设计师上田文人说的话，以为他说的是Trico这个角色是故意设计得这么“固执”，其实他说的是Trico作为一个独立的游戏角色，它所具有的独立性和个体意愿。不管这个游戏还有多少瑕疵，游戏中AI伴侣所被赋予的独立性，再结合过去几年中出现的类似角色，这似乎预示着我们迎来了一个新的时代：设计师们改变了游戏中动物角色的定位，由原来道具属性转化为游戏角色。

SpaceBeagles（from polygon.com）

爱犬

几年前，我收养了一只斗牛犬串串，它以前的主人不仅没有照顾好它，而且还虐待它。这就是我第一次开始研究训犬过程中的“非精确艺术（inexact art）”。我的狗狗以前经常会在公众场合爆发出恐慌或者是兴奋的情绪，让我难以控制，目睹这个场景的人们总是跟我说有一些品种的狗确实是比其他品种的更“顽固”。于是，我听从了大多数人的建议，报名参加了一段坎坷的旅程。

随着我跟狗一起训练的次数增加，我也越来越了解它。另外我阅读的资料也逐渐增多，都是关于培养我与狗之间的关系。久而久之，我感觉人们口中“顽固的狗”的概念实在荒谬。似乎它不应该是聪明的，不应该拥有意愿自由、独立意识以及情绪，这些都会被认为是“顽固”的表现，它要因此受惩罚。

在现实中，人们经常朝着那些困惑、愤怒、有时甚至是害怕的动物们喊指令，但这一般不会被认为是交流失败的原因。他们想当然地认为他们的狗就是非常顽固，不愿意听人的命令。

有些狗的个性可能就是比较固执，就跟人一样。但更有可能的是他们并没有得到恰到的教导，或者是训练它的人还没取得它的信任和尊重，让它愿意听话。在这种情况下，我会称赞这些“顽固的”狗。再回看Trico，我们太过于习惯这些虚拟动物角色会盲目地执行指令，就像一辆车。不管我们有没有付出努力，就是要让它们听从指令。

在以往的游戏中，狗或者是其他种类的伴侣动物大多数都是被当作物品或者是工具奖励给玩家，它们就是无脑地服从各种指令，从交互功能上来说，它们跟武器、增强道具、或者是某种装备并没有区别。

你回忆一下《神鬼寓言2》和《神鬼寓言3》的狗，那位四条腿的朋友就像是个空有皮囊的寻宝工具，听话而尽职。或者你看《塞尔达传说: 时之笛》中的那匹名为Epona的马，它的作用就是加速而已。这些都不是游戏角色，连NPC都算不上。它们只是游戏的一个机制。

确实，除了它们在游戏机制方面的功能，这些动物也充当了玩家所渴求的伴侣角色。在这种伴侣关系中所培养出来的爱，肯定是远远超过了那种对特殊技能或者加速功能的喜爱。但是在很多游戏中，人与动物之间的关系设定实在是太单一了。

虽然这种单一的设定还是能引起玩家的强烈反响，但是游戏中对于自主性的呈现仅仅是从关系中的其中一方展现出来。很多游戏机制和情感设定还可以进一步挖掘，但是就是由于这种肤浅的不成文惯例导致了创作者没有继续研究。

但是在过去几年，从独立开发者到大型公司开发者似乎都注意到了这块未经发掘的宝藏，改变原有刻板的动物-玩家同盟关系，加入更多变量，这对他们来说也是一个挑战。打破以往以人为中心的游戏模式，让动物角色不再是无意识的道具，这些新游戏不仅是从玩法上突出动物本身的自主性，甚至还在一定程度上挑战了现实世界中我们对于动物的看法——也就是希望它们可以无条件地服从一切指令，或者是人们需要它们干什么它们就得服从（比如Cesar Millan训狗方法，让狗认识到人的地位比它高，让它们变得顺从，但是我劝你们最好别看他的节目）。

除了大型开发团队已经发行的《最后的守护者》、《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》，接下来还有两个独立游戏《模拟巴哥犬》、《居无定所（Home Free）》，意味着未来的游戏行业将会出现“乖狗狗的崛起”。

前两个游戏展示了逼迫玩家去跟具有自主意识的虚拟AI生物合作会有什么结果，后面的两个游戏则是彻底抛弃了以人类为游戏主角的设定，让玩家成为狗，感受一下人们以往过度简化的动物内心世界是怎样的。

在《模拟巴哥犬》中，玩家必须学会闻其它狗狗的屁股、在宠物公园中玩来了解狗狗之间的文化，这样意在（通过可爱的八哥犬和闻屁股的礼仪）突出动物们平时的社交、情感生活并不像人们想象的那么简单。另外，在《居无定所》中，玩家将会扮演一只走丢的狗（为什么长得那么像我家的那只），需要在一个人类建立的世界中生存下来。话说连那些欺负落单狗的恶霸都长得跟我家的狗好像。重要的是，这两个游戏都把动物设定为一个真的角色来展现它们的自主性，而不是当成附加技能，游戏呈现了狗狗脱离人类之后它们自己的复杂世界。

虽然比不上《最后的守护者》的游戏规模，但是你仍然能看出《塞尔达传说: 时之笛》和《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》这两部系列作品在马的设定上有巨大差异。跟其他同期游戏类似，1998年的Epona的本质是一种被动技能，就像是某个角色穿上魔法袍得到魔力这种感觉。玩家控制Epona是跟控制Link的完全一样，他们都能够立即听从命令。

玩家不需要再去按另外的按钮或者是再学一个控制Epona的教程。她就像是Link的代理服务器（proxy），意思就是游戏系统基本上是把Epona定义成一个外形为马的附加道具，能让Link跑得更快，就像是穿上哥隆外套（Goron Tunic）可以抵御高温。无论玩家在哪里，只要吹个哨子Epona就会应声而来，每次都是如此，这也是为什么这匹小马这么讨玩家喜欢。但是Epona这种无法解释的随叫随到状态也强调了她的本质其实是游戏工具，只有在玩家需要她的时候才让她出现。

而《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》的马完全是另一种状态（《塞尔达传说:黄昏公主》也多少有些改变）。最大的改变就是游戏中的马都有了个性，通过不同的脾气和技能表现出来。另外，游戏中还增加了驯马和绑定系统，把马匹的个性作为系统要素，如果马儿听话的话，玩家必须向它们表示出积极的肯定，拍拍它们，给与激励。（给非专业训犬师的建议：利用奖励的方式进行正面强化对任何训练团体来说都是有益的。无论是哪种训练方法，只要它依靠的手段是惩罚、疼痛、或者利用像“阿尔法（alpha）”“狗群领袖（pack leader）”这样的支配性的语言，那么这种训练方法就是不科学的、过时的，有可能会对你、你的狗狗，还有你们之间的关系造成伤害。）

玩家必须付出努力、维持他们之间的绑定关系来改变马的行为表现。至于控制方面，《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》中控制骑马和控制Link没有丝毫的相似之处。玩家必须点击A键两次，拍拍马，哄它镇静下来，让它听话。

游戏参考了《旺达与巨像(Shadow of the Colossus)》中那只“顽固的”马Argo，操纵手柄只能给Link发令权，但是马要不要服从他的命令就是另一回事了。如果人与马之间的联结足够强，马甚至还会自己探路，继续前进，玩家就不需要操控手柄了。

还有重要的是，这些马儿也不是玩家随叫随到的。只有当它们处于能听见哨声的范围内，而且要明确路途安全它们才会过来。如果玩家把马丢弃在某个地方，它们会呆在那儿，如果下雨了它们自己会找避雨处。为了确保马的安全，玩家必须把它们安置在马厩里。当玩家为了腾出空间给其它的马而不得不放弃一匹马，马厩管理人会向玩家保证照顾好这些马，而不是想以往的游戏那样把马扔到什么看不见的地方去，无声无息地死掉。

人与动物

当然，这些机制上的变化与任天堂在设计理念的文化转变，甚至是进化并没有多大关系。很大程度上要归功于从1998年到如今的科技发展，才使得现在的世界能够容纳更庞大、更复杂的交互体系。就跟《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》中其他的部分一样，开发者们增加了很多内容，让系统变得更加多变、灵活，这些增加的内容也体现了开发者们计划的优先次序，很明显他们认为强化动物与人之间的关系是非常关键的，因此他们投入了大量的资源。

即使是跟《塞尔达传说:旷野之息》的前一作相比，这种转变也是非常显著的，马的感知能力、个体性格、和自主意识都比不知名的《塞尔达传说：天空之剑》好太多。游戏在真实度、吸引力上有所提升，我也越来越重视我的坐骑们，因为它们并不是一味无条件地服从我的指令。

我亲爱的小恶魔Jaguar，它跑得非常快，即使即使他发脾气也不会改变我对它的喜爱。还有粉色鼻子、穿着花衣服的Piggy（是的，我的马儿们都是用其他动物命名的），我总是要把它留在附近，尽管从实用的角度来说，直接换一匹马替代它会更好。然而，科技的进步也并没有改变《刺客信条》《巫师3》《辐射4》《使命召唤：幽灵》《合金装备5》《侠盗猎车手5》这些游戏中原有的伴侣动物状态，它们本质上还是工具，用来寻找财宝或者是探索可以走的路，亦或是被当作远程攻击武器、加速工具，不像个活生生的动物。

异兽

我似乎已经听到反驳的声音了：玩家们指着游戏，气恼地说怎么就是没办法让Trico听话跳过那座该死的桥。确实，你可以针对Team Ico的游戏提出合理的疑问，比如的游戏的完成效果、物理bug、尚待完善的画面或者你想了解他们要在一个AI巨兽的背上打造平台游戏，这是怎样的巨大挑战。

《最后的守护者》是一个壮丽但是混乱的游戏大作，从前有一只胆怯的异兽，它有鸟类的翅膀，犬类的头，猫科的身躯与动作，猴子的长尾巴。它的翅膀沙沙作响，无所事事地抓蝴蝶，这样一只大鹫你敢说到游戏玩完了你还对它没有感情？！我很难想象有人能够完全不被男孩和Trico之间的联结感动，“冷血地”玩到最后。但是我得承认，如果你只想玩那些能够让你掌控全局的游戏，或者是坚信游戏是不该让人有这种挫折感，那么这个游戏可能就不适合你。

撇开那些小问题不说，《最后的守护者》是近年来我玩过的最令人感动的游戏之一。就算是很长一段时间没有再玩这个游戏，我还是有这种感触，因为这它的设定就是随着游戏进程的推进会逐渐削弱玩家的掌控能力，取而代之的是引入动物角色的意志自由，分割权力，取得双边信任，促成双边合作。

不得不说整个游戏的关卡设计完美地保持了小男孩和Trico之间的平衡状态，利用他们各自的短板和能力进行合作：小男孩要逃跑，只有Trico才能帮他越过断壁残垣；Trico害怕那个眼睛图案的彩色玻璃，只有小男孩可以帮助它摆脱，给它自由。一次又一次地，从难以驾驭的地理环境到被那些被剥夺意识的傀儡的不断攻击，面对一个被困在神秘遗迹与奇幻世界中的小男孩，手无缚鸡之力，在大自然面前就如尘埃一般渺小，玩家必须克服这些艰难险阻。

意义和目的

但是，最终玩家和Trico都会克服彼此之间的语言障碍，以及生活、文化甚至是性格差异，找到生命的意义和目的，成为一个共同体，互相合作、互相照应，在这个尽一切所能摧毁他们的残酷世界中生存下来。

冲破重重困难，两个不同种类的生物成为了彼此的伴侣，是伴侣但是不会牺牲对方的意愿自由。虽然没有明说，但上田文人的确承认了Trico的AI设定其实是有“信任值”与“饥饿度”。具体怎样才会影响这项数值，上田并不想透露过多的信息。但他特意说明了信任值并不取决于玩家的游戏进度，暗示了跟玩家的行为有关。

虽然我们永远都无法得知明确的答案（或许你可以从Trico的角和翅膀的生长状况得知），很多玩家的推测Trico对你的态度——比如她愿不愿意听的你话，和你对待它的方式，你能不能跟它成功地交流有关。确实，游戏中并没有表明最好的交流方式是哪种。或许是需要时间和耐心。作为一个玩家，你可选择用R1+X的指令斥责Trico，让她坐下来，或者用另一种方法，按下R1+O进行正面强化，给予表扬，哄她站起来。所以，当Trico因为无法做到或者是对你的指令感到恐惧而哀鸣，你可以选择责骂它或是安抚它。

经过了一系列创伤性事件，比如对战或者是遇见眼睛图案的彩色玻璃，你可以选择花些时间安抚这只瑟瑟发抖的异兽，或者（像我一样）你可以冲到它那边去，爬到它的脖子那边（游戏鼓励玩家寻找Trico最喜欢被抚摸的地方，这就是了）安慰它，一直等到它冷静下来，不再颤抖。你还可以花些时间检查它的身体，拔出长矛，甚至你还可以通过安抚伤口，清理毛上的血渍帮它恢复得更快。

至于大部分玩家提到的经常因为搞不明白怎么才能去下一个区域而犯难(顺便说下，其实这也是故意设计的，开发者们意在打破以往的游戏设定，抛弃使用非常明显的画面提示向玩家指明前进的道路),你可以选择继续坚持靠自己的能力寻找出路，烦躁地四处碰壁，或者你可以先暂停一下，向你的伴侣求助，学习一下它的表达方式，从它的身体语言中找到线索，因为它也在寻找出路（而且通常情况下都能找到）。很多热门的游戏视频解说者（比如Dunkey）都发了视频，称这是Trico“固执”、故意不听话的“有力证据”，视频中展示了这个玩家看不懂或者是没有注意到Trico的身体语言，也有可能是这位玩家缺乏耐心，又或者是他遇到了上文所说的物理bug，这就跟跟AI完全没关系了，这也是大部分人遇到的情况。

再次强调下，这些关于玩家行为选择的讨论纯属推测，因为上田并没有说清楚的什么行为会影响Trico的“信任值”。但也许这就是他的意图吧。推动玩家去跟一只有自主意识的巨兽发展一段公平的关系，在这过程中难免会有挫折，但是上田文人就是想要把这种受挫感植入游戏中。玩家必须关照Trico，对它保持耐心，对自己的行为多加考虑，这就是《最后的守护者》最核心的部分（这就跟平台无关了）。

在我打第一遍流程的时候我并不知道Trico有“信任值”，但是我会出于本能地在它哀嚎的时候尽力安抚它，它如果听话的话我也会一直表扬它。我真是被它给迷住了，当它举起爪子的时候我就在一旁看着它，就感觉它跟我家的小狗狗一样可爱。我们的合作很顺利，没有感觉到所谓的“个性顽固”。

Trico的种族一直以来都遭受着人们的误解，大家都认为它们是一种非常残暴的异兽，虽然它的破坏力的确不小，但并没有传说中的那么夸张。Trico经历了虐待、迫害以及恐惧，我必须要帮助它渡过难关。游戏初期，我为了跟上这只巨兽的步伐费了很大的力气，这就让我不禁地回想起我家那只斗牛犬的训练经历。

在游戏的最后一个场景，玩家要面对的是终极boss：白塔（The Master of the Valley），塔中所藏的神秘能量是个非常残酷的设备，能够控制大鹫的意识，让它盲目听从指令，变成一只攻击性极强的猛兽。不知道为什么，这次的游戏经历让我更加坚信斗牛犬并不是因为它们个性“固执”受伤害，而是因为它们情感丰富、比较聪明，遇到了不会教导、还会虐待它们的坏主人。我知道如果你的小伙伴对某些特定的东西会有无厘头的恐惧感（我现实中的Trico对有线充电器、软管、有时候甚至是水碗，怕的要死），那确实会需要多一些时间、耐心、和训练。但是比起最终的奖励，你所经历的麻烦、挫折也就不算什么了。

为了达到更好的玩家-动物关系，游戏中还有些bug需要解决，这是毫无疑问的。未来，游戏中的环境设定也必定会是一个更加细腻的世界，促成人与动物之间更加真挚、密切的联结关系。

有了这两个游戏做出尝试，用他们自己的方式将游戏中人与动物的关系提升到另一个层次，我很期待今年还有更多优秀作品加入到这个潮流中。

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Our relationships to animals in games have evolved, and they just might change the way we treat them in the real world

When The Last Guardian was released last December, many players voiced their frustrations over the inexactness of commanding the creature Trico. They blamed it on everything from bad design and AI, to glitches, to a stubbornness baked into the programming.

While some valid critiques can be found among critics’ frustrations (like unintuitive controls or camera angle issues), this response to Trico’s individualism points to larger issues regarding our treatment and expectations of companion animals, both in the real world and in how developers have translated our cultural attitudes into video games.

Because while many misremember creator Fumito Ueda saying he designed Trico to be intentionally “stubborn,” his actual language has revolved around Trico’s “independence” and “will” as an individual character in his own right. Whatever other flaws the game may have, the independence of this AI companion and a few others over the past year have signaled a new era in how designers approach animals in games, transforming them from useful objects into characters.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo

PUPPY LOVE

A couple years ago, when I adopted a pitbull mix who had a history of abuse and neglect, I dove head first into the inexact art of dog training. As I was continually reminded by the people who saw me struggling to contain my puppy’s panic and excitement in public, certain dog breeds are supposedly more “stubborn” than others. And, according to many, I’d signed up for a frustrating journey.

Yet, the more I learned about and worked with my dog, the more literature I read on fostering our relationship, the more ridiculous the concept of a “stubborn dog” became. It seemed that any sign of intelligence, free will, independence, or emotion was considered “stubbornness” that should be punished out of him.

In reality, the people barking orders at their bewildered, frustrated, or sometimes even frightened animals are usually not considering how they themselves might be failing to properly communicate. Instead, they are all too ready to assume their dog is being vindictively stubborn and unwilling to listen.

Some dogs can act stubbornly, just like people can. But it’s a lot more likely that they haven’t been taught well, or that the person hasn’t earned enough of their trust and respect to warrant being listened to. And for that, I commend those “stubborn” dogs. Which brings us back to Trico, and how we too often expect our virtual animals to blindly follow commands, like a car, regardless of whether we’ve earned their compliance or not.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Nintendo

Historically in games, dogs and other companion animals have largely been treated like objects or tools given to the player as a reward, their mindless obedience established through interactions that are functionally no different to interactions with a weapon, power up, or piece of armor.

Think back to the dogs of Fable II and III, who acted as dutiful treasure finding mechanics packaged as four-legged friends. Or remember Epona in Ocarina of Time, who essentially serves as a sprint button for Link in horse form. These are not characters, or even NPCs. They are mechanics.

Granted, outside of their purely mechanical functions, these animals also provided players with much-needed companionship. And, yes, the feelings of love fostered through these relationships far outlive any love players might harbor for a special ability or sprint button. But fundamentally, these approaches paint strict one-way streets when it comes to animal-human relationships.

Although these one-way streets can still elicit powerful responses in players, the dynamic assumes autonomy from only half the relationship. So much mechanical and emotional depth is lost due to the shallowness of these unexamined conventions.

But in the past year or so, it appears everyone from indie to big-budget developers are now cashing in on the untapped potential, with games that challenge us to engage with more dynamic animal-player alliances. Breaking free from the object-oriented, human-centric approach, these new titles not only emphasize the animal’s autonomy through gameplay, but in some regards even challenge our real-world expectation of mindless obedience from our animals — or the practice of achieving said obedience through any means necessary (see the alpha mentality of trainers like Cesar Millan for example or, better yet, don’t).

Riley in Call of Duty: Ghosts Activision

BUTT SNIFFIN PUGS

Aside from big-budget examples already released like The Last Guardian and Breath of the Wild, two upcoming indie games entitled Butt Sniffin Pugs and Home Free solidify the trend that will henceforth be known as “The Rise of the Good Boy.”

While the first two demonstrate how much games can gain from forcing human players to cooperate with autonomous virtual AI creatures, the latter do away with the human protagonist altogether by putting players in the mind of good boys themselves, allowing us to explore the often oversimplified psychology of dogs.

In Butt Sniffin Pugs, players must master the nuances of puppy culture by learning the ins and outs of butt-sniffing and playing well at the dog park, emphasizing the depth of the social and emotional lives of these animals (with adorable pugs, and butt rituals). Meanwhile, Home Free puts players in the paws of a dog (who looks suspiciously like my own) who loses his owner, and must survive alone in a world built for humans that is even hostile towards unaccompanied dogs that look like mine. Importantly, both titles showcase the autonomy of the animal as a real character rather than new add-on ability, demonstrating how dogs have their own complex inner worlds that exist outside their relationship to humans.

While on a smaller scale than The Last Guardian, this shift towards good boys can also be seen in the vast differences between Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild’s horse mechanics. Like most of its contemporaries, in the 1998 Zelda Epona is the mechanical equivalent of a passive ability, like those gained from adorning a magical tunic. The control scheme for maneuvering Epona is exactly the same as controlling Link himself, with no delays in between command and compliance.

Fable 2 Lionhead

Players don’t need to push any buttons or learn a new set of controls to use Epona’s abilities. She acts as nothing more than a Link proxy, meaning the game’s system basically categorizes her as a horse suit that enables Link to move faster, exactly like wearing a Goron Tunic to withstand hot temperatures. Epona even earns the player’s affection by dutifully arriving without fail every single time the whistle button is pressed, no matter where the player is in the world. But Epona’s instantaneous and inexplicable appearances also emphasize her status as a tool, as she pops into existence only if and when the player decides she has a purpose for existing in the world.

But Breath of the Wild (and to a much lesser extent, Twilight Princess) is a horse of a different color. Most obviously, the game gives every horse a unique personality through a combination of temperament and skills. Moreover, it adds an entire training and bonding system that takes those personality traits into account, requiring the player to give the horses positive-reinforcement in the form of a rewarding pat whenever they choose to listen. (Pro tip for amateur dog trainers: positive-reinforcement training that uses a reward-based system is central to any training regiment worth its salt. Anything that relies heavily on pain, punishment, or domination language like “alpha” and “pack leader” is unscientific, outdated and likely harmful to you, your dog, and your relationship.)

The player must in fact earn the right to alter the horse’s appearance by maintaining an 100 percent bond. In terms of controls, riding horses in Breath of the Wild couldn’t feel more distinct from controlling Link. Players must tap the horse’s sides with A twice to coax it from a trot into a cantor.

Taking cues from the notoriously “stubborn” Argo in Shadow of the Colossus, moving the joystick only gives Link control over the reigns, a command the horse can then choose to either obey or disobey. If the two have a strong enough bond, the horse will even continue along the set path on its own, without the player needing to touch the joystick at all.

Importantly, these horses don’t just blink into existence wherever and whenever the player decides it should exist. They only come when they’re within earshot of the whistle, and when the path is clear and safe enough. If the player abandons her horse in the middle of an area, they’ll stay there and seek shelter on their own if it rains. To ensure the horse’s safety, though, players must actually house them in a stable. When the player gives up a horse to make more room for others, the stable master assures her they will take good care of them, rather than the usual assumption that it’ll just go to wherever unwanted pixels go to die.

Butt Sniffin Pugs SpaceBeagles

HUMANS AND ANIMALS

Of course, these mechanical changes cannot necessarily be traced back to a cultural shift or even an evolution in Nintendo’s design philosophy. A lot of it comes down to the improvements to technology between 1998 and 2017, now allowing for worlds with bigger and more complex systems of interaction. But, like all the other more dynamic systems in Breath of the Wild, these added dimensions illustrate the designers’ priorities, as they evidently deemed it worthy of investing a good amount of resources into beefing up the animal-human relationship.

It’s a noticeable shift from even the most recent Zelda before it, with the tactility, individuality personality, and autonomy of the horses far outshining the nameless Loftwings of Skyward Sword. Aside from the added realism and engagement of Breath of the Wild’s approach, I found myself growing attached to my band of steeds because they didn’t just mindlessly obey me.

I love my little speed noire demon named Jaguar, even when he’s throwing temper tantrums, as much as I love my pink-nosed, flower-laden first stead named Piggy (yes, all my horses are named after other animals) whom I sentimentally keep around despite it making more practical sense to just replace him with a better horse. And certainly, better technology didn’t lead to added autonomy for the animal companions in Assassin’s Creed, Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Metal Gear Solid 5, or GTA 5, all of which relied on the same tired tool-oriented conventions of an obedient treasure/path-finder, long-range weapon or sprint button disguised as an animal.

The Last Guardian SIE Japan Studio/GenDesign/Sony Interactive Entertainment

CHICKEN-DOG-CAT-MONKEY

But I can already hear the dissenters pointing back to the maddening frustration of getting Trico to care enough to jump across a damn bridge. Admittedly, you can raise fair questions about Team Ico’s implementation, physics bugs or the still very imperfect art and enormous challenge of carrying a puzzle platformer on the literal back of a massive AI giant.

The Last Guardian is a great big beautiful mess, and at the center of its messiness sits a timidly curious chicken-dog-cat-monkey rustling his feathers and idly pawing at passing butterflies — a chicken-dog-cat-monkey whom I dare you to say in all honesty you did not develop serious feelings for by the end of the game. It’s hard to imagine a player making it through The Last Guardian without being affected by the bond established between the boy and Trico. But I concede that, if you are a player who only goes to games to feel empowered, or who believes experiences of frustration are never an appropriate sensorial exploration in video games, then The Rise of the Good Boy may not be for you.

Despite its flaws, The Last Guardian remains one of the most moving experiences I’ve had with a game in recent years. It stuck with me long after I stopped playing precisely because it is designed to disempower the player as she progresses, replacing individual autonomy with the shared empowerment of successful collaboration and mutual trust.

Throughout the game, the level design strikes the perfect equilibrium between the boy and Trico’s respective disabilities: only Trico can navigate the massive landscape in order to bring the boy closer to his goal of escaping, but only the boy can liberate Trico to move freely by getting rid of the stained-glass eyes and puzzles. Again and again, from the enormity of the unmanageable terrain to the unstoppable hostility of the other mind-controlled chimeras, the player must reckon with a sublime powerlessness and sensation of insignificance in the face of nature, as a mere child trapped in a world built for colossal legends.
MEANING AND PURPOSE

But, ultimately, both the player and Trico find meaning and purpose in overcoming the barriers of language, biology, civilization and even instinct together, to become one single entity working in tandem to survive a world that does everything in its substantial power to tear them apart.

Against all odds, they achieve cross-species companionship, in a true partnership that doesn’t undermine either of their autonomies. Though not explicitly revealed, creator Fumito Ueda confirmed that Trico’s AI even incorporates a “trust” and “hunger” meter. Not wanting to give too many explicit details on what effects the meter, Ueda deliberately distinguished that the trust meter is not determined by the player’s progression in the game, instead implying that that the player’s actions have more to do with it.

While never stated (but perhaps measurable through the fluctuating growth of Trico’s horns and wings), many Redditors theorize that Trico’s attitude toward you — like her willingness to listen — is affected by how you treat her and whether or not you manage to successfully communicate. Granted, the best form of communication is not always made obvious by the game. It may take time, and patience. As a player, you have the choice to either rely heavily on the R1 + X command to scold Trico into sitting, or on the other hand give positive reinforcement by pressing R1 + O to praise and coax her to stand. So, when Trico whines in frustration after being either unable or too afraid to execute a command you requested, you can either scold or comfort him.

After traumatic events like combat or encounters with the stain-glass eye, you can either take your sweet time before walking over to comfort the panicking chimera, or (like me) you can rush to his side, scramble up to his neck (which the game encourages you to discover is his favorite petting spot) and soothe him until long after he’s stopped quivering. You can also take the time to search his whole body to remove every spear, and even help him heal faster by petting the wounds and removing the blood stain from his fur.

Jaguar Jess Joho

As for the commonly cited frustration of getting stuck or being unsure how to progress to the next area (which, by the way, is a deliberate break from the convention of traditional game design that uses very clear visual markers to light the path forward for players), you can either keep scrambling around the room angrily on your own, or you can pause, turn to your companion, and learn to read the subtle cues of his body language as he too searches for (and often successfully finds) your way out. Many of the popular videos posted by streamers like Dunkey, used as definitive “evidence” of Trico’s “stubbornness” and not listening on purpose, reveal a player who is not picking up on or paying attention to what Trico is clearly communicating with her body language, or lacks the patience to, or, at most, is experiencing an aforementioned physics bug unrelated to AI.

Again, the observations about the behavioral choices the game presents to the player is speculation, because Ueda left the details of what does or doesn’t affect Trico’s “trust” purposefully vague. But maybe that’s the point. Forcing the player to foster an equal partnership with a giant autonomous animal, and embedding the inherent frustrations of a cross-species relationship into the game, insisting on the players care, patience, attention to Trico, makes us reckon with our own reaction to the real puzzle at the heart of The Last Guardian (which has nothing to do with platforming.)

Despite not knowing about the existence of Trico’s “trust” meter in my first playthrough, I found myself instinctively petting him whenever he cried out, relying heavily on the praise button when he listened. I was so enamored by him, our collaborative effort, that I waited around just to watch and as she lifted up her paw like my real pup never stops doing. Things worked out pretty well between me and my Trico, with very few to no instances of “stubbornness.”

I couldn’t help but think back to the real-life training experiences with my pitbull as I at first struggled to find my footing with the in-game beast who could not only deal enormous damage, but whose species also suffered from an overstated and misunderstood history of violence, and who I had to help overcome a lifetime of mistreatment, fear and persecution.

In the final scenes of The Last Guardian, the player faces the ultimate villain of the game: The Master of the Valley, the inhuman source of the domineering mind-control devices that force the chimeras into aggression and blind obedience. Somehow, the encounter only reconfirmed my conviction that my dog’s breed does not suffer from widespread “stubbornness,” but rather inordinate trauma, bad and abusive owners, and an abundance of empathy and intelligence. I knew that working with an animal with irrational fears of certain objects (my IRL Trico thinks cord chargers, hoses and at times even water bowls are the death of him) can indeed require more time, patience, and training. But the rewards of the journey far outweigh the inconvenience or occasional frustration.

Without a doubt, there are still kinks to be worked out in the shift toward more dynamic player-animal relationships. But at the center of The Rise of the Good Boy is the promise of video games with more nuanced worlds that foster strikingly revealing and engaging bonds.

After two titles that wagged their tails in their own unique ways, I can only hope that we’ll ride into the rest of the rest of the year with two paws up.（source：polygon ）