'Horizon Zero Dawn' Gameplay, News: Devs Explain Why Humans Cannot Completely Control the Robo-Dinos
In the "Horizon Zero Dawn," robo-dinos are primarily enemies. However, gamers can override their system to make them become a huge help for Aloy, the main protagonist who players control in the game.
The Robo-dinos' systems can be tricked so they will later on shift their allegiance to Aloy and do tasks for her, such as defending her from other savage machines and collecting the enemies' weapons for Aloy's inventory.
However, converted robo-dinos do not act as complete serfs. For example, they will not do tasks for the players when there is no real threat. They will not complete tasks just from the utter command of the players. Hacked machines will only fight and get to work once bad robots are aiming to attack Aloy – just like a loyal ally would defend their friend.
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So these machines, even when hacked, cannot be a totally controlled robot. Kotaku was able to interview the game's producer, Samrat Sharma, who discussed why they thought it was better not to let robo-dinos become complete servants of Aloy or other humans.
Sharma explained to Kotaku: "If you look at the function of the machines, they all have a certain purpose within the game. You hacking them doesn't change what they exist for, it just changes their allegiance. They stop looking at you as a threat and they look at the others who attack you as a threat. That's the override. You haven't changed their essential function: if they're a watcher, they watch out; if they're a steed they'll run fast and if you're on their back, so be it."
In the interview, Sharma revealed that back at the development phase of "Horizon Zero Dawn," they did not even widely consider a prototype of robo-dinos being under the total control of humans. Sharma added, "I don't think there was a time when we thought there's a bigger system here, where you can point to stuff and give commands."
In the end, Sharma explained that their decision related to overridden robo-dinos is rooted to their aim of sticking to the story and essence of "Horizon Zero Dawn," adding that ideas that might "distract" their goal of telling Aloy's story were discarded.
So even if there is a design document where everything that players tell robo-dinos will magically happen, Sharma maintained that it would not add up to the narrative that they are trying to tell.
In Aloy's perspective, Sharma explained, she is still in the phase of learning her history and learning to override these robo-dinos. With that, Aloy is naturally careful in every step and Sharma hopes the current game mechanics is helping to exude the narrative they intend to tell.
"Horizon Zero Dawn" is a role-playing game exclusively available on the PlayStation 4.
