When Sony first started talking about the Sixaxis’ lack of rumble functionality, I just kind of shrugged; it didn’t seem like that big a deal. I’d enjoyed the feature, but it was basically a means of physically punctuating explosions. I figured I’d miss it, but not all that much.
Turns out I never actually did without. By the time I’d gotten around to buying a PS3, a DualShock 3 already came with the machine. In any case, vibration feedback still just didn’t mean all that much to me.
Until playing Ico last week, that is.
While I wasn’t overwhelmed by the game itself, its use of rumble struck me as innovative and unique in that it deepened Ico and Yorda’s enigmatic relationship. Every time Ico holds Yorda’s hand and begins to eagerly lead her on to some new or safe location, his movement slows and the vibration feedback emulates the feel of her feet plodding along behind him. As a player, this deepened my sense of connection to the mysterious, ethereal character by serving as a reminder that she needed me: Yorda would require my help in order to get out of the mess we were in. It was the first time (in this player’s experience, at least) that a rumbling controller had served to underscore something other than an explosion, gunfire, or a particularly hard hit. The mechanic added an entirely new dimension by emphasizing gentle touch rather than violent concussion, and I’d love to see other games try the same sort of thing.
Tags: Fumito Ueda, Ico, Team Ico, Twitter, Yorda
