‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ Monsters Looked Like Giant LEGO at First

Horizon Zero Dawn is a thrilling title that enraptured the hearts of gamers everywhere with its strong narrative, unique characters, and powerful protagonist. The journey for Aloy in-game was one built on determination, strife, and world-changing revelations, and it was far from easy. It turns out the development of the in-game machines was much the same, because the starting point for their design made them look like child-friendly LEGO.

Guerrilla Games Managing Director Hermen Hulst took to the PlayStation Blog to celebrate the game’s 2-year anniversary and over 10 million copies sold. From sharing fan creations, to talking about the development process, it’s clear that this team has a lot to be proud of. Among those achievements is making the above monster actually look formidable in the final project.

When talking about the “Toy Brick Raptor,” Hurst mentioned “The first machine that the development team designed and finished was the Thunderjaw, a fierce Tyrannosaur-like monstrosity. However, during the gameplay prototyping phase the Thunderjaw looked like a children’s toy made from brightly colored plastic bricks. Each color-coded ‘brick’ represented a different part of the machine that could be targeted or shot off.”

Though the color coordination makes sense, it’s still pretty hilarious to look at when comparing it to the game’s launch-day presentation. Still, could you imagine facing off against that while trying to take it seriously? Some things are just too impossible.

It’s no secret that open-world games present a unique challenge, especially one done with the Decima Engine. Pair that with the RPG mechanics that they weren’t intimately familiar with, and it was a project that if not handled with care could have ended terribly. As it were, Guerrilla Games’ risk was well worth it and Horizon Zero Dawn was a resounding success. The PlayStation 4 exclusive broke records, bewitched fans, and gave single-player story lovers something to treasure for a lifetime.

What are your thoughts on the PlayStation 4 exclusive? Any particular part about Aloy’s journey stick out to you the most? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy!

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