Gen Atlas Creator Fumito Ueda on Creating Emotional Masterpieces That Stay With Us: ‘I Do Think About Leaving a Mark in People’s Hearts’

There's a unique sense of intrigue that surrounds every new Fumito Ueda project. Familiar, yet exciting. A promise of a connection between character and player that few others can forge. But the Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian creator is moving away from his fantasy worlds with Gen Atlas, shifting to a land of sci-fi where giant robots lie strewn across its shores, waiting to be awoken. That quiet image of towering metal creatures served as the spark for this new project. “I knew I wanted to feature giant robots in the game,” Ueda told me in an interview at last week’s Summer Game Fest. “But the slightly longer answer is that there was an image in my head that really stuck, and I couldn't let go of that visual that I had. The robot's head is detached, and it's carrying its own head underneath the arm. I knew that I wanted that somehow to be in the game, and then it kind of expanded from that.” What exactly we’ll be doing with these titanium torsos and steel skulls remains much of a mystery. But after viewing the extended version of Gen Atlas’ SGF trailer, which showcases a little extra gameplay, I can make some inferences. It seems to me as if it’s an evolution o