![]() 48).Ĭomprehensive studies of cellular automata have been performed by S. Wolfram Model for biological systems (Wolfram 2002, p. To consider such a model, and incorporated a cellular model into his "universalĬonstructor." Cellular automata were studied in the early 1950s as a possible Iteratively for as many time steps as desired. To a set of rules based on the states of neighboring cells. To this day there is nothing else like NieR Automata.A cellular automaton is a collection of "colored" cells on a grid of specified shape that evolves through a number of discrete time steps according Thanks to a combination of innovative yet sometimes meaningfully abrasive combat and narrative design, Taro had managed to break through that invisible wall into the grey area. Three years after this GDC talk, NieR: Automata was released to critical acclaim. Development on NieR: Automata started that same year. Instead, Taro believed games remained bound by certain expectations and conventions put in place. In 2014, Taro described the idea of an invisible wall that held gaming back from breaking into a nebulous grey zone that held the fullest potential of the medium, but he believed he had personally failed to help games break past that invisible wall. ![]() “You just have to think you are right.” Taro sees the potential of games to “emotionally affect the player in an extreme or an otherwise substantial way.” “You don’t have to be insane to kill someone,” Taro said during a 2014 GDC panel. The original NieR was a response to 9/11 with Taro observing society and expressing his reaction. Square EnixĮvery Taro is politically charged, and each stands as a response to larger issues in the world. NieR: Automata breaks new ground for the medium of video games to affect real change. ![]() It is the pinnacle of Taro’s body of work that speaks to what he sees as the purpose of video games. The execution of Automata’s themes through this winding perspective-shifting and genre-bending narrative culminates in a truly standout finale that asks the player to sacrifice something real. Like previous Taro games, Automata features multiple endings and routes that reveal aspects of the main narrative - further still, Automata tells the story from three different perspectives. Living tableaus of Machine Lifeorms trying to conceive children or performing Shakespeare demonstrates a sense of living that the androids lack. In a world where no real humans interact, we see the humanity in the quiet moments where the budding culture of the Machine Lifeforms is revealed. The cyclical nature of the seemingly pointless missions that the androids and the council of humanity embark on is the most machine and inhuman thing in this world. The question of who in the world of Automata has humanity is one that the game very clearly makes its stance known early on. But this basic summary does not paint an accurate picture of the depth that Automata goes to when investigating these themes. Examining the cycle of violence is a bit of a tired trope that can often feel like prestige bait. Square EnixĪt its simplest, Automata is a game about the dehumanization of individuals and society at large due to perpetual conflict. Automata plays like a survey of video games as a medium and crams it all together in one messy package that delights.īut the true standout of NieR: Automata is the narrative of androids 2B, 9S, and A2.ĭifferent perspectives reveal a complex narrative. In addition to hack-slash, the game incorporates elements of bullet hell and text adventure games. While combat has the signature PlatinumGame shine when it comes to the hack-and-slash sections, part of the appeal of Automata is how the game shifts and reshapes itself to include a myriad of different game styles all in one package. ![]() Directed by Taro and published by Square Enix, the game was developed by action masters PlatinumGames. Tangentially connected to the overarching universe of Drakengard and the original NieR, Automata is a game about android soldiers in a distant post-apocalyptic Earth fighting an endless conflict in hopes of making the planet safe for humanity (who are holed up on the Moon) to return. Because of this, the majority of his games have remained cult hits at best - until NieR: Automata. Known for his love of beer, deadpan humor, and never showing his face, Taro has sought to make games just as weird as the persona he inhabits. Yoko Taro, the creator of the Drakengard and NieR franchises, has always been an oddball in the gaming industry. Automata’s combat is varied and exciting.
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