All Aboard

E3 has come and gone and the one thing each video game conference has in common with one another is they all sell tickets for the hype train. The hype train is the metaphorical manifestation of everyone's joint excitement for a game; it can lead gamers on a fanciful journey often towards wondrous games. Unfortunately each individual game has their own hype train and they don't all lead to the Promised Land.

Hype can be a tricky thing to handle—as a developer, you want to breathe excitement into your fans and develop anticipation for your game, but at the same time going too far can bring on a fan's ire if you can't deliver. The only alternative is to release the game the day you announce it haha but I doubt that would be a trend that ever caught on outside of announcing surprise DLC *cough* Dead Rising 3 *cough*.

Crash And Burn

This year saw a resurgence in game trailers that were (or at least appeared to be) mostly CGI. Over the last number of years I feel as though the industry moved away from this sort of thing and developers were trying to represent all their work in-game. As it appears to be the case (like it was last generation) it looks as though when new systems come out, the initial trailers tend to be more like target renders for what they want their game to look like in the future.

You don't have to look very hard to find an example from the last generation. When Sony first showed off Guerrilla games' Killzone 2 for the PS3, the graphics were out of this world and not what most people expected. Come release, the game obviously failed to live up to the target render...not to say the game looked bad (it was gorgeous), but it was also nowhere near the level of quality that the initial trailer had strived for. The exact same thing happened to Evolution Studios' MotorStorm.

This year was sort of a mixed bag: Some trailers can in no way be in-game and if they are, consider my mind blown because it looked absolutely ridiculous. Just look at the trailer for the newly announced Bloodborne as an example:

There is no way that is in game; I'm sorry, I just can't believe it. Now they never explicitly say it was supposed to be in-game, and the trailer was pretty sick, but this just has viewers flocking to the hype train in droves—and sure, maybe the ride has a few rub downs to keep you entertained along the way, but the final destination is completely unknown.

That being said, Bloodborne has a very low risk of being bad. Developer From Software has a pretty good track record with this style of game—providing a solid action experience with amazing, anxiety inducing, atmosphere. Bloodborne is another spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, much in the same way Dark Souls was. All three separate entities are directed by the same Hidetaka Miyazaki. But unlike the previous two entries, which were medieval in setting, Bloodborne takes on the Victorian era with its anxiety inducing action gameplay.

One thing potential passengers should be extra weary of is boarding the hype train of a new Intellectual Property (IP). Depending on what type of trailer they get—CGI, in-game, teaser, or actual gameplay—getting caught up in the hype can lead to bitter disappointment. As far as new IPs go, this year there weren't too many: Scalebound, Splatoon and the previously mentioned Bloodborne (which is arguable since it is a spiritual successor)...there were a few more, but these are the ones I took notice of personally. 

Drop Me Off At The Top

Hype isn't always a misleading she-devil: For the most part, when a sequel gets revealed you know what you're getting yourself into, especially when that sequel is Uncharted 4!

Just look at those graphics! Also, this is supposed to be in-game, which I feel like I can believe. The only issue I have with this trailer is that it's just a teaser...other than getting your toes a little wet, not much substance is shown. It's easy to get caught up in the hype with a game like Uncharted 4; Naughty Dog is a studio that has proven time and time again that it is a leader in the industry. Practically everything they make is gold and the expectation is that Uncharted 4 will be no different.

Unfortunately it is easier to say, than to do and despite my best efforts, I bought my ticket, took my seat and I'm fully aboard the hype train...but what about you? Did you see anything at E3 that peeked your interest? New or old, let me know in the comments below.