It’s stating the obvious to say the machines in Horizon Forbidden West are inspired by animals, but developer Guerrilla Games also looks toward various fauna as inspiration for its human enemies. The machines are practically the defining part of the Horizon universe and serve as the most interesting combat encounters of Zero Dawn. Horizon Zero Dawn aims to deliver a worthy successor in Forbidden West, which is expected to have new and improved combat mechanics, a major component of which will be enemy behavior.
The various machines that will reappear in Horizon Forbidden West are based on a variety – and often a combination – of real-life animals. The influence of big cats, predatory birds, grazing animals, and even crustaceans can be seen in the machines’ designs. Forbidden West is expected to bring new models to the table as well, including machines that can swim underwater and play host to mounted enemies. The developers at Guerrilla Games put an emphasis on even the machines having character, and that their real-life counterparts help mold their identity.
It was recently revealed in a PlayStation Blog post that the designers look to “nature documentaries, feature films, encyclopedias, comic books, concepts art, and more” when settling on the characteristics of the various machines. The study of real animals and their behavior helps the world of Zero Dawn – and soon Forbidden West – to feel more authentic. Horizon Zero Dawn‘s story helps explain the in-universe origins of the machines, but the mimicry of real animals increases players’ immersion by making them believable creatures. Oddly, Guerrilla takes the same approach to designing its human enemies.
Animals That Inspired Forbidden West’s Human Enemies
In gameplay terms, there are various classes of human enemies, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In order to similarly convey the personalities of these archetypes, Guerrilla Games once again took cues from the animal kingdom. Everything from idle behaviors to combat tactics of Forbidden West‘s human enemies takes influence from animals. For instance, one type of enemy known as the Champion class “[moves] calmly, looking for gaps in [Aloy’s] defense and circling around while not losing eye contact and continuously closing in […] like a wolf stalking its prey.” This use of bestial analogs was apparently very helpful for the developers in parsing how various enemies would behave.
Another example is what sounds like a more common enemy, the Rebel Soldier. They were apparently designed to behave like hyenas, with a “rowdy and versatile personality with a lot of uncontrolled and ungraceful motion.” A hyena’s confidence in a cackle, but its timidness alone was a central tenet in designing the Rebel Soldier’s personality and behavior. This effort into making distinguished human enemies, alongside the revealed improvements to melee combat, might help Forbidden West‘s human foes stand out from those in Zero Dawn. Taking inspiration from real animals is a no-brainer for Horizon Forbidden West‘s machines, but doing the same for human enemies is a fascinating bit of insight into the development process.
