The developers behind PlayStation 2 classic ICO at genDESIGN have shared new early development footage of the game. The developers originally created the video in 1998 in order to share the game’s concept with the rest of the design team. genDESIGN released the video in celebration of the 20th anniversary of ICO.
Notably, the early development footage is entirely unedited and features scanlines, noise, and a debug overlay from the development version of the game. The footage features a combination of CG and PSX-era graphics. Though genDESIGN initially developed ICO for the PSX, they would later move development to the PS2. Interestingly, ICO does not have his signature horns in some parts of the video, and Yorda’s design is in stark contrast to her final model.
In the YouTube description, the developers note that the video uses Momus’ “Summer Holiday 1999” as the soundtrack of the early development footage. This was apparently due to the fact that a CD of the song was on ICO and Shadow of the Colossus director Fumito Ueda‘s desk. Furthermore, they also reveal that Simon & Garfunkle’s “Scarborough Fair” was used in another early development video. Ultimately, the final version of the game used the soundtrack created by composer Michiru Oshima.
You can check out the ICO early development video below:
Earlier this year, genDESIGN teased an upcoming project alongside images of their past works. The studio is made up of various former Team ICO developers. GenDESIGN has been behind some of the PlayStation’s biggest hits, including ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian.
