Tearaway Unfolded
Publisher:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Developer:
Media Molecule, Tarsier Studios
Platforms:
PS4
Genre:Adventure/Platformer
Release Date:TBA 2015
Tearaway Unfolded is an upcoming port and re-release of the popular adventure platformer Tearaway, which originally released on the PS Vita. This build is an upgraded version of the 2013 portable version.
The PS4 build of the game is being developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The primary goal is to bring the game up to a full 1080p resolution and the developer is currently targeting a constant frame rate of 60 frames per second. Tearaway Unfolded currently has a 2015 release window.
Development
The reveal of Tearaway Unfolded came during Gamescom of 2014 when Sony took to the stage to announce that they would be bringing the game to the PS4 with Media Molecule assisting Tarsier Studios to make sure the essential elements of the game were in place.
The PS4 build of Tearaway will take advantage of and make use of some of the features exclusive to the PlayStation 4. This includes the Dualshock 4’s Lightbar and possibly the touch button interface given the touch screen tech that was used in Tearaway on Vita. The game will also make use of the PS4’s Share functionality as well, at the minute more details haven’t been revealed.
Tearaway is one of the few games that makes use of an art style that blends both the 3D and 2D worlds into one. That being said, the game itself isn’t played in a 2D world, gameplay takes place in a 3D space that the serves as the game world.
The major implementation of the 2D components in the world is the texturing of items. Most 3D objects in Tearaway are designed to look as though they are constructed out of sheets of paper, lending the game it’s very distinct paper-craft style.
Sony have spoken about the visual styling of Tearaway. When the game first came onto the scene they said that the game would be an “Adventure through a vibrant papery world with your new friend iota, a plucky messenger with a unique message to deliver—to you!”
Story
The plot of Tearaway follows Iota or Atoi, a male or female messenger that’s off on a mission to deliver a special message that is unique to the player. Along their journey they will encounter small scraps of paper enemies that will try and stop the delivery.
The main goal of the game is to make players enjoy the experience of the having played it, making them value the gameplay rather than having them focus on a plot heavy narrative.
Gameplay
As mentioned in the story portion of this wiki, the game was designed around having the player adventure through a lovingly designed paper-craft world. The adventure would be focused on the characters Iota and Atoi, a male and female paper-craft being respectively.
Tearaway Unfolded is a third person adventure game. In the original demonstration footage of the game that was revealed for the original PS Vita build of the game, the player was shown how to use texture implementation as part of the game. The demo involved an Elk character that need a new skin, which the player would provide by way of the PS Vita’s camera. Given that the PS4 is a distinctly separate piece of equipment from the PS4, it’s not yet known how this function and piece of gameplay will be implemented into the PS4 version of the game. It’s entirely possible that the player will be given an in-game camera to use in the game world. Once the play has managed to find a suitable substitute for the Elk’s coat, the chose texture is then applied to the Elk, acting as its new skin.At this time, information that gives gameplay specific information is limited
When the PS Vita original version the game was designed, it was created to effectively implement all of the PS Vita’s features, this was of course to make sure that they were meaningfully used opposed to having them feel like a gimmick.
A number of the original gameplay features made use of the cameras and internal gyroscopes to let the player look around inside the game world. Features like this are expected to still be in the PlayStation 4 build of the game, but with a new control scheme. It’s possible that moving the Dualshock 4 may allow for some similar functionality, or perhaps there’s going to be integration with the PlayStation 4 Camera. At the minute, this is largely supposition.
A video trailer for the PS4 build that was released showed that the player will use the touch pad in a number of ways with different gestures reflecting different mechanics in the game world. It also showed that at some point the player will even have to shake their controller to proceed further into the game.
In the original PS Vita build, the player would use the rear touch screen to press their fingers into the game world and interact with it. Features like this were a main selling point of the game, but the Dualshock 4 is missing these pieces of tech, so this feature may be entirely replaced or removed.
Another separate demo for the PS Vita version of the game shows off the player’s ability to cut out paper shapes for the characters featured in the game by using their fingers on the Vita’s front touch screen, this will likely be mimicked on the Dualshock 4 touch pad.
When Tearaway shipped on the PS Vita, it was very well received by the public at large and by the media. With the PS4 build on the horizon, a number of outlets have started to express worrying opinions that this heralds the death of the Vita with Vita exclusive game’s being ported to the PS4.
Characters
As mentioned above, the game has two main characters. One of whom is Atoi, the other is Iota. Both of these little characters are papercraft-like beings that are on a mission to deliver a special message.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.