‘Season’ is a New Free-Roam Photography Game Coming to PlayStation
Season: a Letter to the Future is a new photography-themed video game that’s coming this fall for the PlayStation 4 and Playstation 5.
The game’s trailer was shared yesterday by PlayStation as part of its latest State of Play.
“The gameplay of Season: A Letter to the Future focuses on exploring, recording, meeting people, and unraveling the strange world around you,” says PlayStation.
“Your camera can capture anything you see. Your microphone can capture and playback anything you hear, through directional sound recording. This action also prompts moments of reflection and inquiry as you understand your surroundings, sparking thoughts and investigation from Estelle. Use these recordings of the present to unlock answers for the future.”
Estelle, the protagonist of the game, and her journey are described as, “No one has left in a generation, no one until Estelle.”
Two core mechanics were demonstrated in the trailer, one which provides a glimpse at how the player can take snapshots of everything and anything, and the other which shows a microphone that can be used to capture any sounds, voices, or music the player might want to record as part of the journey.
“Your tools help you peel back these layers until you’re able to grasp the culture, history, and ecology underneath everything,” says PlayStation.
“At any point, you can hop off your bike and equip a tool from your bag. Each captures a different layer; sounds and music, art and architecture, voices of old people, vanishing religious practices, the traces of seasons long past.”
Photography in Video Games
Last year, a Nintendo game called Toem was released, which was also set in a stylized world with the player being free to take photos of anything they like while completing quests along the way.
However, Season seems an altogether more sophisticated, grander experience with rich colors and the addition of recording sound.
A PC Game that simulated wildlife and nature photography was also announced last year, but a release date is yet to be confirmed.
Photography in video games has been growing in popularity thanks to photo modes, even if the games themselves are not about photography. Hideo Kojima, famed video game director and creator of titles like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, wrote on Twitter that video game photo modes help hone the craft of photography.
