Humanity is available starting today as a Day 1 PlayStation Plus Game Catalog title.*

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Inspired by the “flocking behavior of birds”

Shuhei Yoshida (SY): I heard that Nakamura-san likes to observe flocks of birds, and that’s where you found inspiration for Humanity. Can you tell us more about that? 

Yugo Nakamura(YN): I specialize in Interactive Design, and I like to spend my time programming, sharing my work, and creating visual experiences; I enjoy these things and that’s why I do them for a living. I think a lot of people like me have used a simulation program called “Boids,” which essentially simulates the flocking behavior of birds. If you focus on just a single creature, you’re able to create very organic movements just by programming three simple rules and connecting them. But in the case of birds, the simulation looked so alive, and it was fascinating to see how organically the flock of birds moved, even though it was based on such a simple mechanism. 

From there, I spent some time making a bite-size mobile game that used simple bird movements as motifs. It was like a racing game where you control a flock of birds. 

SY: It’s the one where you try to progress further into the game, right?

YN: Yes. In a regular racing game, you’re only responsible for controlling one car, but in this game, you basically had to control 300 different cars. If you made a small mistake, you lost 100 birds, but then eventually gained back 200!

SY: Game developers like us are always looking to surprise people by creating something that goes above and beyond what you’d expect from a hardware’s capabilities. So when I saw your game, I felt something similar. 

YN: I had similar thoughts as a consumer myself. I was shocked at how smoothly games ran back on the original PlayStation, and I thought that was such a great achievement. From there, I decided that since I already made a game with birds on a smartphone, next I wanted to create a system that controlled large groups of humans. That’s how the idea for Humanity was born. 

SY: Birds’ movements are driven completely by instinct, but in the case of humans, a mix of intellect and social conventions come into play. What aspects did you focus on when designing the movement of crowds of humans?

YN: My first eureka moment was when I saw huge crowds of people at Comic Market (Comiket) in Japan, all properly lined up and waiting patiently. I was fascinated by how the movement of that many people was so controlled and regulated – I think this sort of behavior is unique to humans who are not just herded by instinct.

“Humanity is something special” – how development started

SY: How did you meet Mizuguchi-san?

YN: I’ve always loved games, and I’d seen Mizuguchi-san many times in gaming magazines since his time at Sega. I was a fan of his work. I once had a chance to meet him briefly, but then I saw him again at Unity Developer’s Delight – a developer event hosted by Unity. There, one of our engineers, Yama, showcased a human crowd simulator demo which was the prototype for Humanity. Mizuguchi-san was one of the judges there, and he later got in touch.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi (TM): I met Yugo once at the Japan Media Arts Festival, hosted by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, but to me he was like a superstar creator that produced so many unique and creative products. If you turned on the TV you’d see a show that he produced, and if you walked the streets of Ginza, you’d see UNIQLO ads that he had worked on.

Enhance helps navigate the complexities of game design 

SY: Nakamura-san’s “tha ltd.” isn’t a game development studio. How does the collaboration between Enhance work?

YN: We aren’t a game studio, but our expertise lies in design and tech for interactive experiences. Even though we didn’t know much about video game design, we were overly optimistic at the beginning, and decided that our team will be responsible for development, and Enhance will take on the role of publisher and producer.

However, the deeper we went into development, we realized that game development was not at all like we had imagined. I realized rather early on that creating a fun gaming experience is not something an amateur can easily pull off, so I spoke to Mizuguchi-san to have seasoned game designers oversee our work. From there, we had staff from Enhance join our development as well.

The fun and terror of collectivized humanity

SY: I felt like the game’s title, Humanity, is ironic in a sense that it reflects how humanity as a concept can be perceived. Heaps of people walking around in hordes almost reminds me of a totalitarian society. I was really curious as to whether you developed the game with such irony in mind, or whether you were just genuinely interested in people. When creating a game, you have to implement a lot of rules, which may cause the game to end up becoming something that was not originally intended. Did you face any dilemma like that?

YN: Actually, the inspiration behind the game title is a T-shirt that I own with a logo that says “Humanity” – I thought that was a cool logo and the word itself had a nice ring to it. But when you think about it, Humanity has a very deep meaning, and when I reflected on how humanity plays a role in my daily life, many thoughts came to mind. Each and every one of us is generally kind and rational, and not many of us are inherently mad or crazy. However, this all changes drastically when it comes to ‘groups’. Politics, war, cancel culture on social media – people tend to go to extremes when they are part of a larger group. The title, Humanity, embodies the idea that humans gain a new trait when they come together.

When we view human beings as a cluster, and not as individuals, we may associate them with the totalitarian and homogenous image you mentioned earlier, and the fear and extremities that derive from that are certainly an important motif in the game.

SY: Visuals of the game evoke fear as well.

YN: It was even more terrifying and ruthless at the earlier stages. When you looked at a single human from a group’s perspective, they looked like a speck of dust or even a tiny piece of trash. Mizuguchi-san provided us with some guidance and we went in a more gentle direction.

Expanding the community with the Stage Creator

SY: What was the idea behind Stage Creator?

YN: Originally, the development team was working on a tool for level design, and we thought it would be fun to make it public. However, it was quite a challenge to develop it into something that users could play with a controller.

When we previously released the demo, I saw users creating stages that went far beyond our expectations, so I felt reassured that we made a good decision

SY: I felt the same with LittleBigPlanet and Dreams. It’s nice to see players leveraging the games in ways that the creators never imagined, and sharing their creations with other gamers. Humanity’s UI is also very well designed. Stages with high user ratings and recommendations are showcased at the top, allowing users to quickly discover fun and interesting community-made content. 

The world of Humanity in PS VR2

SY: In my position, I must bring up the fact that the game is compatible with PS VR2. The team at Enhance has produced VR masterpieces such as Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect: Connected, so I imagine it was a familiar process for Mizuguchi-san. What was your impression of VR as a medium, Yugo?

YN: I enjoy VR so I have been playing around with it since the early days, but I had an impression that the majority of VR content was immersive first-person experiences. When Mizuguchi-san suggested trying out VR, I didn’t think it would be a good fit for this game, but there were so many discoveries when I gave it a try. I didn’t realize VR was capable of capturing extremely detailed 3D human movements in such high resolution. We were able to utilize VR in a unique way, where the player can watch over small crowds of people walking around in an elaborate diorama, as if you’re observing a swarm of ants.

TM: Most of the VR games I have worked on so far are immersive first-person experiences, but I had a feeling that Humanity would be interesting to play from a third-person perspective – sort of like Sim City where you can walk around and get a bird’s eye view of everything. At first, members of the team were a little skeptical, but when we tried it out, everyone agreed that it was a good idea. The development went smoothly from there.

SY: Performance, such as framerate, can be a concern on VR. Did you run into any issues around that?

YN: It was quite challenging optimizing for PS VR, but we had a lot of leeway with PS VR2. I think we were able to achieve the level of detail we were aiming for, with the resolution of the PS VR2.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s take on the potential of PS VR2

SY: As a developer, how do you feel about PS VR2 overall – not just limited to Humanity?

TM: Compared to the original PS VR, the overall quality has improved dramatically, and I think it is an amazing generational leap forward. As a developer, I’m particularly interested and see a lot of potential in the new eye tracking feature.

Also, you may think that we at Enhance are obsessed with haptics – well, we are haha – but we are interested in building experiences that involve haptics. In that sense, the inclusion of haptic feedback in the headset is very significant. What I found out when I created the Synesthesia Suit for Rez Infinite, for example, is that when there is distance, you can experience the world through the senses of your whole body. You can feel the sensation of objects passing by or the alternating beat of the music. What only existed in the palm of your hands is now extended to the headset, so there are so many new possibilities.

A perfect chemistry of puzzles and narrative that make it worth playing till the end

SY: It’s been five years since development started. How do you feel looking back?

YN: We were struggling the whole time basically (haha). I mentioned earlier that the game was an extension of an interactive design we worked on, and there were parts of the process that were exactly as we had imagined and parts that were completely unexpected. The basic aspects of development were what we had expected, but the process of refining the game to make it more fun and enjoyable was very unique.

Extensive playtesting and listening to various user feedback is common practice in the game industry. Even when there were opinions I thought were okay to ignore, we diligently repeated the process of resolving them. We would eliminate even the slightest stress, and the end result would be a game that is pleasant and comfortable to play, even if you can’t quite complete it.

SY: Indeed, there is no stress when playing Humanity. You can retry immediately if you fail, and it drops you right back into the middle of what you have been doing. I felt that the game was being accommodating to the user and made them feel comfortable during gameplay.Players from around the globe enjoyed the demo released in February, and now the full version is available as part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.How do you feel about that?

YN: In one word, I am terrified! The content I usually produce lasts five to 15 minutes at most. With videos, I only need to grab the attention of the viewer for that short amount of time, so I can focus on that and make it happen. Games, however, can take up to several tens of hours, so I cannot help but wonder if our game is really worth that amount of players’ time. As the creator, I don’t have that much objective confidence, and because I’ve been a part of the game’s development for so long I can’t say I’m objective anymore.

SY: Do you have a message for those who haven’t played Humanity yet?

YN: There may be people who don’t enjoy puzzles or are not too fond of it as a game genre, but I hope people will see past that and give it a try. Of course the puzzles are fun, but I encourage gamers to jump in and play around as if it’s a playground; move the crowds in various ways and experiment by making them do different things. You’ll see a lot of interesting behaviors and results. We put work in creating a game that you won’t get tired of.

It is part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, so if you are already a member, you can play it whenever you feel like it. I’ll be delighted if everyone could give it a try.

TM: Humanity is a game that delivers a whole new experience. If you ask me what genre it is, I would probably say it is a puzzle game. I think it is easy enough for anyone to pick up – from children to the elderly, even our parents’ generation. Everything that happens is a spectacle, and that alone is interesting, but I think the game is about experiencing the narrative, and immersing yourself in the story of Humanity. 

It’s a fun game that can be enjoyed on your own, or have family and friends with you helping to solve the puzzles. You can also treat it like a party game where everyone beats the game together. I hope players enjoy the game in their own way, and are able to witness the end that we prepared for them.

*Humanity is available now on PS4, PS5, PS VR, and PS VR2. It’s also included with the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium memberships.

Building a PlayStation logo-themed stage

Using Humanity’s ultra-intuitive editor, you can let your imagination run wild. Whatever you’re in the mood for, a perplexing puzzle or a relaxing work of art, it’s easy to make it inside Humanity. The absolute best part is when you’re finished, you can share your creations with the world!

Get to know the Palette menu, which has everything you need to construct a stage. The basic building blocks of any level are…well, Blocks! To create the PlayStation stage you see here, we used the static (non-moving) and motorized (can be made to move along a pre-planned route) types, but many more options are available for your custom level. All you need are some Blocks, humans, and a Goal to send them to. If you have those three things, you’ve got yourself a working level! If you get stuck or need some help, the Stage Creator includes an extensive library of tutorial videos to assist you every step of the way. 

We’ll start by drawing the ‘S’ in the ‘PS’ logo. This will be the base for our puzzle. Next, we’ll create a pathway for the humans to walk on while avoiding the Others walking below and trying to stop us from collecting that precious Goldy. Finally, the ‘S’ snakes around and attaches to the back of a towering letter ‘P.’

That’s one giant PlayStation logo! 

Ahhhh, we forgot to add an essential piece! So, let’s bring up the Palette and drop in a Boulder. There, now it looks like it’s got a “registered” symbol. You didn’t see that one coming, huh? Get creative and don’t forget to have fun when designing your level!

Making a level fun to solve

Now that we’ve finished the basic design, we must add the puzzle aspects to the level. The humans will march along the S, climb the towering P and reach the three goals at the top. But wait, there’s a tricky part. Did you see that gold goal at the top? Use that cute Shiba Inu of yours, place commands, and escort your human flock with Goldy to the Goldy Goal. That’s no easy task, let me tell ya! Not only do you need to guide the Goldy in its own goal, but you’ll also need the humans flowing to the other two goals. You have to do all this and avoid the Others waiting to beat you down with their clubs.

Think you can finish our stage? With practice, I’m sure you can. The level is sitting in User Stages, waiting for you to take on the challenge:

“PlayStation Logo” Stage ID 001-157-8556. 

Once you beat it, you can rate and save it to your Favorites. It’s a five-star level for sure, right?

This PlayStation stage should illustrate just how flexible the editor is. If you’re a beginner, you can start much simpler. Here are a couple of tips:

• Not sure where to begin? Pick two mechanics in Humanity and mash them up. Pushable Blocks with Conveyor Belts. Fans with the Dog Switch. Climbable walls and water. Make a smaller puzzle and expand from there.
• Do your own take on a stage from Humanity’s Story Mode and remix/change some aspects of it.
• Pick a theme and see what you can design. Make a sculpture with the blocks and then design a puzzle afterward.

Bottom line—have fun. And don’t forget to share your stage with us, too! We are eager to see what people in the community can do with these tools.

You can get your hands on Humanity starting tomorrow, May 16, on PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4. Play on your TV or optionally with PS VR2 or PS VR. The game is also part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog now available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members.

Humanity 

Take control of a luminescent Shiba Inu (in case you don’t know—that’s a dog!) in this visually stunning and thought-provoking action-puzzle game from Enhance and tha ltd. You direct a massive, marching crowd of humans to the light, rebuilding humanity and unlocking new mechanics in the process. Command the people to turn, jump, climb, swim, shoot, follow and more to get them to the goal across 90 carefully crafted stages. Devious puzzles await you, mixing in more action-focused elements, platformer-like levels, and even epic boss battles. Should you lose a few humans along the way, fear not—death is not permanent in the world of Humanity. Any people that fall off a stage turn back into light and walk through the door again.

Today, we’re happy to reveal a deeper look at how that all comes together. Check out our all-new gameplay trailer:

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Outside of Story Mode, you can browse an ever-growing library of stages created by other players. Play, rate, favorite, and discover new types of puzzles in this limitless cross-platform vault, with curated playlists updated regularly so there’s always something new to play. Or try your hand at bringing your ideas to life using our intuitive Stage Creator. From platforming challenges and straightforward puzzles to artful sculptures, it’s super easy to make a stage and share it with friends and the community.

As a VR-optional title, you can also get an up-close view of your human horde and explore the environments in ways not possible in flat 2D via PS VR2 (on PS5) or PS VR (on PS4).

Whether you want to experience the Story Mode or are ready to jump into and play or make community content, this game’s got something for everyone. 

– Mark MacDonald, Executive Producer, Enhance

Humanity launches May 16, 2023 and is available on PlayStation Plus Game Catalog from Day 1. 

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Meet Your Maker 

Meet Your Maker, is our new first-person building-and-raiding game that’s out now and is available as part of the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for April. Players step into a post-apocalyptic world where they’re tasked with both creating and infiltrating devious maze-like Outposts filled with traps and guards to protect and steal a vital resource.

Every level in the game is deviously designed by players, and whether you opt to focus on building or raiding Outposts, both roles are fun, accessible, and even offer a co-op option to team up with a friend. Here’s some gameplay tips to help you get started: 

When Building: 

1. Start with a 3-step approach: Build the basic structure, add traps and guards, then personalize with cosmetics. You don’t lose progress or resources by being raided, so share your Outpost, and return to improve on it at any time. 
2. You can modify traps to trigger only after the Genmat has been stolen. Suprise Raiders by making it just as hard (or harder!) to get out as it was to get in.
3. Think like a Raider as you set traps. Ask what they might instinctively do when faced with a particular setup, and then use those reactions against them.
4. Try to overcome your own defenses through the “Test my Outpost” feature. It’s the best way to know what’s working and what’s not.  

When Raiding:

1. The Grapple Hook is your new best friend. Master it. It gives you incredible mobility for both attacking and escaping.
2. Stock up on useful consumables like speed boosts, deployable shields, and more, before starting your raid. You never know when you’ll need them.
3. When a trap is tripped, you’ll get both a visual and audio cue before it deploys. Reacting quickly can save your life.
4. Drop a Phoenix Pod after you grab the Genmat for a one-time respawn from the same point. You never know what’s waiting for you on the way out. 

– Justin Fragapane, Lead Content Strategist, Behaviour Interactive

Meet Your Maker is available now as part of the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for April. 

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Tchia

All the team at Awaceb is incredibly proud to have created a game that is not only fun and immersive in its own right, but also a heartfelt love letter to our homeland. So many people have now discovered New Caledonia through the eyes of Tchia, and we still get a lot of messages from players who appreciate the beauty of the archipelago, the richness of its cultures, and are now interested in knowing more (and sometimes even consider a trip there!). Being able to move people from a tangible, human standpoint is our greatest pride as video game makers.

– Phil Crifo, Tchia Game Director & co-founder of Awaceb

Tchia is available now on the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog. 

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Kena: Bridge of Spirits 

Kena: Bridge of Spirits marks our gaming debut! At Ember Lab, we’ve always had a passion for great storytelling, and in September, 2021 our small animation studio officially turned to game development with the release of Kena. Since then, we’ve been honored to receive both fan support and critical acclaim. Our story-driven action-adventure blends a narrative focus with exploration, puzzle-solving, and fast-paced combat. Both press and public alike have described Kena’s adventure as “magical,” “compelling,” and “breathtaking.”

Taking inspiration from nostalgic games and films, Kena blends Eastern and Western themes as players untangle the past of a forgotten village. Kena, a young Spirit Guide, searches for the mysterious Sacred Mountain Shrine. As the titular Spirit Guide, players help spirits trapped by their personal tragedies with the help of cute (yet powerful) spirit companions, the Rot.

Following its release, our game won “Best Indie Game” at the 2021 Game Awards. Praised for its Animation, Art Direction, Music, and more, Kena went on to receive awards and nominations at the Game Developers Choice Awards, DICE, BAFTA, Taipei Game Show, Annie Awards, Webby Awards, and SXSW.

We released the free “Anniversary Update” a year after launch as a thank you for the incredible support. The update allowed us to include many features we couldn’t fit into the initial release including New Game+, Spirit Guide Trials, cosmetics, and more. You can read all about the Anniversary Update in our PlayStation Blogs: Details Revealed and Crafting New Outfits.

Since launch, PlayStation players have found over 40 million Rot and over 8 million unique hats! (out of 100 possible Rot in the game). We’re so excited for new players to join in! With Kena: Bridge of Spirits, we aimed to strike a balance between inviting, impactful, and a lot of fun. We hope you enjoy our debut game.

– Thomas Varga, Game Writer, Ember Lab 

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is available now on the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog 

Game library varies over time and tier. PlayStation Plus is subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms

So…any questions?

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What did I just watch?

We wanted to announce Humanity’s launch date with a trailer that truly reflects the game: fun, a bit weird (in a good way) and starring an adorable lil’ shiba inu. Oh, and importantly: clearly, undeniably Japanese.

What better way to do that than to recreate the wild – and brilliant – Japanese PlayStation ad campaigns of the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 era? (If you haven’t seen them, it’s worth a search on YouTube, I promise)

We’ve been incredibly flattered to hear Humanity compared to classics of this era like Intelligent Cube, Echochrome, and Devil Dice (among others), even Katamari Damacy and Parappa the Rapper – all fresh and unique designer-led games out of Japan that broke new ground and did it with style. And whether you’ve played those titles or not, or were even gaming back then, we hope you’ll enjoy that same spirit in Humanity: stylish and different, but with a deeply satisfying experience at the core.

Ok, but what type of game is it?

In Humanity, you control that glowing shiba inu, placing commands on the ground for a giant marching horde of people to follow. Make them turn, jump, float through the air, swim, climb, etc., all to reach the goal (or goals) in each stage. The game gradually introduces these mechanics and more, combining them with each other and new elements to ramp up the challenge the further you go. Curious to know more? Be sure to check out the gameplay trailer we shared during February’s State of Play.

So why the doggo?

Well, I mean, why not? The dev team explored a couple of different interface approaches, from a more simple, generic cursor to having one of the humans take the lead. But considering the relationship between dogs and humans in real life and the story we wanted to tell, it just felt natural. If the humans in the game have lost their own will, mind, and soul, who would they want to follow without questioning it? A dog! When we tried it out, everything clicked.

What’s the pupper’s name?

It doesn’t have one – the shiba in the game is you! You wake up as a shiba Inu with no memory of what happened before, including your name.

Why PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium?

Of course we want as many folks as possible to enjoy Humanity’s 90-plus stage single-player Story Mode, but the most exciting part of launching into PlayStation Plus Game Catalog is it guarantees a massive audience for our game’s robust user-generated content features: a ton of players will be out there creating, sharing, and playing each other’s custom-built stages, right from day one.

Whoa, is that a boss fight?

That’s right. Humanity’s Story Mode stages run the gamut along the action-puzzle spectrum, from lean-forward platformer-style “action” levels that will test your reflexes, to lean-back “puzzle” head-scratchers where you might even put the controller down while you think something through – and everything in-between. The game is constantly introducing new mechanics, and mixing and matching them with everything you’ve learned so far to make it feel like you’re always challenged, and never know what’s coming next.

So what is next?

There’s a lot more Humanity to talk about – the narrative in our single-player Story Mode, our optional VR compatibility (PS VR2 or PS VR), unlockable rewards, details on our super-intuitive Stage Creator, all the crazy-amazing stuff people made and shared in User Stages during our limited-time demo, etc.

So keep an eye out for more info and videos in the coming days leading up to May 16, which this year is not just “National Barbeque Day,” but Humani-Tuesday!

Learn more about PlayStation Plus membership plans.

…Oh, did I mention you’re a Shiba Inu?

“One day, I woke up as a dog…”

Shiba Inus are the most popular small dog breed in Japan. Their innocent appearance and loyal personality have captured the heart of the Japanese nation since time immemorial, and people can be seen walking their Shiba Inu in towns and parks all over Japan.

In this world, however, the relationship between human and dog is turned on its head – this is the world of Humanity.

Gameplay

Stranded at the end of the world, people have lost their sense of purpose. You awake as a dog, and join the people in a series of “Trials” (i.e. stages), attempting to guide them towards pillars of light.

With one simple “woof”, you issue commands to your followers – commands they will follow blindly, no matter the sacrifices involved in doing so. You can tell them which direction to walk, make them jump, have them float in midair and more – even have them fight against their enemies.

Each Trial features a variety of tricks, traps, and obstacles, including water and wind, mountains and valleys, switches and moveable objects. Each of these will affect or restrict what the people can do, and they combine together to form a series of fiendish puzzles.

Overcoming Trials and successfully leading the people can require deep thought, or sharp reflexes, or often a combination of both. Plus, things can get very crowded by the time you finally reach the goal, as the stage teems with swarms of people. Dealing with these giant crowds organically, in real-time, is one of the most interesting and satisfying parts of playing Humanity.

Story 

What awaits you at the end of the Trials is…out of the ordinary, to say the least. We’d really like you to play the game for yourself to see how the story unfolds, but we’ll introduce one element here to whet your appetite.

These are the Others.

While similar to the people in appearance, they live according to entirely different principles.

The Others and the people do have some things in common, though – which is what puts the two groups in competition, and ultimately in conflict, with each other…

Do you try to avoid conflict with the Others, or do you seek to confront them head-on?

In the game’s early stages, Humanity appears to be a rather peaceful action puzzler, but as you proceed through the story, it will transform into battles on a massive scale. This evolution in gameplay is just one of the things we hope you enjoy.

Stage Creator / User Stages 

Humanity’s in-game Stage Creator allows you to create your own original stages and share them with the community, allowing them to be enjoyed by players all over the world.

The Stage Creator is easy to use but provides a great deal of creative freedom – it essentially allows you to have the same experience that we, the development team, had when creating stages!

Be sure to share your unique creations with the world. We’re really looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and to being surprised by your skill and creativity!

PlayStation VR2 compatible 

Humanity is also compatible with PS VR2. The game really provides a unique sensation when experienced in VR, and simply feels great to play. It’s as though you’re a giant peering down at a world of tiny people, one where every nook and cranny has been delicately crafted. Indeed, when we experienced Humanity in VR, we realized what an incredible visual experience technology like this could provide. We really hope you all give it a try.

A demo of Humanity is available on PlayStation Store starting today and is open to play for a limited time*. It includes a handful of Story Mode stages for you to try, User Stages for you to play creations from other players around the globe, and our Stage Creator. Hop in, try out some stages or create your own. We hope you’ll check it out, and we’ll see you in the Trials!

*Note: User Stages profile progress, stages created, favorited, or shared during the demo period will not carry over to the full version of the game.

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State of Play: All Announcements

• Atmospheric sci-fi western roguelike The Foglands launches on PS VR2 this year 
• Dive into the jungle with Green Hell VR on PlayStation VR2, out 2023
• Synapse brings dual-wielding VR action exclusively to PS VR2 this year
• Destiny 2: Lightfall launch trailer and new quality-of-life features revealed, out Feb 28
• Humanity: intriguing puzzler gets new gameplay details and demo release today as part of State of Play 
• Journey to Foundation brings Asimov’s epic sci-fi series to life on PS VR2
• Tchia sets sail on PS4 and PS5 on March 21 as part of PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium
• A closer look at PS VR2 narrative adventure Before Your Eyes ahead of its March 10 launch 
• Street Fighter 6 rounds out its launch roster with Cammy, Lily and Zangief 
• Goodbye Volcano High launches this June on PS5 and PS4
• Baldur’s Gate 3 launches on PS5 August 31
• Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections launches 2023 on PS4 and PS5
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League debuts 4-player co-op gameplay and more at State of Play 
• Wayfinder: PS4 and PS5 players get exclusive Early Access to the character-based online RPG in May 
• Resident Evil 4 trailer debuts new action gameplay, announces Mercenaries mode, demo

When I look up at the sky and see a flock flying by, it always stops me dead in my tracks: the beautiful, organic movements, the fluctuations in density and distribution—watching their flocking patterns, I can feel the presence of a kind of shared consciousness lurking within the society the birds create in a group.

How do birds perform these mysterious group behaviors?

Biologists have argued about this for ages, but the most decisive theory is from a man named Craig Reynolds—not a biologist, but a computer graphics expert. As he describes it, if you focus on single birds within the flock and apply three simple rules for each to follow (move towards the group, steer the same direction they are going, and keep far enough away from others to avoid collision), the result is astonishingly life-like.

In other words, there’s no shared consciousness driving the birds in a flock—it’s the result of a chain of instinctual behaviors among each individual member. This algorithm, known as “Boids,” has won adulation for the simplicity of its principles and the abundance of its practical applications (including games, CGI effects, unmanned vehicles, and more).

The thing that strikes me the most about Boids is how it wasn’t the result of observation and experimentation from trained biologists, but instead the “intuitive” creation of someone outside the field entirely. The three core aspects of the algorithm make perfect intuitive sense to us humans; they’re very easy to grasp.

Boids is, in a way, the human race’s idea of “birdlike” behavior, based on our perspective. We can’t know the truth behind what compels birds to move the way they do unless we become one ourselves, and for all we know, their thoughts might be somewhere completely different. But to human beings, located outside of bird society and equipped with more intelligence than birds (at least, I think so), Boids is one way for us to interpret the nature of these creatures.

Watching Humans Being

The inspiration for our game Humanity came from thinking of how a transcendental being would interpret “human-like” behavior, in the same way we humans interpret bird flocking with Boids.

You can think of these “transcendental beings” however you like (aliens, gods, future A.I., etc.); the point is I wanted to explore how we humans and our society would look to an outside form of intelligence, and how they would simulate human group behavior.

I started this project by investigating and collecting assorted examples of how people behave in groups. Luckily, I live in Tokyo, which has crowds everywhere, so I was able to discover a lot of unique group behaviors at train stations, event venues, on the street, and so on.

When you expand your perspective and start to observe people with something like this in mind, you’ll find humans have an incredibly wide variety of group behaviors. For example, if these otherworldly beings looked at influencers, tweetstorms, and other social media phenomena, what would they deduce about humans based on that? What would they think of dictators, who come to power and get overthrown, only to see another dictator take their place? How would they interpret our history of war and peace, which seems doomed to repeat itself forever?

Human Behavior Simulation

I began to imagine a “human behavior simulation,” something these transcendental beings would create after observing and interpreting us. I couldn’t stop thinking about it until finally one day, three years ago, I started actually creating it, along with others at my company, Tha. In the beginning, nothing was set in stone–we had no idea where this would lead or how it would turn out, but there was one thing we were sure of: the title was going to be “Humanity.”

If you think creating a human group simulation (that’s fun to play), as designed by something or someone not human, sounds like a crazy idea—I agree! I’m no transcendental being; I’m just another guy drowning in human society… I can only try to imagine what it would be like. It’s not been an easy process, to say the least.

But we kept on developing the idea, hoping to end up with something that, if these other-worldly beings were ever to see it, they’d think “Yep, you nailed it” or “Ah yes, so this is what human beings are like.”

(Of course, I also want to create a game that human beings like me will have fun playing!)

Who Are We, Anyway?

My company, THA (pronounced “T-H-A” one letter at a time), isn’t a game development firm. Loosely speaking, we’re a group of designers and engineers creating a wide range of computer media, including web content, applications, installations, and video. Our motto (as clichéd as it is) is “the devil’s in the details.” We’re a small design studio that really sweats the fine details in pursuit of craftsman-like beauty in software.

I wanted to be an architect at one point, and one of my favorite things about good architecture is how it integrates everything. From the way the larger shapes interact with each other to the tiniest details in the faucet fittings, assorted scales and disciplines unite in any building to form a single cohesive whole.

I think games are the closest thing to architecture in modern digital media. We have to think about everything—world-building, game mechanics, programming, A.I., visuals, animation, music—and fine-tune it all as we strive to create a single unified object. Just like with architecture, it’s probably why I’ve always been drawn to games.

The Straw Millionaire

But as outsiders in the game industry, we started making Humanity without any really solid idea about how to release it. Then, about two years ago, we had a stroke of luck: Our main programmer, Yama-san, showed an early version of Humanity as part of a presentation to Unity developers; one of the judges at that event was Mr. Tetsuya Mizuguchi from Enhance.

Several months later, Mizuguchi-san reached out. “I can’t stop thinking about that demo. Let’s talk.” The idea of the man behind Rez taking an interest in us was very exciting, so we met up with Enhance and agreed to formally develop this as a full game for them to publish.

Which brings us to today. Enhance has been helping in various ways beyond publishing duties, so now it’s become something more like a co-production.

Looking back at the history of Humanity, I’m reminded of the old Japanese folktale of the “straw millionaire,” a poor farmer who starts with only a single piece of straw, but makes a series of escalating trades with the people he runs into, and gradually builds his fame and fortune.

“No matter how small you start out, if you keep creating and never give up, you’re bound to go places”—that kind of ideal story happens only rarely in people’s lives, but it does happen.

Bringing Humanity to PlayStation is, to us, an extremely rare and special opportunity, so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got. I hope you’ll keep an eye out as we reveal more about the gameplay and mechanics leading up to launch, and look forward to the final product next year.