Ubi Soft and its Montreal development team have the Tom Clancy franchise down cold—after all, they’re the folks behind the best-selling Xbox Live-enabled hits Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Island Thunder. Now, they’ve turned theirs crosshairs on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3, creating a whole new version of the brilliant PC game from the ground up.
We had a chance to chat with the lead designer, Mike McCoy, shortly before the game’s release. Here is Part 2 of that interview.
Xbox.com: What influences—other than the obvious Tom Clancy novels—helped drive the creation of Rainbow Six 3?
McCoy: Probably the biggest influence, outside of the Clancy novels, was our technical advisor, Mike Grasso. He’s a 24-year veteran of the LAPD and is currently assigned to the U.S. Marshals. He constantly made suggestions and recommendations, based on his experience, which brought a lot of authenticity and realism to the game.
Xbox.com: Xbox Live play is going to be a big component of Rainbow Six 3. Could you describe in detail how Xbox Live play will work? How many can play in a single game, for example? Do you expect to offer downloads?
McCoy: In cooperative modes (like Mission and Terrorist Hunt), you can play the single-player game with up to four friends. In adversarial modes, (like Survival, Team Survival, and Sharpshooter), you either play free-for-all or in teams with up to 15 of your friends. All the Xbox Live features you know and love work fully in Rainbow Six 3, including Friends List and Player List and voice communications. As far as downloads go, we currently plan to have three to four maps available with the release of the game as well as more to follow.
Xbox.com: Recent Tom Clancy games on Xbox have helped redefine the look of stealth and tactical games. How doesRainbow Six 3 push the envelope even further?
McCoy: Make no mistake, Rainbow Six 3 is more of a tactical shooter than a pure stealth game likeSplinter Cell. One of the biggest improvements in the Xbox version is that the Rainbow A.I. fully utilizes cover. This means it’s to your advantage to have your team set up in cover before moving, thus reducing the chances of you and/or them taking fire from any terrorists who wander into sight.
Of course, you can play the entire game using silenced weapons and stealth. By sneaking around and not making noise, you tend to get the drop on the terrorists more and surprise them for a change. However, silenced weapons don’t hit as hard or shoot as far as non-silenced weapons, so you better plan on taking mostly head shots if you want to drop the target quickly.
Xbox.com: Let’s talk weapons. What tools of the trade will gamers have access to in Rainbow Six 3? How will they use them?
McCoy: If you like weapons and toys, you’ll loveRainbow Six 3. We have 30 different firearms, including pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and light machine guns. When you choose a weapon, you can look at its accuracy, range, damage, max zoom, magazine capacity, and whether it’s silenced or not before you make your decision. Just like a carpenter, you need to choose the right tool for each job.
In addition to basic firearms, we have numerous grenades and explosives, similar to Raven Shield, but we’ve also added a few new things. The biggest addition is the M203 grenade launcher with four different round options. We’ve also added the M34 White Phosphorus Grenade, which explodes and lights anyone nearby on fire!
Xbox.com: What are the most important aspects of a solid game design?
McCoy: Clear goals, consistency of implementation, and implied versus explicit complexity. You decide what experiences and emotions you want the player to have and figure out how to create them. Stick to these goals throughout the project, and compare everything you do to them.
When implementing these goals, do it in such a way that new players have very little to learn. Make all interfaces and mechanisms consistent and easy to understand, so players can begin enjoying the game quickly.
Finally, there is implied versus explicit complexity. This means, while you may need very complex systems to make your game work, players should only interface with them in very simple ways. Don’t make them go through the Air Force Academy to learn how to fly your plane. Let the complex systems drive your game and surprise players-not overwhelm them-with choices and information.
Xbox.com: Which feature(s) will be the most likely to make people say, “wow”?
McCoy: I think the single biggest thing people will be talking about will be controlling your team with voice communications. When you talk to other people, you don’t type on a keyboard or press buttons on a controller. You simply say what you want, and they understand. It’s the same with our RainbowA.I., at least to a degree. Look at a door, and say “Open, frag, and clear,” and you get a response of, “Roger that. Open, frag, and clear.” How much easier could it be?
