Developer Interview, Part One
At a Glance
While Ubisoft's Red Storm Entertainment is in crunch mode finishing up their latest effort in the best-selling series with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™, Adrian Lacey, senior coordinator on the game, took some time to talk about the latest entry in this popular franchise. Xbox.com: Can you talk about the setting and story for the latest Ghost Recon game? Adrian Lacey: It's 2013. A rogue Mexican general and the forces under his command stage a coup while the U.S. President and Canadian Prime Minister are in Mexico City to sign NAJSA, a controversial security agreement designed to share the policing responsibilities along the borders of the three countries. During the coup, the President is kidnapped, which compromises the integrity of America's nuclear arsenal. Captain Scott Mitchell and his Ghosts are the first to arrive on the scene. They have 48 hours to get to the President, cut down the insurgency and destroy its source. Order Apache air strikes and watch them Xbox.com: What does this new setting of Mexico City bring to the table in terms of gameplay? Adrian: With Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, we wanted to keep everything that is great about the franchise while moving in a new direction—previous Ghost Recon games have focused on open-area tactical combat in locations around the globe; for Advanced Warfighter, we decided to focus on modern urban warfare in one major world city for the single player scenario. We felt that Mexico City offered a diverse and visually exciting canvas with which to work—lots of diverse environments, wonderful architecture, and plenty of cool places to stage some very intense street to street fighting. In terms of gameplay, the military often refer to "vantage points" and "situational awareness" in terms of tactics. We have not only tried to give the player a feeling of distance and intensity horizontally, but also vertically. You now experience the immense city whilst riding high up in a Blackhawk and taking out enemy snipers and helos from above. You are then dropped into built up city streets with enemies on various platforms of attack including roof tops, scaffolding, and platforms. It's difficult to progress easily through the streets, so you'll be forced to make full use of the Cross-Com system.
Everything looks so small from here. As you progress, you'll also be able to get to various vantage points that allow you to take out enemy targets with less risk to you or your team, such as mid- and high-level platforms. These elements combined provide an intricate level design which makes the various methods of attack much more challenging. We have also provided a new element and dimension in terms of gameplay via the Cross-Com device. You can use Unmanned Air Support Drones, which gives additional intel on objectives, but most importantly gives you a "birds-eye view" of enemy positions, which you see in real-time via the Cross-Com display. Put all these things together and you'll get your first insight into the future of urban combat! Xbox.com: How was Mexico City captured for this game? Adrian: We worked in conjunction with a local animation studio based in Mexico City. The lead GRAW level designer, art director and I then spent a couple of weeks filming and taking photos of key areas of interest and working on how it could be used in terms of gameplay. I also lived in Mexico for a year, so he already had some ideas and visual references, but for the lead designer and art director it allowed them to really grow the game visually and get some really cool ideas for street to street gun fights. They then used the 20 hours of film footage and thousands of photos to start building up the various maps and missions like a storyboard. It was quite funny when we started taking the photos, as we needed them to be extremely detailed for textures, so each series of shots includes extreme close ups of a wall and then you move out, so some of the locals thought we were a little strange.
Shoot first, ask questions later. Xbox.com: What impact does the future setting have on weapons in the game and how do you go about creating these from a realism standpoint? Adrian: We developed the integrated Warfighter System, which is based on the Future Force Warrior program in development by the U.S. Military. The U.S. Military completely re-imagined the way we look at our combat forces. By thinking of the individual soldier as a system, and leveraging advanced technologies to improve that system, that creates a fighting force that, man by man, is more responsive, more survivable, and more lethal than any existing force. We reproduce this system identically by dressing up someone in the real equipment, positioning a series of points and capturing high definition photos. We then reproduce a cloud of points in 3D Max and create the model. They comprise of between 12,000 and 15,000 polygons and when you combine this with countless animations the realism really comes through for the player. As far as weapons are concerned, we work with consultants and military advisors who give us ideas of what weapons do what and future developments. We also work with sound studios that capture the real sounds of each weapon in action.
Rock and Roll! Xbox.com: How will some of the new gadgets outside of guns impact gameplay? Adrian: The Cross-Com communication device is the biggest new feature for the Ghosts. This device is powered by satellite technology and gives the ghosts full visibility and command of the battlefield. It will increase your vision of the battlefield in various ways. You'll be able to control unmanned drones and see further and behind buildings via the Cross-Com window. Also, you can communicate with other allied forces and control Apache Air Strikes. You not only order these support forces, but watch them in the real-time window display situated on the left hand side of the HUD. You can also control the device within the 3-D tactical map, as you click an area on the map and order your troops via the Cross-Com window. This is based on real military technology and increases the soldiers "situational awareness" on the battlefield. Next: Adrian discusses the different game modes and the differences between the Xbox® and Xbox 360™ versions in Part Two of the interview. Article by John Gaudiosi Related Links |
