Far Cry 3 “won’t judge players”, but shows the effects of killing, says dev
Lewis Denby July 30, 2012 - 7:58 amNews: You won’t find a morality system in Far Cry 3 because Ubisoft don’t want to judge you for your actions – but the game will show what effects all those killings have on its characters, according to Ubisoft’s Mark Thompson.
Gamers are maturing. That’s what Mark Thompson, level design director on Far Cry 3, has observed. And that means developers – even developers of big glossy games – need to respect. As such, the next Far Cry won’t be concerned with the unrealistic portrayal of good versus bad. This is a world in which morals are very much grey, and the game’s storytelling, and the things it asks you to do, are set to understand that.
“We don’t say whether something is good or bad. We don’t judge players. Ultimately the game is about killing, and we know that, so we don’t want to condescend,” explained Thompson.
“The game asks you to shoot. The game is about killing people to win. So we wanted to make sure we wrote a story that understood that.”
Speaking as part of a feature on Polygon, Thompson described how Far Cry 3′s story doesn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s the tale of a man who’s never fired a gun before, but who finds himself in a terrifying situation that he needs to deal with. The game’s protagonist is a holidaymaker who unwittingly finds himself drawn deeper into dangerous territory, and when his friends are kidnapped he ends up having to do his best to save the day.
“The game is about what is the cost of becoming a hero. What is the personal toll that is exacted upon someone who becomes a hero,” he said.
Gamers are increasingly demanding this sort of nuance, said Thompson.
“We have to respect that the palates of people are becoming a little bit more sophisticated,” he said. “There is a space for a more nuanced narrative, something that isn’t afraid to tackle issues that video games haven’t been tackling because they’ve been focusing on power fantasies and fantasies about being the ultimate soldier.
“We want to address all of the issues that would happen to a normal person who is put through this kind of situation.”
Far Cry 3′s out in November this year, for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
