Ubisoft says Watch Dogs’ engine was originally built for Driver
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
North American Ubisoft president Laurent Detoc North American shared an interesting Watch Dogs development tidbit while speaking with IGN as aprt of a new interview.
According to Detoc, Watch Dogs was originally built for the Driver series. The initial project was initially scrapped after Ubisoft wasn’t satisfied with its direction. Eventually, the company took some of the work that had been used for the cancelled game’s driving engine and used that for Watch Dogs.
Detoc’s comments in full:
“Watch Dogs wasn’t started as Watch Dogs. They were working on a driving engine, working on something. We had the Driver license. This was years ago. Then we were thinking, ‘no, this is not the way we want to go with a driving game,’ so we cancelled that and restarted. It’s not like Watch Dogs started as Watch Dogs. The Watch Dogs project was initially another game. At some point it changed. That’s at least three years ago, and then the Watch Dogs project reused some of the work that had been done on this driving engine.
It’s not that Driver became Watch Dogs, so much as the driving game we made was a driving game. The decision was made that there was another driving game being made and this one should be an open-world game where the guy comes out of the car and does other things. Then the team decides to reshuffle itself entirely. A few other people come in, a new creative director, and then they start a new game. I wouldn’t say that Driver became Watch Dogs, because that’s not true. That’s not really what happens. What happens is that a game gets cancelled, and then you take pieces of that game to make a new one. We could have had another driving engine from another team in another place, and then it would have been used by the Watch Dogs team.”
More: Driver, Laurent Detoc, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs
Ubisoft further discusses Watch Dogs delay
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 1 Comment
Ubisoft has once again discussed the decision to delay Watch Dogs. The publisher’s North America president, Laurent Detoc, spoke about the move as part of an interview with IGN.
He said:
“It’s a very intense decision. I think one of the fascinating things about this industry is that you can go from genius to idiot in an extremely short time frame. These are some of those moments, where you’re riding sky high on Watch Dogs or Rayman, and then suddenly you have to break it to the outside world, and sometimes even convince the inside people. Not everybody agrees. You have to say, ‘this is in the best interest of the product, to do this,’ because at the end of the day we’re going to be able to do this extra fine tuning.”
“Some games, you just can’t make them that much better because of how they’ve been progressing. Part of the decision to delay Watch Dogs is also that,” he said. “We know it’s not where we want it to be. Can it get there? What will it take to get there? That’s why it takes a longer process. But in August we really thought we were going to have that game at launch.”
Watch Dogs was originally slated for a November launch. However, Ubisoft announced a new spring 2014 release window back in October.
More: Laurent Detoc, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs
Ubisoft survey asks about Assassin’s Creed ideas, separate pirate series, multiplayer naval combat
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Ubisoft has sent out a new Assassin’s Creed-related survey which may give some insight into what kind of ideas the publisher is considering for the franchise as well as a potential pirate spinoff.
One question asks of an original pirates title, “In such a game, what would be the most important elements among these below?” Customizable pirate character, ship, and hideout, a deeper economy, and additional activities at sea or on land are listed as choices. The survey also asks if participants would like to “sail and fight with my friends” and “sail and fight with other players.”
Specifically regarding Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft asks if players would be interested in seeing a new modern day hero and more high-level subjects, such as desired gameplay improvements and historical settings.
More: Assassin's Creed, top, Ubisoft
Ubisoft talks game delays
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Ubisoft’s holiday lineup was dealt a huge blow after the publisher announced a delay for Watch_Dogs. Originally slated for November, the title was pushed to Q2 2014.
As is always the case when a game is moved back, fans were disappointed with the news. Ubisoft North America president Laurent Detoc mentioned to Examiner, however, that having the extra time for development “will ensure we launch a better game.”
He said:
“There are definitely times when we have to make tough decisions, such as moving a launch date, as it initially upsets some in our community but ultimately will ensure we launch a better game.
“A great game, such as Far Cry 3 last year or Rayman Legends this year, has to have the time and resources to make sure it’s done right. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and see this next-generation transition as another opportunity to grow, gain market share and create amazing experiences for our fans.
“We believe that ultimately, it’s our fans that help influence our franchises, our business and our success. If we create compelling experiences, listen to our fans and make smart business decisions with them in mind, we will win the race.”
More: Laurent Detoc, Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – accolade trailer
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Just Dance 2014 DLC out now
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
Ubisoft has released several new songs for Just Dance 2014 in the form of downloadable content. Starting today, players can purchase the following:
• “What About Love” by Austin Mahone
• “One Way or Another” by One Direction
• “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO
• “American Girl” by Bonnie McKee
• “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke Ft. Pharrell Williams (alternate choreography version)
Each track is available for $2.99 and the alternate choreography DLC is available for $1.99.
Source: Ubisoft PR
More: DLC, Just Dance 2014, Ubisoft
Ubisoft says they have Watch_Dogs on the way to Wii U in response to question about future support for the console
Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in General Gaming, News, Wii U | 5 Comments
“Ubisoft has a long-standing relationship with Nintendo. Most recently this has been reinforced by our varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with big titles including Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Just Dance 2014, Rayman Legends, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist already released and Watch Dogs on the way.”
– Ubisoft representative
The above doesn’t seem indicative of either a lack of support or a plethora of it coming forward– it’s just a standard PR response with very little going on under the hood.
More: Ubisoft, Watch_Dogs
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag graphics comparison
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 2 Comments
Child of Light details
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
Polygon recently published a new Child of Light preview with new details about the upcoming downloadable game. Read on below for the information, plus comments from writer Jeffrey Yohalem.
– Combat system has traditional elements but has a twist
– Game rewards clever thinking over button-pushing dexterity
– One level takes place in a subterranean network of caves back with big spiders and three-legged archers
– One player can play as Aurora while another controls the floating spark sidekick Igniculus
– Head through the caves and battle enemies
– Combat system based largely on the system from Grandia 2
– Sneak up on enemies in order to gain an advantage in battle
– Can attack first if you drop on enemies from above or behind
– Battles are set on several raised platforms
– Platforms were inspired by the designs of opera sets
– Bar at the bottom screen tracks the amount of time between each combatant’s attack
– Small pictures of each combatant will move along the bar as they prepare to attack
– At the end of the bar is a smaller bar colored red
– Characters that are attacked while their picture is in the red zone will have their attack “interrupted”
– This resets their charging time and starting them over from the beginning of the bar
– Dialogue is structured like an epic ballad
– Every second and fourth line in its poem-like structure rhyme
– Yohalem wrote the first 10 pages of the script before he realized it “had to be a poem”
– He then decided to write the script directly into poem format
More: Jeffrey Yohalem, top, Ubisoft
Ubisoft shares shipment figures for Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
Ubisoft shared shipment figures for two semi-recent titles during its latest financial results conference call. Rayman Legends shipped one million while Splinter Cell: Blacklist sold two million copies of its own, according to the publisher. Ubisoft also commented on Assassin’s Creed IV’s performance, stating first week sales were lower than last year’s Assassin’s Creed III.
