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Watch Dogs getting hacking feedback from security firm Kaspersky Lab
Ubisoft Montreal is soliciting feedback on hacking as it is depicted in Watch Dogs, a contemporary action game in which the protagonist exploits interconnected computer networks through his smartphone. Senior Producer Dominic Guay told Joystiq about the developer's work with Kaspersky Lab, the internet security firm that recently claimed to have identified a targeted malware attack on the Android platform. "We're working with Kaspersky Lab, a big security firm," Guay said during a San Francisco press event. "They have really hardcore experts there on hacking. We send them some of our designs and we ask them feedback on it, and it's interesting to see what gets back. Sometimes they say, 'Yeah, that's possible, but change that word,' or, 'That's not the way it works.'" Watch Dogs isn't focused on hacking at a granular level, despite being fictionally fertile ground for the clichéd hacking minigame. Instead, it treats hacking as a shortcut to manipulating doors, cameras, cars, laptops and ATMs in a futuristic "smart city" based on Chicago. The centrally computer-controlled urban environment is a sprawling basis for the game's traversal, shooting, stealth and driving systems. "It's not about the challenges of climbing a wall," Guay says, recalling the simplification of movement in Ubisoft Montreal's flagship series, Assassin's Creed. "It's finding the path I want to follow. "It's not about the minigame that will let me open the door, it's the fact that I'm making a plan. I'm making a plan of how I'm going to chain hacking, shooting, traveling the city and driving to achieve an objective." The input from Kaspersky Lab, and that from Ubisoft's own engineers, is intended to reduce instances of Hollywood hacking: the sexed-up, hyperspeed code wrangling meant to convey skilled computer use and software creation in an exciting/embarrassing way. Watch Dogs is certainly bombastic, but attempts to be more sensible than the likes of "Swordfish." After the break: that scene where Hugh Jackman shows John Travolta where he hid the worm.
Watch Dogs multiplayer mode will have element of invasion
The multiplayer component of Watch Dogs will have an element of player invasion, though its overall extent and direction has yet to be described by Ubisoft. Dominic Guay, Senior Producer at Ubisoft Montreal, insisted that the game can be played "completely offline if you want." (Expect to hear that protection phrase often in the wake of SimCity.) In multiplayer, Watch Dogs will use the near-future version of Chicago just as it is in single-player. "We are not making any compromises in terms of dynamism or interactivity," Guay said at a San Francisco press event earlier this week. Connecting with other players will be seamless in the developer's attempt "to start breaching the wall in action-adventure between single- and multiplayer." As an example of how players will commandeer elements of the city in play, Guay pointed to the E3 2012 demonstration of Watch Dogs: it concluded with another character hacking the protagonist's phone to plant a virus. In February, the game made an appearance at the PlayStation 4 unveiling event, and there the player was watched by someone who had hacked the local security cameras. Is there an apt term for someone who engages in voyeurism ... vicariously? Guay also discussed the "mobile extension" of Watch Dogs, a companion app that's been in development for more than a year alongside the primary game. You'll be able to play some form of Watch Dogs on your smartphone, and interact with console players running around their respective cities. Doing so from the real Chicago, wearing your finest trench coat, will likely generate a cosplay singularity.
Watch Dogs coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 'for sure,' producer says
Ubisoft Montreal producer Dominic Guay feels flattered by the whispers of suspicion surrounding Watch Dogs, a new third-person, open-world action game from Ubisoft. After an impressive debut at Ubisoft's E3 2012 press conference, Watch Dogs left viewers questioning whether its sophisticated environments and lighting (among other things) are a realistic match for current consoles. The official line is that it's coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.Speaking to Joystiq, Guay confirmed that the E3 demo is running on PC, but emphasized that Ubisoft Montreal is interested in getting Watch Dogs on "all the platforms we can." That means Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions "for sure," Guay said. A Wii U version is still up in the air.It's easy to imagine Ubisoft releasing a scaled-down, optimized version of Watch Dogs, positioned to take advantage of the large, established audience on current consoles. It's even easier to envision the futuristic property popping up in Ubisoft's typical barrage of launch games for a new system. Both scenarios could play out by the time Watch Dogs ships, sometime after 2012.
Far Cry 2 is an impressively nice fit for PS3
Many game developers have found the PS3 hardware difficult to work with ... intimidating even. Ubisoft Montreal, developer of Far Cry 2, was no exception and had some worries about developing for the PS3 in the past; however, those uncertain feelings have apparently been dispelled, according to a recent interview with tech director Dominic Guay. Guay had a lot of positive things to say, calling the raw processing power of the PS3 'impressive' and the hardware architecture a 'nice fit' for their technical designs. He appraises Blu-ray and the PS3's hard drive saying they're ideal for Far Cry 2's continuously streaming open world. The only downside is that the PS3 can't compare to some higher end PC resolutions due to memory size differences, but "it's not a big deal" says Guay. With the PS3 out for more than a year now, and developer kits out way longer than that, developers have had a lot of time getting to know the hardware they'll be developing for in the next few years. If this is a sign for anything, it must mean that we'll be hearing more and more positive comments like Dominic Guay's in the near future.
