The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs: Legion is a pseudo-sequel to Omikron: The Nomad Soul. A dystopian city set in the worst hell imaginable (A Britain that actually went through with Brexit and even more a nanny state than usual), the power within that game definitely lies with the people. A touch more David Bowie would be appreciated though.
People who range from Oxford thugs through to retired assassin grannies on the hunt. “Nobody has dared to do anything with a granny before, I think,” said EMEA Director Alain Corre to Games Industry Biz in an interview that touched on the AI capabilities of Watch Dogs Legion.
That’s the beauty of what Clint [Hocking], our creative director, brought into the game. The fact that you can recruit any character on the map is really something that makes the game unique and very replayable. When you recruit a team, you can have some missions that go one way. If you take another team then you have to do the missions in a different way.
It’s very varied and you can replay it many, many times. Thanks to the AI improvements and the AI capacities that our teams are mastering, we have access to this kind of technology. This has never been done in the industry so far.
Which all sounds great, but the real eye-catching elements within Watch Dogs Legion lie in how it’ll actually be a political game from Ubisoft, a studio that’s notorious for playing it safe and balancing squarely on the middle of a fence with whatever its subject matter happens to be. While Watch Dogs Legion is political in nature, don’t expect Ubisoft to take that baton and toss it towards a predetermined side though. Whatever message you do take from the game, will be based purely on your own thoughts and ideas as Ubisoft sticks to the Swiss border of neutrality.
“Well actually, Watch Dogs is taking elements that could happen in the UK, but can also happen in every other country — the mass surveillance, all these technologies that certain countries are using to greater control people,” Corre explained.
There are plenty of people that are protesting these days or are angry about the life they live. It’s a worldwide thing. What we want in Watch Dogs is to give the keys to the players to explore something that maybe they have never done or have never dreamed of.
This is also the mission of Ubisoft — to give the keys to experiment with new things in life within our fictional gameplay so they can be something else, explore something different. We don’t tell them what to think. They explore different things they wouldn’t do in their own life and ultimately it helps them enrich their lives. If we do that, we’ve done our job on top of bringing them some fun and entertainment.
That’s safe business for you, I guess. Watch Dogs Legion will hit the not so merry streets of England and the rest of the world on March 6 of 2020. Guv’na.
Last Updated: July 18, 2019
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 08:24
I see Ubisoft continues to be toothless
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 18, 2019 at 08:34
Why? They are giving you, the player, freedom to act out in which ever manner you see fit, instead of shoving some populist agenda down your throat
The D
July 18, 2019 at 09:19
Fair! But how am I, the blue collar blobber, supposed to write a post condemining/praising Ubisoft for choosing a side that conflicts/aligns with my interests? Think of the blobber Ubisoft.
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 18, 2019 at 09:29
Don’t try to blobbin obfuscate your right wing agenda! I’m onto you!
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 09:19
HOL UP. Who said anything about a populist agenda? TBH, I don’t really care what side of the any political spectrum it falls on – they could condemn brexit, they could be3 for brexit, whatever – but having the balls to stand for something, anything, would be good instead of taking the easy “both sides” approach.
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 18, 2019 at 09:29
Don’t try to blobbin obfuscate your leftist agenda! I’m onto you!
Dutch Matrix
July 18, 2019 at 09:29
You do realize this is entertainment meant for gamers, right? A group of people that gets upset at the tiniest of things.
That will burn your house down for believing in something contrary to their opinion of the moment?
😛
Dresden
July 18, 2019 at 09:56
I don’t agree. I commend them for not pandering to a certain side. Leaving it open (politically speaking) is, in my humble opinion, the best way for gamers to interpret the story as they choose.
Making a game politically biased may generate a lot of clicks and outrage news, but it pisses off a lot of people and creates even more of a divide between us.
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 10:05
Wolfenstein did it just fine. Great game too.
Same for Bioshock
Dresden
July 18, 2019 at 10:13
Haven’t played it yet, but I’ll take your word for it. Perhaps it fits into the Watch Dogs narrative more for it to lean a certain way politically. I wouldn’t know as I’ve never played the games a lot.
All I’m saying is, as a general rule, I’d rather prefer if devs keep politics out of games where it’s not needed.
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 10:23
Wel, even Watch Dogs itself is political in that it’s a massive warning against “BIG BROTHER” and corporate interference in government – and honestly, I think games could tell better stories if they actually had some bite to them. I mean, not every game has to have overt politics – but it would be nice if the ones that do (or are very much built around political themes – like Watch Dogs is) actually have something to say.
Ithica Jones
July 18, 2019 at 10:46
Exactly!
Ithica Jones
July 18, 2019 at 10:46
Why? Do you want an antifa simulator? Condemnation of Brexit? Nonsense libtard crap? Ubisoft’s approach is the best one. They’re not forcing political agendas on you, you’re left to choose YOUR path. You can still make it into a libtard masturbation session if you wanted to, Geoff!
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 12:29
I believe you’ve misconstrued my meaning, which I’ve clarified below. I think people can tell better stories by having some sort conviction in them. Of course, that won’t please everybody – but other entertainment media figured that out long ago, where games are still trying to please everybody. You also seem to think I’m a diehard leftist, when my personal politics are a little more nuanced and complex than that (as are most people’s, tbh)
Brad Lang
July 18, 2019 at 08:51
Our game is set in a post-Brexit authoritarian regime where the people are frequently being marginalised and abused by the government and it’s up to the people to lead a revolt against this modern-day fascism.
But woah, dude, don’t stress, it’s not political, bro.
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 18, 2019 at 10:55
Good, I appreciate this approach. It’s always better to show than tell, that’s what so many entertainment media get horribly wrong now. Show the consequences of actions, show how they affect NPCs, and make it affect the player character. That delivers a far more powerful message than saying “thing x is bad you guys!”, especially when it’s not something that affects you, or you believe doesn’t affect you, in any real way.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
July 18, 2019 at 10:14
Am I the only one suffering from political fatigue? Fuck that shit, seriously.
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 10:39
Well, in truth, everything is political and games have always been so. If you’re playing as somebody at war, or shooting somebody in the name of freedom or whatever it’s inherently political. Because modern day politics is so divisive though, everything is a lot more IN YOUR FACE (because we’re living in a world that’s now very much US vs THEM – if you’re not with us you’re against us etc etc ect) – and yes, I do agree that it’s tiresome (but it’s also a sign that games are growing up, and being more overt in discussing or covering issues that books, film and TV have done for decades)
Ithica Jones
July 18, 2019 at 11:05
What about CriticalHit? Is it political? How political are you guys? Do you ban people for wrong-think?
Jacques Van Zyl
July 18, 2019 at 11:05
I think the lot at CH have grown up a lot over the years, so has their politcal views. I can’t say I’ve ever seen them ban anybody for having a differing opinion, but I know people have been banned for expressing such opinions in asshole kinda ways.
Alien Emperor Trevor
July 18, 2019 at 11:42
Exactly. As the expression goes it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 12:29
That’s it exactly! (And thanks for noticing)
Ithica Jones
July 18, 2019 at 11:15
People change, their views change, sometimes they harden and sometimes they become more altruistic. This is a normal part of life, but what I didn’t expect is for some of the people here to have become [redacted].
Jacques Van Zyl
July 18, 2019 at 11:24
Social media by nature is designed to be an echo chamber – hell, humans by our very nature form tribes for all sorts of trash reasons. If that’s pathetic, well then that’s a humanity-wide problem that needs to be addressed.
However, I can’t say I’ve been privy to the CH echo chambers and from my admittedly biased experience, I’ve not seen the staff and mods here have any circlejerks – at least not public facing ones I am aware of.
Ithica Jones
July 18, 2019 at 11:34
I’m not saying creating an echo chamber is a problem, per se. We all naturally gravitate to people with similar views, opinions etc. But it certainly can become toxic.
Jacques Van Zyl
July 18, 2019 at 12:02
Agreed that the echo chambers can become toxic, but I like to think there’s at least one person on here every once in a while to provide a proper shakeup to the status quo.
Geoffrey Tim
July 18, 2019 at 12:29
Well, I mean sure – we’re all bound by politics in some way or another; internal politics, external politics. Some of us wear those politics on our sleeves more than others. We don;t ban people for what they think – we ban people for being assholes. I mean, whatever politics you ascribe to that’s fine, there’s just no need to be a dickhead about any of it.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
July 18, 2019 at 11:05
Agreed good sir. My stance is that I don’t give two hoots what or whether there is a political message/narrative in anything I purchase. We should stop getting so angry at everything and just live our own lives.
“If you invite me to an anti-war rally, I will not attend. Invite me to a peace rally, and i’ll be there.” – Mother Theresa. Paraphrasing but the message is there.