14 DAY TRIAL // Watch Dogs: Legion is probably the most ambitious title in the series, but we're keen to learn more about the intricacies of building an open-world game within the confines of a single city: London. We interviewed Lucian Istrate, Game Design Director at Ubisoft Bucharest to find out how Watch Dogs: Legion, before the game launches on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 29.
Softpedia: The Watch Dogs series has gone through radical changes over the span of three installments, but the huge scope of each project remains a constant. Although the original game was quite ambitious, it didn't really deliver on its promises. With Watch Dogs: Legion, I feel that you're very close to achieving that sense of magnitude and freedom that we, players, didn't get in the first games. Is it because of the much longer developing cycle (4 years) or because of the experience gained?
Lucian Istrate: You are perfectly correct in saying Watch Dogs has a huge scope and is ambitious. I believe that it always has, but with Legion these ambitions are made real. For example, what was just a snippet of backstory in the characters you met in the world of Watch Dogs 1 and 2 is now a complex system we call “Play as Anyone”, that allows the players to get deeply involved in the personal problems of the characters they play as. So I believe that this innovation played a key role in the sense of magnitude and influence Legion achieves, on a social scale.
Softpedia: The open-world games scene is quite crowded and for good reason: most players prefer to choose their own path than follow a script. Did any of the great open-world games out there inspired you and your team for the development of Watch Dogs: Legion, or you sticked to your original design goals?
Lucian Istrate: The previous installments of the game were an obvious point of departure and we knew we wanted to go to London in the next installment. Watch Dogs has always been about fighting back oppression and in Legion you get to do that on a bigger scale with a bigger team that you get to build.
Softpedia: We already know that the people that you can recruit and add to your DedSec network are procedurally-generated. What about the skills of the high profile NPCs that you must recruit as part of side-quests? All of them have their unique background stories?
Lucian Istrate: Our aim was to have as much variation as possible so by virtue of how such a system works, it generates permutations with as many variables you feed it. We have build a wide variety of skills that are attributed to these characters and it’s a system that takes into account a multitude of other factors so that the generated character, as a whole, is coherent and it doesn’t deviate from what we defined reasonable for the game. In other words, you may not find Bareknuckle boxers with shooting skills but it’s perfectly reasonable for them to have a whole array of melee skills and weapons because they are thematically appropriate.
Softpedia: I had the chance to play a few hours of Watch Dogs: Legion last month, but I just want to be sure. How hard is to die in Watch Dogs: Legion? Because I've been shot, blown to smithereens, or arrested, and I still didn't lose any of my agents.
Lucian Istrate: The preview versions of the game are created while the game is still being tuned and adjusted. Difficulty, or how hard the world pushes back on you, is one of the last things we look to polish because gameplay elements are still being moved. This is a particularly complex game where you can play with every character you meet, so we need to make sure that these characters are solid and we measure their impact on gameplay before tweaking things like how much damage you receive. I’m certain that when players will play the game they will be challenged appropriately. Moreover, for those looking for an extra challenge, a perma-death mode is also available.
Softpedia: I know each mission in the game can be tackled differently and I'm pretty sure that players will find even more ways to complete their objectives. Is that what you're expecting too? Some may even take advantage of the tools in the game to find ways to exploit the system. Aren't you afraid that we're going to break the game?
Lucian Istrate: One of our pillars is freedom of approach, we wanted to convey this by designing the levels to be open, with a multitude of entry points that cater to a wide variety of play styles and characters. So, yes, the intention is to allow the player complete freedom to explore all angles and try different things. If you want to go in guns blazing, infiltrate silently, drop in on a cargo drone, pretend to be someone else, it is totally up to you.
Softpedia: How familiar Londoners will feel playing Watch Dogs: Legion? Can you tell me how accurate is the city of London in the game in comparison with the one in the UK?
Lucian Istrate: Back in 2015-2016 the team did a series of research trips in London and they took a serious amount of photos and footage from interviews of Londoners where they wanted to know more about the social and economic situation and pressure. So, the London in Watch Dogs is not only correctly represented on a visual level but also on a social level. During a demo I held last year, one guy I’ve had playing the game was from London and he was utterly impressed by how it felt. It’s not about just placing some landmarks but also nailing down the feel of the place, which I think Watch Dogs Legion delivers perfectly.
Softpedia: Watch Dogs: Legion tackles a sensible topic for Brits – Brexit. Do you expect some players to be upset that Brexit is in the game or because of how Ubisoft treats the subject?
Lucian Istrate: In our world fiction, Watch Dogs Legion starts so long after Brexit that it’s ancient history for Londoners. While we don’t tackle it directly, and we don’t have missions about it, it’s an important part of the backstory as it had a transformative effect on the entire UK and on the world of Legion.
Softpedia: I know there's a lot of content in Watch Dogs: Legion, but for those of us who want to stick to the story, can you give me a rough estimation of how many hours it will take to finish the game's main story?
Lucian Istrate: Watch Dogs Legion is huge open world action adventure game and you get to experience a deep main story line focused on the main villains. You have to get the people of London on your side, build a team and get involved in creating an uprising in each Borough. “Play as Anyone” allows any character you see to be the hero of your game and the team you build is the expression of your playstyle. What’s more, you can replay the game with a different DedSec resistance each time. Players are going to find there’s tons to do and hours and hours of content in the world to explore.