"Watch Dogs" gameplay breaks new ground, hacking into a dense, expansive, immersive world. Developers are confident it'll deliver a genuine next-generation game come May 27.
An interview with Creative Director Jonathan Morin (Ubisoft Montreal) reveals the details about "Watch Dogs" gamplay. The Watch_Dogs experience gives players full control of the environment, with realistic, non-linear consequences.
One of the earliest goals of the game was to allow players to interact with the environment in new ways, and the hacking dynamics incorporated with Watch_Dogs achieves that. Aiden is the game's protagonist, on the run in a Chicago that's complex, contained, but flawed.
The challenge is ensuring the hacking dynamic of the game doesn't interrupt other operations, such as running from a firefight, staying in stealth, or riding a vehicle. New possibilities open up and become valid solutions. Every traffic light on your path becomes a tool in an evasive action, for example.
The hacking option overlaps other operations, and choices are maximized throughout gameplay. There are multiple solutions to every scenario, with dead ends and contingencies.
Morin: "Players can express themselves. The big challenge is to make sure the game responds to their plan. In other words, if a plan makes sense, it should work. And if the player makes a 'mistake' along the way, he can improvise and the game should respond accordingly."
Morrin compares the game's dynamics with previous titles of the genre. The stealth option in "Watch Dogs" gameplay doesn't switch off and transition to combat mode; all options are readily available, with different consequences.
Watch_Dogs comes out with virtually the same specs in both next-gen consoles, in the Xbox One and the PS4. The game debunks previous reports of 1080p resolution at 60fps, now confirmed at 30fps, with a resolution of 900p (PS4) and 792p (Xbox One). Morin waives the pressure to maximize resolution to 1080p, focusing on a solid gaming experience for players (ubi.com).
Maxing out the resolution for an open-world action game is also more expensive in terms of development, compared to corridor shooters, sports and racing games.
