Jade Raymond: multiplayer is too "intimidating" right now, needs broader appeal
Ubisoft Toronto boss and Assassin's Creed creator Jade Raymond thinks Xbox One could be used to create more narrative-led, populous multiplayer experiences, but cautions that the transition to next gen leap can't be purely technical - enjoyment needs to become less dependent on skill if developers and publishers are to get more people on-board. Raymond thinks next gen multiplayer experiences will rival campaign modes in terms of the degree of motion capture they offer, and in how many NPCs they support. If all that's true, Ubisoft Toronto is ahead of the curve here: the studio's latest work, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, is awash in high-end mocapping and features an AI-heavy co-op component.
"Let's say a game where instead of having crowds where there are a hundred of them, what if there are 1,000 in the street, and you really feel that, and they're acting intelligently," she mused to Digital Spy in a new interview. "To me, it's all about the gameplay experience and how there's stuff we're doing in terms of investment and performance that isn't just about cinematics and cutscenes.
"It's how that performance that makes sense and enriches the experience in a multiplayer context, where you're not even watching a cinematic, but it's performance of your character and the other characters being played by people, right?
"If you think of it now, for example, you could be playing multiplayer games and you could be like, 'Oh crap, what's going on? Let's go hide there!' or whatever you're saying, and your character is just still walking on or whatever."
"I think there's a lot of potential in terms of AI and performance and ways to carry that out as well," Raymond concluded, adding that multiplayer "as a default mode is going to increase in popularity". However, that in part relies on developers finding a way to let people have fun regardless of prowess. We can't all be as good in a fight as Sam Fisher.
"I think the key is how do we make those games appeal to a broader audience," she said. "I think a lot of them are intimidating to people, unless you're an amazing first-person shooter player, you probably don't want to go online for most of those games and even try them.
"Maybe that's not something that a lot of people are thinking about, but to me, if all these games are online now by default or that's the primary mode, then how do we make sure they're still enjoyable for different people?"
That's a question that may be of particular relevance to the creators of Destiny and Titanfall - always-online shooters that want to sell multiplayer as a solo-esque experience with proper, fleshed-out storytelling elements. What do you think? For the latest on Splinter Cell, check out my Panther hands-on.
Source: OXM
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Thanks to: Rheena.com
Ubisoft Toronto boss and Assassin's Creed creator Jade Raymond thinks Xbox One could be used to create more narrative-led, populous multiplayer experiences, but cautions that the transition to next gen leap can't be purely technical - enjoyment needs to become less dependent on skill if developers and publishers are to get more people on-board. Raymond thinks next gen multiplayer experiences will rival campaign modes in terms of the degree of motion capture they offer, and in how many NPCs they support. If all that's true, Ubisoft Toronto is ahead of the curve here: the studio's latest work, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, is awash in high-end mocapping and features an AI-heavy co-op component.
"Let's say a game where instead of having crowds where there are a hundred of them, what if there are 1,000 in the street, and you really feel that, and they're acting intelligently," she mused to Digital Spy in a new interview. "To me, it's all about the gameplay experience and how there's stuff we're doing in terms of investment and performance that isn't just about cinematics and cutscenes.
"It's how that performance that makes sense and enriches the experience in a multiplayer context, where you're not even watching a cinematic, but it's performance of your character and the other characters being played by people, right?
"If you think of it now, for example, you could be playing multiplayer games and you could be like, 'Oh crap, what's going on? Let's go hide there!' or whatever you're saying, and your character is just still walking on or whatever."
"I think there's a lot of potential in terms of AI and performance and ways to carry that out as well," Raymond concluded, adding that multiplayer "as a default mode is going to increase in popularity". However, that in part relies on developers finding a way to let people have fun regardless of prowess. We can't all be as good in a fight as Sam Fisher.
"I think the key is how do we make those games appeal to a broader audience," she said. "I think a lot of them are intimidating to people, unless you're an amazing first-person shooter player, you probably don't want to go online for most of those games and even try them.
"Maybe that's not something that a lot of people are thinking about, but to me, if all these games are online now by default or that's the primary mode, then how do we make sure they're still enjoyable for different people?"
That's a question that may be of particular relevance to the creators of Destiny and Titanfall - always-online shooters that want to sell multiplayer as a solo-esque experience with proper, fleshed-out storytelling elements. What do you think? For the latest on Splinter Cell, check out my Panther hands-on.
Source: OXM
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- [SUP]^[/SUP] Source: OXM (www.oxm.co.uk)
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Thanks to: Rheena.com