Tom Clancy's The Division - Developer Session EGX 2014

[ApexMods]

Apparently some developers at Ubisoft have finally heard about that strange concept called immersion. While they seem to have grasped that immersion is somehow important for video games, I'm having a hard time discerning in which way they think to have succeeded implementing it in their third-person-perspective (a.k.a. obligatory console perspective) shooter (or MMO/RPG/Action-Adventure ?!?) Tom Clancy's The Division, and while the keynote speaker manages to mention the word immersion in just about every sentence he utters, what is then shown on-screen so far still pretty much looks like Ubisoft's typical generic console fodder with the ubiquitous new eye candy added on top.

I somehow doubt that the true meaning and mechanics of immersion, as well as the way to achieve it in games, has found its way into their developments studios, as long as they send out their "Brand Art Director" to try and convince us that it's basically just all about visual fidelity.

Admittedly, Massive's Snowdrop engine shows some promise, especially in the graphics department, but with Ubisoft's track record in mind, my hope for revolutionary new aspects of truly immersive nonlinear open-world gameplay being ultimately realized here is severely limited, to say the least. Unless they somehow managed to stay out of Massive's way for the entire duration of the creative process, I'd bet we're in for yet another bombastic marketing effort pushing another rather generic Ubisoft game - with nothing much to show for but spectacular new graphics in the end.

A little voice inside of me still roots for them to prove me wrong by one day revisiting the glorious past, but I won't be holding my breath.

[Blame]

I'd take OGR with such graphics any day.

[Zeealex]

I laughed so hard I cried...

it's just going to be another watchdogs only with a more dull storyline and worse optimization for PC because apparently, "next gen" is an excuse to port the game so sloppily, it makes grandma's kisses look dry!

[Blame]

I'd say that The Division will be more like The Last of Us, but without the zombies and Watchdogs was overhyped crap.

[Rocky]

My excitement for this game went out the window when Ubisoft let slip that they have no intention of making the PC version outshine console versions.

[ApexMods]

Wow, they really already admitted to that beforehand this time?!?

But... but... but... visuals... eye candy... graphics... IMMERSION!!!!1!ZOMG!

I was especially impressed by their revolutionary new super-immersive way to display the navigational map in-game. It's certainly very befitting their target demographic and somehow reminded me of this (wait for it):

[Zeealex]

wait, I just noticed something he says in the "last generation" presumably meaning before xbox one and PS4 were released, "we only had static lights..."
what a bloody load of ######! we've had dynamic lighting systems since at least 2003!

they talk about "immersion" but really watch the video, it's not immersion at all, it's "look at our pretty graphics! aren't they cool! our "volumetric lighting" is so freaking awesome that it looks flat and dull, because we overdid it!"

if you want to truly immerse a player, you need more than just the pretty graphics and the in your face UI; it's the sounds, it's the music, it's the story, it's the character development.

if you play a horror game like dead space muted and with "ooh eeh ooh ah ah" playing on your media player, it doesn't feel nearly the same way as when you have the game's volume turned up on 10.1 surround.

if you have a character who moves robotically with no smoothness, or realism to their movement then screw the snow falling on their shoulders people will put their game down and walk away.

if you have generic characters that we've all seen before, AKA The big ripped black dude with the machine gun, the scimpy blonde white girl who has a high pitched voice and whines about everything, the scrawny nerdy dude, and your charismatic democratic, heroic good looking white muscular good guy who you play.
They're all people I've seen and played before; someone with originality, someone who you define as your own person will put you in more of a position of immersion than any other generic character ever could. In an RPG, I feel it's crucial to be able to play your own person and be who you want to be.

if the characters don't develop correctly, it will break the game down quicker than a hammer to the disc, you can't bring in a scimpy blonde white girl or a nerdy dude who is afraid of everything suddenly become afraid of nothing after one experience, that's just cheesy, it's got to happen slowly, and believably. None of this Micheal bay crap.
a bad guy is likely to be charismatic too, otherwise he won't have followers, if he's blatantly evil, then people won't follow him easily, he'll draw them in, be kind to them, manipulate them. He's not likely to have a really sinister British/Russian accent and one eye.

I'm drawing up the narrative for my own game at the moment, and it breaks most of those popular game paradigms.

when they bring in a brand art director with the dullest voice EVER, uuhming and aaring about what he's saying, I immediately lose faith in the game and what he's saying about it... okay English isn't his first language, but why would they put a person in that position, when I'm sure there are several native English speaking members of the group working on the game who could do it instead, not to mention they'd probably have more of a working knowledge than he obviously did and a less dull voice.

I don't think ubisoft realises that this is probably the biggest immersion killer of all:
they're doing it in the division, it looks cool to a 13 year old, but I shouldn't need to be told the specifics of where I'm going, on a ###### wall!
I'm pretty sure a normal folding map is the best for immersion too, instead of a flashy map thing in the on the floor.

[wombat50]

Ubisoft is good at promoting their games. I've been tempted/excited several times.

Delivering the actual goods and public relations they have no clue about.

Jamin Shoulet, texture artist, gives his opinion of Ubisoft at about 40 seconds in.

[ApexMods]

Nice find, Wombat!

And yes, Ubisoft sure know how to target their key audience with exquisite panache and impeccable taste.

So what could possibly go wrong on their search for immersive gameplay?

Seriously, by now it feels like beating a dead horse to make fun of Ubisoft's abysmal development philosophy, but I simply cannot seem to get over just how incomprehensibly moronic they keep acting. I mean, they are one of the largest and most successful (in business terms) development outfits out there, they're swimming in money from all those cash-grabbing pay-2-win and DLC-ridden console-centric mainstream game IPs they keep churning out on a regular basis now, how the hell are they unable to deliver anything of true value, anything that shines with unique qualities, anything even remotely innovative, let alone revolutionary?

Surely there must be some people with a iota of talent, a couple of active brain cells, a hint of taste, and more than raisin-sized balls among the almost 10,000 employees in those three dozen worldwide subsidiaries. So here's a thought: why not pool the few remaining people that retain at least some promise, set aside a minuscule part of the billion-dollar advertising budget for - let's see - how about actual development for a change, to allow the devs to have some fun doing what they love, keep the market-analyzing suits out of the loop until the game is really completely done, and then surprise us all with an all-out stellar new gaming experience?