STACK #122 Dec 2015

GAMES

FEATURE

visit www.stack.net.au

Ubisoft’s ambitious online-only racer is at the starting line. STACK speaks with IvoryTower’s Stephane Beley, game director on The Crew .

Ubisoft are not generally associated with driving games. Is The Crew the missing link? STEPHANE BELEY: Not really. The Crew actually is quite in line with Ubisoft’s editorial direction regarding open-world systemic games. Where did the idea for a car-based MMO originate? This is a vision we’ve always had for The Crew . In fact it’s a vision the team behind the game has had since working on Test Drive Unlimited [some of the members of Ivory Tower previously worked on Test Drive Unlimited ] . The base concept was already there back then, but with new hardware came the ability to develop that on a whole new level, letting it take place in an open-world of unprecedented scope while allowing every player to be on the same server. You have a room full of gamers who have never played a racer: How would you describe The Crew to them? The Crew is an open-world driving RPG. Imagine an MMORPG with cars: You’re free to explore the world at your convenience and your

own pace, exploring, competing or collaborating. Your car will be your avatar, allowing you to customise it deeply and impacting your gameplay experience. You’ll be playing on an online sever where every encounter you make could be with another player. Most of the team at the heart of the project has been working on driving games for quite some time. This is a genre we’ve always been very dedicated to. At the same time, we’re all gamers and many of us shared some amazing moments in games like World of Warcraft , so just as we initiated this concept with Test Drive Unlimited , we wanted to further develop the idea of an online open-world driving game where players would be able to enjoy all the experiences of driving. Is the entire map driveable? How long will it take to navigate across the US? Yes, the entire map is driveable, which means not only the 10,000 km What were your primary influences behind the game?

of road network but everything in between as well. That’s the full 5,000 square km of the world players will be able to explore. And those who do will be greatly rewarded. Navigating across the country from, let’s say NewYork to LA, will take you approximately one hour depending on the quality of the vehicle you’re using and whether you choose to go on- road or off-road. What challenges are involved building a game with an extensive and seamless gameplay area like this? The first and most obvious challenge we faced was technical: offering the ability for every player to be on the same server, in a vast open- world and without ever having to go through any lobby. That’s the transparent experience we wanted to create. Secondly, we had to fill the world with enough activities to keep players entertained for a very long time, but also with enough variety in those

Customisation is really deep; we wanted players to make meaningful choices between car parts

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

034