STACK December 2016 Issue No. 146

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This year, Ubisoft chose to close out their
E3 not with gunpowder, but powdered
snow. Steep is an open-world multiplayer
snow sports title from Ubisoft Annecy, and
we caught up with creative director, Igor
Manceau, to discover the driving force behind
the game’s inception. Words Alesha Kolbe
This is an atypical Ubisoft
game – where did the
decision come from?
Igor Manceau:
If we had to choose a
milestone for the start
of development on Steep
at Ubisoft Annecy, we would
go back a few years to a technical
demonstration of the game engine
for Ghost Recon Wildlands. It
showed a huge mountain, an
incredible panorama, but also
granularity and varied topology
near to the player. It was the
first time we had simultaneously
perceived the contemplative
aspect of the mountain, the
impression of freedom it gives
in our real world, as well as its
potential to serve as an almost
infinite game setting. The rest
came naturally. We knew we
wanted to create Steep, and had a
clear vision for the project.
What was the motivation
behind creating the
title?What made you
move in this direction?
For us, it is a dream
come true to work on
Steep because it combines
two of our passions: sports
and the outdoors. The Annecy
Studio is only a few miles away
from Mont Blanc, the highest
peak in Europe. We definitely are
mountain lovers, and very much
enjoy all the exciting things you
can do up there. We also love
and were inspired by the people
who go out there, pull off insane
lines, share their experiences on
social media, and become inspiring
figures.
We are also convinced that
we can bring something strong
and unique to the sports game
segment by making use of our
past experiences at the studio.
We’ve had the chance to work
on numerous major titles over
the past twenty years, including
Tom Clancy’s The Division and the
Assassin’s Creed series. Needless
to say, we’ve already had some
great opportunities to put our
multiplayer experience to the test!
Our team, made up of
passionate veterans of the
industry, is a combination of
mountain and outdoor sports
enthusiasts and online/multiplayer
game experts. In a nutshell, it’s a
perfect recipe for creating Steep!
Where did you go to research/
capture the environment and
the athletes themselves?
Our team is passionate about
the mountain and we spend most
of our weekends there. We used
a lot of visual, topologic and even
sound references over the past
two years.
We were inspired by the
essential elements that give the
Alps their reputation, and that
mountain-lovers will be delighted
to find in the game: Mont Blanc,
the summit of which features
expanses of immaculate powdery
snow, huge cliffs and glaciers; The
Aiguilles, craggy and extremely
steep; the Matterhorn, probably
one of the most arduous areas of
the game, and many more.
Apart from topological
It’s
Snow
Time
references, we also worked on
a lot of sound references. Many
skiing sounds were recorded
on-site. We conducted several
recording sessions in the
mountains, on every type of snow
imaginable – fresh, powdery,
packed snow, ice, pebbles – that
particular session more or less
transformed a certain pair of old
skis into kindling. The proximity of
the mountains and the production
personnel experienced in skiing
and snowboarding really helped
the recording of all these sounds.
We also used motion capture
technology in order to capture
the tricks: professional athletes
equipped with captors were filmed
on a trampoline in order to make
the tricks as realistic as possible.
How many sports can we expect
to see included as playable?
The game includes four playable
sports: snowboard, ski, wingsuit
and paragliding. Each of these
sports offers a great variety of
experiences. Multiple activities
allow players the freedom to
explore Steep’s open world in
whichever way they choose, and
you can easily switch from one
sport to another.
As we announced recently, we
will also offer four additional sports
through the Season Pass. These
news sports include winter sled,
rocket wings, base jumping and
speed gliding.
• Steep
is out Dec 2
visit
64 DECEMBER 2016
GAMES
FEATURE