STACK February 2016 Issue 136

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Kingsof the
Stone Age
W hen we last spoke with
Alex Hutchinson a month
out from the release of Far
Cry 4 back in 2014, we pushed him
for some of the other locations that
the team had considered for the
game. Although reluctant to
disclose any information in case the
studio decided to use them at a
later date, we threw some ideas
around the office that included the
Middle East, Northern Europe and
even Australia. However, no one familiar
with the franchise could’ve possibly
predicted that it wasn’t a geographical
shift we should have been considering,
but rather an entirely different era; one
set some 12,000 years ago.
Far Cry Primal isn’t the only game
currently on the upcoming slate to
feature a step back to more primitive
times. Sony’s superb looking WiLD plays
out during the Neolithic period, and
although Horizon: Zero Dawn, another
PS4 exclusive, is set 1,000 years in the
future, it leans towards a prehistoric
influence and aesthetic. But just exactly
how did the studio swing from the
present day back to the Stone Age?
“We like to find those aspects of the
real world where you find yourself in wild
and unpredictable frontiers, and we look
for an interesting new take on it –
something fictional, but plausible,”
explains lead game designer, Clark
Davies. “The Stone Age fits really
well into that philosophy, and the
more we thought about it and
researched it, we knew we were
on to something.
“We knew that going back to
the Stone Age meant reinventing
our core gameplay loop, too,” he
continues. “Without access to
guns or vehicles, we had tons of work to
do. We created new mechanics as part
of this, and first and foremost was the
ability to tame all the predators in the
world and use them as weapons. This
alone will add new ways to engage with
your enemy, and we call this 'The Beast
Master'.
“We also looked at the life of people
in the Stone Age and translated that
into our new core mechanics, from the
ability to track animal blood trails, to new
combat styles with, among many others,
clubs, spears, [and] bows, while having
the option of combining those with fire if
you are up for it.”
Fighting with the primitive weapons
of the era will also provide a further
challenge to players used to squeezing
the trigger on an assault rifle or an RPG;
actions synonymous with the Far Cry
series. Using a spear or club certainly
has its gameplay limitations, especially
for players conditioned to the fast run
and gun of first person shooters, and
the studio’s answer to that problem was
crafting.
“When you think about it, there was
no way to make this game without
weapon crafting, which is another first for
visit GAMES FEATURE
52 FEBRUARY 2016
GAMES
Ubisoft take the Far Cry universe primal.
STACK chats with lead game designer, Clark Davies.