STACK October 2016 Issue 144

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What did you take away from the first
Watch Dogs?
Dominic Guay: Making a new IP is
a great opportunity. The team felt we had
accomplished many things, but at the same
time we felt we could take it to a whole new
level with a sequel.
After shipping the original Watch Dogs,
we listened to what players had to say. In
Watch Dogs 2, you play a new character,
Marcus, a young hacker that fights a corrupted
establishment that exploits technology for
control. This lets us develop a storyline that is
directly linked to our game’s fantasy.
Hacking is obviously a core element
of the game and we wanted
to give it more depth, more
flexibility, so that players
could plan or improvise with it to create their
own unique moments in game.
We also felt that the seamless online
gameplay from the first instalment opened
up an exciting space for innovation, to change
the way multiplayer experiences could be
integrated in an action game.
We wished to give players
more freedom in their play
style. While we embrace
stealth, action and hacking
as viable styles, we feel
game challenges should
leave the player free to
find their own solutions.
They should decide
how they want to play
the game: guns blazing,
as a ghost or as a trickster
who manipulates people and
systems.
Why San Francisco?
Obviously it is a beautiful area with inspiring,
diverse locations and people. It is also the
birthplace of the tech revolution, notably
in Silicon Valley, the place where many of
the technologies that will change our lives
After Watch Dogs launched to critical acclaim in 2014, Ubisoft
decided they needed a follow-up. Watch Dogs 2 is set in a new
town, with a new protagonist, and a GO-GO-gadget belt’s worth of
new caught up with senior producer Dominic Guay to find
out what to expect. Words Alesha Kolbe
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54 OCTOBER 2016
GAMES
FEATURE
Fly
Wall
on
the
We wished to
give players more
freedom in their
play style