MyQJ | QJ.NET | iPhone | MMORPG | Nintendo DS | Wii | PlayStation 3 | PSP | Xbox 360 | Downloads | QJ.NET Forums | Advertise on QJ!

GDC 08: Patrick Redding on the Far Cry 2 health system

Posted Feb 23, 2008 at 02:30AM by David T. Listed in: News, FPS, Far Cry 2 Tags: Ubisoft Montreal, Malaria, Patrick Redding
Ó

QJ coverage of PC and console news from the 2008 Game Developers Conference - Image 1 


It may be a strange topic to bring up during a 2008 Game Developers Conference lecture on narrative design, but because it's crucial to the gameplay of Ubisoft Montreal's Far Cry 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), Patrick Redding did it, anyway: the main protagonist in this particular shooter has been stricken with malaria.

According to Redding, our Far Cry 2 protagonist will have to rely on medicine (or health packs) to keep himself alive. The catch is that Ubisoft Montreal didn't scatter these medicines in crates across the game's levels; players will be forced to interact with civilians as the the health packs may only be obtained from them.

Despite being "the ultimate mechanical drawback," as Redding put it, players can still make the best of a bad situation. They may, for example, opt to exchange travel papers for a few doses of medicine. And therein lies Ubisoft Montreal's point: NPCs in the game are transformed from being mere "stores" into "micronarrative" elements who bring life to the world of Far Cry 2. How players deal with these elements is entirely up to the players themselves.



Buy: [Far Cry 2 (PC)]
Buy: [Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Far Cry 2 (PS3)]

[Via Joystiq] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

Bookmark / Find this article on:

3 Comments


Sort by:
   by hush404 - 2008-02-23
 » Heh
I kinda dig the idea. its something new, but I wonder how useful it'll be. You're in a firefight in the middle of a jungle areas.... what good is a villager?

   by Advertising -
   by Farnesworth - 2008-02-25
 » It could be good
I mean, it has possibilities. It sounds a bit RPGish to me, which is fine, but isn't Far Cry, just a shooter?

   by David T. (QJ. NET Staff) - 2008-02-26
 » re:
Well, villagers are good for times when you aren't in combat. ^^

Also, I think Ubisoft is trying to experiment a little.



Contact
QJ.NET Blog Network RSS Feeds
MyQJ Feed / PDA
MyQJ RSS / PDA
Blog of Blogs Feed / PDA
QJ.NET RSS / PDA
Gaming Consoles Feed / PDA
Nintendo DS RSS / PDA
PlayStation 3 RSS / PDA
PSP Updates RSS / PDA
Wii RSS / PDA
Xbox 360 RSS / PDA
PC Gaming Feed / PDA
Age of Conan RSS / PDA
Games for Windows RSS / PDA
MMORPG RSS / PDA
Tabula Rasa RSS / PDA
World of Warcraft RSS / PDA
Science Feed / PDA
Science RSS / PDA
Technology Feed / PDA
Apple RSS / PDA
Gadgets RSS / PDA
iPhone RSS / PDA
Mobile RSS / PDA
Photography RSS / PDA
Tech RSS / PDA
Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!
User Favorites - October
Most Commented
(1)
User Favorites - October
Top Jumps
No available articles using criteria

 Username: 
 Password:
Forgot password
New user registration



Categories

Genre

Titles
Archives


Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the TERMS & CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2006, Content Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Version. 1.31