Ubisoft designer James Everett says he faced some tricky challenges when he started work on Splinter Cell: Blacklist, chief among them the problem of making players feel like they're a modern military professional.
September 16, 2014
Ubisoft designer James Everett says he faced some tricky challenges when he started work on Splinter Cell: Blacklist, chief among them the problem of making players feel like they're a modern military professional. Series protagonist Sam Fisher is a weapons expert with decades of experience under fire; for players, Everett believes this should translate to gunplay which feels precise, crisp and almost surgical -- so long as they can keep their cool. Focusing on the research and design for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Everett game a thoughtful GDC 2014 talk exploing low-level gunplay mechanics in third-person action adventure games. He addressed the research process of examining similar titles in the genre and the history of the series, then dove into how the development team worked to modernize the gunplay in Splinter Cell. Hard data and video of the evolution of the systems were also shown in an effort pull apart the finer details of the design. It's a design-centric talk worth watching for all developers, from AAA to indie. The free video (embedded above) of 'Modernizing Splinter Cell's Gunplay' is now available to watch here on the GDC Vault.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech
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