Ubisoft Toronto has recently made available a whole bunch of videos showing off the development of their first title, Splinter Cell Blacklist.
Community Developer Zack Cooper narrates the videos (and stars in one) which cover everything from design and overall feel of the game to the style of martial arts that the game’s moves are based around.
Without giving too much away, it is clear that the team is spending a lot of their focus in getting the game absolutely right. While we loved the last entry in the series, Conviction, many felt it was too much of a departure from what made the series great. That was arguably true, although certainly not more than the entry before that, Double Agent. Regardless, Blacklist looks to come back to the original mechanics of the game with stealth takedowns that rely on you creeping in shadows and using light to your advantage where possible, something that was lost on Conviction we felt.
It looks like the team developing the game is having a ridiculous amount of fun while they do, which is the goal of any development studio, as large as Ubisoft or small as the local startup down the block developing for iOS. What so many people seem to forget is that they’re developing games! Games! They’re supposed to be fun and relaxing and awesome! And that’s what Ubisoft embodies when we see these kinds of videos, and it’s an incredible thing to watch. Take a look at just two of the videos for yourself.
Splinter Cell Blacklist is expected to launch in early 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.