If you watched the latest nine-minute trailer of Watch Dogs, you might be familiar with the game’s hacking system, which allows you to hack other player’s worlds to steal data from their phone.
The concept of hacking other players may sound disruptive to gameplay, especially for players who prefer to immerse themselves in the single-player campaign, but Ubisoft’s Danny Belanger insists that it it’s going to be anything but.
“If you’re in a narrative experience, that’s your narrative experience you’re living in,” said Belanger in an interview with OXM. “We try to make sure it’s when you’re available and during your free-roaming and you’re not doing something else that could be disrupted. That’s when we turn it on and allow players to come in and invade you.”
Belanger introduced the concept of a “shield” that protects you from being hacked, which learns your preferences as you go.
“We have a shield,” he said. “So if someone comes into your game and hacks you, you’re protected. It can’t happen. The less you partake in the multiplayer, the longer the shield.
“If you’re not hacking people and you’re not into that gameplay, the game will recognize and acknowledge that you’re not into that. That’s fine. The shield will slowly become many hours because we’re trying to adapt. There are so many different players and we’re trying to adapt to all of them and make an experience that works for them.”
Players who hack into other players worlds will gain notoriety and earn new skills along the way, incentivizing them to pursue the activity.
Watch Dogs is out on May 27 for the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4.
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