Far Cry 3 Devs Explain Their Approach To Characterization

It's not uncommon for us to play a game where someone is characterized in a relatable way, but then they turn around and become a killing machine. Usually, both of these things don't quite gel together–Nathan Drake is a great, if not classic example of this. How can both of these aspects coexist without creating a jarring experience for the player?

In an interview with Edge, Dan Hay–a Far Cry 3 producer–described Ubisoft's approach to this problem.

We had a number of conversations about Jason [the protagonist of Far Cry 3], and about his situation, his friends and relationships. One conversation we had was, 'Okay, Jason comes from the west. What ideals would he bring with him that are going to be ripped apart when he lands on the island?' We talked about this idea of the daylight atheist: the idea that everyone’s tough when there’s sunlight, but as soon as the sun goes down they start crying for mom.So Jason, as he lands on the island, is a guy who’s very, very tough at noon. At midnight, not so much. You take that – you take someone who thinks that they have a good bead on life and think they have an understanding of what’s fair and what’s right, who the sheriff is and what rules there are – then you strip all that away and see how long it takes to put tears in their eyes. And it’s not long.

I know people like that, so this isn't outlandish characterization. It's just a matter of how well this is explored in the game, if at all.

We'll be able to tell soon, for Far Cry 3 drops sometime in November–depending on platform.