‘Watchdogs 2’: Directors Talks What We Can Expect, Game To Feel Different From The First


Players are gearing up for Watch Dogs 2, the sequel from Ubisoft.

If you’ve managed to play the first Watch Dogs, then chances are you were able to feel how gritty the game felt compared to others. It appears that the new Watchdogs, whose main protagonist has changed from Aiden Pearce to Marcus Holloway, won’t be the same. These aren’t the only changes, as Ubisoft appears to be changing the overall tone to Watchdogs 2 in order to support a lighter tone.

According to a report by Gamespot, it is revealed that the director may be choosing a different direction for Marcus that will differ from the overall feel of Aiden’s. We already see that the environment in Watch Dogs 2 seems to support a brighter backdrop in contrast to the dark, gray depths of the first. In an interview, director Danny Belanger discusses the vision for Watch Dogs 2.

Belanger had this to say in regards to how either game’s tone differentiates:

“I’m not sure if it’s a formula, but for us it was really important to give something new and fresh, so a lot of things stem from choices we made. For instance, San Francisco is so colorful in its culture and counterculture, so the topics we chose just emerged from that setting. For our new character, Marcus Holloway, we wanted him to be different: he’s sociable, he’s a part of a group, and he works with a team. Also, having the whole Bay Area with Silicon Valley made it so we can talk more about technology. All of these elements really changed the way the game feels and plays.”

Could Watch Dogs 2 have a plot that will reflect the overall change in tone? It seems likely, given the fact that Marcus is a far cry from Aiden’s serious personality. There’s also the fact that Marcus appears to be a more outgoing individual. We’re exposed to his more vibrant persona through the fact that he appears to work in groups. As a result of this, the Co-Op aspect of Watch Dogs 2 would fit right in.

Belanger touches on this, specifically the logic of Aiden and Marcus’s dynamic.

“When you play a sequel you want it to feel new and fresh, right? Going from the lone wolf Aiden Pierce to Marcus Holloway, who’s funny, brilliant, and sociable, it allows us to do really different things. Like co-op for example: Marcus is a part of a group so it makes sense for him to work with people, which was not necessarily the case with Aiden Pierce.”

This isn’t the first time that a game has had a significant change in protagonist. The Prototype series comes to mind. Protagonist Alex Mercer and James Heller have some similarities, though Heller possesses more of a brawler mentality. It remains to be seen if the reception of Marcus Holloway will be positive, but Ubisoft is hopeful.

Watch Dogs 2 is looking to garner support from fans who may have had negative reviews of the first, especially with the hype that the game held during its reveal. According to Venture Beat, Ubisoft hopes to give San Francisco as accurate a feel in-game as the actual location.

“We go on a lot of scouting trips, take a ton of footage, pictures, videos,” Belanger says. “Our goal is to make the place feel real. We want to capture the spirit of the location. Obviously it’s not 1-to-1. You have to make choices. We try to pick what we think is the most important. We have people from San Francisco on the team, people who know the city. We want to hit the right landmarks, get the landscape as close as we can.”

Ultimately, the new Watch Dogs 2 seems to be taking nods from fans and delivering a better game. Watch Dogs 2 is set to release on November 15 of this year.

[Featured Image By Ubisoft]

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