This article was taken from the December 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
The makers of Ubisoft's Watch Dogs had much of their marketing work done for them -- by the news. "When we started to dig, we found all the things we thought of were being built already," says Jonathan Morin, creative director of the surveillance-heavy techno-thriller game. Allegations around the US National Security Agency's PRISM programme have thrust data security and monitoring into the spotlight.
Enter Aiden Pearce: in the world of Watch Dogs, Chicago has installed CtOS (central operating system) -- a true "smart city" dashboard, it enables the monitoring of everything from central heating to phone conversations. Pearce is a vigilante fighting to protect his loved ones and punish the guilty. Together, you can use the virtual Chicago's own infrastructure as a weapon. "Basically, you build the city's systems," explains senior producer Dominic Guay, "then attach them to one another. So if the electricity is cut, that feeds into other systems, like the traffic lights. When we started causing blackouts, we had car accidents.
The civilians are designed to be curious, so they'll talk about the accident and react differently."
Pearce is a man on a mission -- or a series of missions -- but how he fulfils them could be different for every player. As the game progresses, Pearce develops new powers and abilities to disrupt and affect the systems of the city -- from hacking mobile phones and selling personal data, up to blacking out the whole metropolis.
As the player manipulates the city, the city responds: the police use the same CtOS systems to track the crimes Pearce is fighting -- or committing. Meanwhile, the local media also get in on the act, and that too affects the public's attitude to Pearce's crusade.
The civilians add depth to the city simulation, and the "profiler" function adds more texture to them as individuals. "As I came around to shoot one guy, his profile came up and said
'newlywed'," recalls lead story designer Kevin Shortt. "Instantly, my head was full of images. I thought about his wife... and very quickly, I painted this story about what was previously just a gang member."
And did it save his life? "No... I was like 'Awwww... BANG!'
She's a widow now!"
Watch Dogs will be released in spring 2014 for Xbox 360, PlayStation, Wii U and PC.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
