Ubisoft was reported to be working on an open-world Star Wars game back in January, with EA losing the rights to the make the franchise's games. Although Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot has already said that the game is too far away to make predicting a release window possible, that hasn't stopped fans wondering how the Ubisoft open-world formula will mesh with the hugely popular sci-fi IP.
Ubisoft's Star Wars game will be developed by Massive Entertainment, developer of the Division franchise. However, it is the open-world formula of Ubisoft franchises like Far Cry and Assassin's Creed that could give fans an idea of how an open-world Star Wars game may be brought to life.
The Far Cry Formula
The Far Cry open-world formula, like so many parts of the franchise, was first solidified in the minds of most fans with Far Cry 3. The game was set in the Rook Islands, a fictional archipelago largely procedurally generated using the Dunia Engine. Locations like towns and enemy bases, however, were placed by developers personally, and with some key concepts in mind that would shape the design of subsequent Far Cry open worlds.
Far Cry 3's level design director Mark Thompson was interviewed by IGN just after the game's release, during which he explained the priorities behind the game's open-world design. The main focus was creating "space that exists for a reason." As a result, there's a logic behind the placement of many of the game's enemy bases.
For example, one base might be in-land, and run as a lumber mill. Down the road on the coastline, players might find a similar enemy base, this time purposed with shipping out timber. With this kind of light environmental storytelling in mind, the Rook Islands were able to create an open world with a logic behind it that didn't rely on spelling things out explicitly.
This could be particularly interesting to see in the Star Wars universe if Ubisoft Massive goes down a similar route. Star Wars isn't exactly a series known for its watertight internal logic, but it could be interesting for players to be able to follow, for example, a smuggler taking illegal goods from a Mos Eisley-style wretched hive of scum and villainy to the spaceport where he offloads the goods.
Similarly, players might be able to find a base full of stormtroopers placed in an area that protects Sith interests, even if those interests are never the focus of a main mission. The exact details will depend on when and where in the Star Wars universe the Ubisoft game is set, but hopefully the game will attempt to set up some of the same internal logic in its open-world that helped set Far Cry on a whole new path with Far Cry 3.
The Assassin's Creed Formula
The latest Assassin's Creed, AC Valhalla, has one of the best open worlds in an Assassin's Creed game. The game's open-world design was reminiscent of other titles that toed the line between broad open-world experiences and character-driven storytelling, like The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Valhalla introduced World Events, a new side quest system that reminded some fans of Red Dead's Stranger Missions or GTA's Strangers and Freaks. Despite the name, a lot of these World Events are more scripted than Far Cry 3's open-world design philosophy.
However, exploring a planet in the Star Wars universe and bumping into NPCs with as many strange goals as those found in Assassin's Creed Valhalla could be great, and something unseen in a Star Wars game so far. One of the best parts about Valhalla's open-world quest design is that most of the World Events are short and character-driven in the same was as the best Red Dead or GTA Stranger quests. Some see the player take on unique enemies and boss fights. Others are purely roleplay focused, like a world event about a Viking mourning his lost friends. As with all great open worlds, Valhalla also has some purely silly events the player can encounter, like the Winchell the Robesfree world event, where players meet a man proselytizing the benefits of nudism.
Hopefully Ubisoft Massive's Star Wars game will strike a good balance that learns lessons from both Assassin's Creed and Far Cry's open-world design. Far Cry's best games have worlds that feel like they have a clear logic to them, but there were few opportunities for players to discover unique quests or interesting characters outside the main story.
A Star Wars game that builds an environment with the underlying logic of a Far Cry map but packs it full of unique world events like those found in Assassin's Creed could have the best of both worlds. Far Cry's formula would allow for dynamic open-world fights and exploration that tells stories without the need for scripted quests, but Assassin's Creed's formula would breathe more life into that world with memorable moments and characters.
There are still some major questions hanging over Ubisoft's Star Wars game. Many fans have been trying to figure out how Massive Entertainment will create an open-world game which spans multiple planets, if it does at all. If the upcoming game does let players explore the galaxy, questions arise about just how large and detailed each individual Star Wars planet will be able to be.
For now, however, fans of the Star Wars franchise get to hope for an open-world game which takes the best open-world design Ubisoft has to offer and transforms it for the Star Wars setting. Whether or not Massive will be able to pull it off is another question entirely, but fans of Star Wars and great open-world games alike should keep a close eye on Ubisoft's Star Wars game to see which titles it takes influence from.
Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars game is currently in development.