For Dansky, one of the most interesting things to work on was “the translation of the fantasy, so that the players can realistically see themselves as highly trained operatives that can solve any problem at any time.” Creating Clancy narratives requires a lot of research and leveraging not just knowledge based on real-world geopolitics, but also a deep understanding of the Clancy game world and a predictive approach to the real world.
“The key is being aware of geopolitical trends to understand how the situation we’re in could realistically evolve in the near future,” Dansky explained.
Clancy games are so in tune with politics that they sometimes predict real-world events. Ghost Recon, a game that launched in 2001 but was set in 2008, featured a Russo-Georgian conflict and mirrored the situation that took place in real life in August 2008.
Matthew Corso, development director for the Clancy IP, also highlighted that maintaining consistency throughout the franchise is no small task.
“To that end, we have an internal universe tool that enables us to keep track of each character’s backstory and status within the universe,” Corso said.
Additionally, the Clancy IP team, based at Ubisoft Reflections in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, created five major narrative pillars to ensure that consistency, accuracy, and collaboration remain at the forefront of every Clancy title.
“These pillars ensure, among other things, that players can identify with the themes and characters presented in the games,” Corso said. “For instance, we always want our heroes to fight together for the greater good, but our antagonists should be realistic, with believable motivations.”
Another important part of making the game feel more realistic is to find the right balance between each narrative element, Stone told us.
“If a story is too dark, then the darkness has no real impact anymore,” she explained. Stone dealt with that in The Division 2 by introducing minor characters like Eva Garcia, whose audio logs can be discovered by players exploring the ruins of Kenly College in Washington, DC. Garcia’s logs about the sexist history of her college are personal accounts on subjects that still feel grounded in the wider story.
“Sometimes, smaller characters can also have a big impact on the story, especially if they feel real to the player, with relatable experiences,” Stone said.
