Ubisoft has just confirmed that work on Splinter Cell Remake has begun at Ubisoft Toronto – the title is “Leveraging the Rich Brand Achievements” and the title is being built on the Snowdrop Engine. The creators use their own technology, which is used to create Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars from Ubisoft. The developers want to offer “next-generation visuals and gameplay,” as well as the “dynamic lighting and shadows” for which the series is known.
Chris Otti (Creative Director), Matt West (Producer) and Peter Hendrinos (Technical Producer) are responsible for developing the site and talk about the project’s work. The title is still in a very early stage of development, and the developers want to take care of the “identity” of Splinter Cell.
“How do you treat Splinter Cell as a new mod? What makes it a remake, not a remaster?”
Matt West: For me, the remake takes what you would have done in the mod and goes a little further. The original Splinter Cell contains many elements that were amazing and revolutionary at the time it was released 19 years ago. Now players have more refined tastes. So I think this should be a remake, not a remaster. While we’re still in a very early stage of development, we’re trying to keep the spirit of the early games intact, in all those aspects that gave early Splinter Cell its identity. Therefore, when building the game from scratch, we intend to update it visually, as well as some design elements, to suit players’ comfort and expectations. How are we going to get new fans to be able to pick up the console and fall in love with the game and the world right from the start?
Peter Handrinus: Technically, if I have to sum it up in a few different words, what we do is explore and innovate. We have a new engine and a new console lifecycle to use, so technology is one area where we don’t want to get bogged down in the past.
The studio confirms an important fact – Sam Fisher will return in a linear adventure that will not take players into the open world.
“So when building a production from scratch, we intend to update it visually, as well as some design elements, to suit the players’ comfort and expectations,” [ale] We’ll keep the linear character as in the original games, not make the element in an open world.”
The creators want to take the series to a new level, but at the same time they will not forget the well-known experience. The final details have not yet been revealed, but it must be admitted that they look really interesting:
“Chris Auty: The Splinter Cell was a hack in the field of stealth – as Matt mentioned, it was ‘redefining stealth’, with a major focus on understanding the core of the game and fulfilling the ideal: being a ghost. It is important for us to maintain a sense of mastery through Support players who monitor the situation, make a plan, use tools and defeat the enemy in an innovative way to deal with the challenges they face. It’s better to get out of the action on the other side and no one will ever know you were there. This is the essence of Splinter Cell.
Matt West: One of the things that, in my view, is really exciting about this project is that the last few games we’ve all worked on have been really big worlds. This means that the decision economy is very fragmented, whereas what I love about Splinter Cell Maps is the fact that every square centimeter represents the target. Every square centimeter is part of a choice, either directly presenting it or having direct consequences. The intensity of this gameplay comes to the fore in Splinter Cell, and that will be very important to us. The gameplay experience is directly linked to what we want players to feel, to capture the essence of the time we all played the original games.”
Ubisoft is still recruiting for the team, so we can’t count on a quick presentation, but developers in many places confirm: It is a complete remake that will respect the entire universe.
“Devoted organizer. Incurable thinker. Explorer. Tv junkie. Travel buff. Troublemaker.”