Splinter Cell: Conviction interview: Ferland on “social stealth”

Splinter Cell has made its name as one of the best stealth-based action games there is. Shadows and dark corners have always been your best friends, but Splinter Cell: Conviction begs to differ. In an interview with UK site Pro-G, Ubisoft senior producer Mathieu Ferland revealed more about the series’ major turn.

Gone are the days of hiding. Ferland defined stealth as “the art of going unnoticed,” which means mingling with public is fine too. The “social stealth” philosophy will have Sam Fisher out of his cave and trying other tactics. Similar to the Hitman series, doing your actions while in disguise will play a major role. Using distractions will create safer routes to your objectives than just running, hoping not to be seen.

NPC numbers will reach more than 100 at times, so blending in could be a lot easier. Most areas are casual public places, like museums. Fortunately, Fisher won’t be wearing glow-in-the-dark goggles.  Another cool feature is how your environment is very interactive. Sam will be able to pick up objects to use as weapons, or roadblocks to flee from enemies.

Controls are simplified to make sure the player won’t be overwhelmed. “If I have a table, for example, I can pick it up and make and aggressive action, like hitting someone with it or pushing them away, or make a stealth action and hide under it to use it as a cover, so it is all contextual and that affects the accessibility of control,” said Ferland

That’s all for now. We’ll keep you informed ’til the game reaches the shelves come Christmas for the PC and Xbox 360.

Via Pro-G

Splinter Cell has made its name as one of the best stealth-based action games there is. Shadows and dark corners have always been your best friends, but Splinter Cell: Conviction begs to differ. In an interview with UK site Pro-G, Ubisoft senior producer Mathieu Ferland revealed more about the series’ major turn.

Gone are the days of hiding. Ferland defined stealth as “the art of going unnoticed,” which means mingling with public is fine too. The “social stealth” philosophy will have Sam Fisher out of his cave and trying other tactics. Similar to the Hitman series, doing your actions while in disguise will play a major role. Using distractions will create safer routes to your objectives than just running, hoping not to be seen.

NPC numbers will reach more than 100 at times, so blending in could be a lot easier. Most areas are casual public places, like museums. Fortunately, Fisher won’t be wearing glow-in-the-dark goggles.  Another cool feature is how your environment is very interactive. Sam will be able to pick up objects to use as weapons, or roadblocks to flee from enemies.

Controls are simplified to make sure the player won’t be overwhelmed. “If I have a table, for example, I can pick it up and make and aggressive action, like hitting someone with it or pushing them away, or make a stealth action and hide under it to use it as a cover, so it is all contextual and that affects the accessibility of control,” said Ferland

That’s all for now. We’ll keep you informed ’til the game reaches the shelves come Christmas for the PC and Xbox 360.

Via Pro-G