‘For Honor’ Director Hoping ‘The Art Of Battle’ Can Do For Swords What ‘Halo’ Did For Guns
The creative lead for Ubisoft's anticipated upcoming hack and slash video game "For Honor" reveals that how he would like the game's mechanics to act as a defining influence to games with sword fighting elements, similar to how the "Halo" series codified the first person shooter genre.
Jason Vandenberghe, the creative director at Ubisoft Montreal and game director of "For Honor, spoke with Venturebeat at the special pre-event sessions allotted for the media at this year's Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany.
The interview spoke of Vandenberghe's designs for the game, specifically in how its "Art of Battle" system might help in defining the gaming industry's approach to melee fighting and swordplay; a concept that has had varying qualities in certain respects.
"For Honor" is a game that features an anachronistic setting that pits historic warriors against each other; namely the noble European Knights, the Japances Feudal-era Samurai class, and the ancient Norse seafaring Viking raiders. Players can align with any of the factions; The Legion for the Knights, The Chosen for the Samurai, and The Warborn for the Vikings; and engage others in melee combat with different weapons.
As a game that focuses on melee, "For Honor" has a tactical combat system called "Art of Battle" which presents a more tactical approach in how players swing their weapons when dueling their enemies. Each player can choose the positioning of their weapon while aiming in a duel, similar to the "Zandatsu" mechanic in Platinum Games' "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" only more "realistic."
According to Vandenberghe, "the goal was definitely to create a game that was ready for anyone with a sword fighting fantasy." Speaking of the "Art of Battle" system, Vandenberghe noted the system's novelty and how he believes it might throw both new and veteran gamers off.
When compared to how "Halo: Combat Evolved" was first introduced, an industry milestone that has influence games generations later, Vendengberghe agreed that was exactly the idea. Comparing player experiences in "For Honor" to what they experienced in their first few trigger pulls way back then, the game director spoke of the difficulty players meet in learning his game's system.
Vandenberghe said that he hopes that his game might eventually set the conventions for melee gaming in the future, similar to how gameplay for first person shooters nowadays is easily picked up because the feeling has been ingrained.
Slated to release on the PC, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One; "For Honor" is planned to release Feb. 14, Valentine's Day of next year.