Watch Dogs’ graphics have not been scaled down since reveal, creative director claims

Watch Dogs’ graphics have not been scaled down since reveal, creative director claims
David Scammell Updated on by

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Watch Dogs’ visuals have not been scaled down since the game’s reveal at E3 2012, creative director Jonathan Morin has told VideoGamer.com, claiming that if anything, they’ve actually improved.

“There’s no scale down in quality, especially the next-gen versions,” Morin said, discussing some of the negative reaction to recent trailers with us at Eurogamer Expo this afternoon. “It’s pretty much the opposite. What we showed at E3 2012 in a lot of respects was less good. I think it’s in the details. So no, there’s no scale down.”

Watch Dogs wowed the industry with its visuals during its reveal at last year’s E3, but has been criticised by some in recent months for the graphics on display in later builds, which appear to look weaker than the initial demo.

One trailer in particular, starring Aisha Tyler, was heavily criticised by fans for its visuals, to which Morin is said to have blamed on internal “communications issues”.

Nevertheless, Morin doesn’t appear to be worried about Grand Theft Auto 5’s technical achievements lessening the impact of Watch Dogs.

“I don’t build games with that in mind,” he said. “To me, I make a game. I don’t make a technical… I think that the level of fidelity that the city has in Watch Dogs is pretty much unprecedented.

“I think Rockstar did an amazing job with GTA 5, so to me, they are two great games and they have two different things. It’s probably a bit unfair to compare a next-gen game to a current-gen game anyway, so in their respect from a current-gen standpoint they did something amazing.”

Much like GTA 5, the current-gen versions of the game will require a mandatory installation. The next-gen versions will also run at 30FPS, Moring confirmed.

Watch Dogs launches on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii U and Xbox One on November 22. A PlayStation 4 version is due to follow on November 29.