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The pages of GamesTM (via 1UP) have revealed what’s probably the first solid info on Ubisoft’s upcoming disaster title I Am Alive.
This first thing of note is that Jade Raymond, of Assassin’s Creed fame, is not involved with I Am Alive in any way and development team Darkworks doesn’t know where the rumour of her involvement came from.
The game’s senior producer Alexis Goddard spilled a bit of info on the upcoming title.
“Disaster has been a recurring theme for entertainment since the beginning of time. We’re not really reinventing that here. We’re putting it together for the first time in a totally new package,” explained Goddard. “Most of what we’re doing will remind you of tidbits that you’ve seen or heard here and there – Robert Neville in I Am Legend gradually starts to lose his humanity and sanity in the ruins of New York. In The Day After Tomorrow and War of the Worlds you see Western cities torn apart by unrelenting forces.”
Goddard also likens the game to Armageddon, Titanic, Cloverfield, Jericho and Lost and states that the game has been built around the idea of “social chaos”. After an earthquake destroys Chicago, the game’s hero Adam Collins must find his girlfriend and other survivors in order to get the attention of a government force.
Although based on a commonly used theme, I Am Alive will be something quite unique.
Goddard explained: “In I Am Alive, we’re not only turning your everyday life upside down; we’re also changing the very social values and rules that both everyday life and videogames rely on.”
With the real focus being on survival, players will have to make do with a much scarcer supply of items than they perhaps have become used to in video games. Survival items such as bottles of water will be highly valuable, both for healing and distracting opponents to clear a safe path. That’s not to say guns won’t be appearing in the game.
“Confrontation is a way of dealing with violent groups, but will rarely be rewarded,” said Goddard. “We encourage the players to use tactics, diversion, and discretion. You’ve found a police shotgun, which is out of bullets – rightfully so, since Chicago has long been a proponent of a ban on guns. How about some intimidation? After all, who knows the gun is empty but you? Just point it at looters and they’ll remain at a distance as you progress toward your objective. However, you can only aim it at one person, so you have to watch for being flanked.”
The game will also be presented through a first-person perspective, a decision Goddard believes was essential.
“We wanted the player to really feel the power of Mother Nature, to feel the danger coming from the collapsing towers and devastating rifts, feel the chaos happening all around him. There’s nothing like a first-person view to create that kind of emotion,” said Goddard.
That’s about all there is right now, but with a magazine exclusive out of the way we can expect more info to begin trickling out of Ubisoft over the coming months.
