Ubisoft on making an adventure sports game for a new generation.
By Phil Barker
5 min readPublished on
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Mountain-based action game Steep is one of the most anticipated titles of 2016, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it later this year. In the meantime though, developer Ubisoft has been working hard to deliver a game that’s packed with excitement, action and mountainous ranges you’ll be able to explore, having fun with snowboards, paragliders and even wingsuits.
We’ve been talking to Sébastien Arnoult, producer at Ubisoft, to find out what’s been going on behind the scenes. Read on for an exclusive insight into Steep’s development and to find out what else the game has to offer.
What’s the team been working on since the announcement of Steep at E3? Since E3 and our Games Critics Award for Best Sports Game, we presented Steep at Gamescom where we were thrilled to receive the Best Sports Game Award! We have been working hard to deliver what we hope will be the best open world action sports game that players have been waiting for. The team is focusing on providing players with a dynamic experience, whether it be exploring all the mountain has to offer, competing to be one of the top riders, or creating their own unique trail through the striking terrain.
Serious question: is it hard making a snow sports video game during the summer? It must make research difficult… We already sourced tons of visual, audio and topological references in the Alps over the past couple of winters, so we have plenty of material to help us create a fantastic mountain experience.
Actually, the hardest part of working on Steep during the summer is that we spend our days working in our massive mountain open world, being tempted daily by the snowy environment, and so we can’t wait for winter to come in order to get out there and ride the Alps again.
How much research went into recreating the Alps? What tools do you use to recreate the mountains? Our team is passionate about the mountains and we spend most of our weekends there. We recorded a lot of visual and sound references over the past two years and we used design tools to generate the Alps while respecting geological rules as much as possible.
Do you have a post-update release plan in mind? DLC or patches – what can players expect? At Gamescom, we announced the availability of the Gold Edition, which will offer the game and a season pass. The season pass gives players access to all major expansions as well as additional digital content, outfits, and equipment, including an exclusive costume.
And as announced at E3, all players will also be able to hit the majestic slopes of Alaska, which will be made available as a free update after launch. In terms of post-launch content, we’ve also got some new and exciting “mountain surprises” on the way…
Can you tell us more about the sharing features in Steep? What kind of things can you share with your friends and the wider community Sharing is central to the Steep experience; the game was built around players being able to share their best moments. We want players to share their most memorable and thrilling rides, stunts and tricks. The Trail feature makes the most of all the broadcasting tools available in consoles and PCs and allows players to share their clips with friends and the community.
The Trail feature saves players’ paths and actions as they ride through the open-world mountain environment. Players are able to watch a replay of their trails and utilise the free cam in different ways, including switching viewpoints and zooming in and out. Using this feature, players can also challenge their friends to do better on the same path using different metrics like performance and time.
Co-op activities seem to be at the core of the game. Can players create groups of friends that can play Steep together? We worked to make sure that playing with other people on Steep’s mountain is always a positive experience. As soon as you are close to someone, you will get a scoring multiplier boost. You can then decide to group with your friends or any rider you’ll meet on the mountain. Together, you will share all the discoveries you each made among your group and create spectacular stunts.
When we think winter action sports, we think freestyle. How does the trick system work in Steep? Steep’s tricks are designed to be accessible to players of all skill levels. While anyone can easily perform tricks, players can get creative and take more risks to pull off even crazier tricks.
Tricks utilise the left and right stick axis. Combining both sticks’ axis during a jump will control the rotations you will perform. Players can make their tricks even more spectacular by experimenting with the different combinations and add style with grabs and tweaks to their poses.
When can we get our hands on the game? Steep will be available December 2, 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. But players will also be able to get into the game during our upcoming Beta phases. Sign-ups and details are available at steepgame.com.
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