The Far Cry series has been no stranger to controversy. From criticism over Far Cry 4’s cowl artwork to the petition over Far Cry 5’s portrayal of non secular fanatics as villains, Ubisoft’s long-running series is usually contentious, to say the least, and Far Cry 6 isn't any totally different.
Set on the fictional island of Yara, Far Cry 6 sees gamers taking up the function of Dani Rojas, who joins a guerrilla revolution in opposition to Yara’s tyrannical dictator, Anton Castillo (performed by Breaking Unhealthy’s Giancarlo Esposito). It’s a darkish premise, however one which Ubisoft plans to stability with the chaotic, playground mechanics that the Far Cry series is thought for – a balancing act that has already garnered criticism from some.
So how does Ubisoft plan to earnestly painting a guerrilla revolution in a first-person shooter that boasts a weapon that performs the Macarena? We spoke to Far Cry 6 Narrative Director Navid Khavari to search out out.
The pillars of a Far Cry story
Navid Khavari isn’t a stranger to Far Cry, having labored in a story capability on Far Cry Primal and Far Cry 5, earlier than changing into the Narrative Director and Lead Author on Far Cry 6. So in relation to understanding the important thing ingredient in a Far Cry story, he’s well-equipped to reply.
There’s not merely one ingredient, Khavari tells us, however three: a charismatic charming antagonist, a way of “David vs Goliath”, and a “balance of mature storytelling that isn’t afraid to tackle difficult themes – mixed with some levity”.
However, with Far Cry 6, it wasn’t merely Anton Castillo that Khavari wished to take heart stage; as a substitute, the problem got here in making certain that the sport’s guerrilla fighters had been additionally the celebrities of the present–- characters that would go toe-to-toe with the unpredictable dictator and nonetheless stand out.
“That's where I feel we're pushing the brand,” Khavari tells us. “We tried to make sure the revolution wasn't just this sort of homogenous entity, that you would have multiple different perspectives, multiple different motivations, multiple different types of personalities and characters you'd run into. So we wanted to keep those three things in mind, but really push Dani and the guerrillas in the story.”
Writing a revolution
Yara is closely influenced by Cuba and its personal revolution, Ubisoft has admitted, however there was criticism over whether or not Far Cry 6 can actually paint an earnest portrayal of such battle – particularly given the series is thought for primarily being a humorous, chaotic playground. What’s more, Ubisoft initially shying away from the sport being “political” didn’t assist issues. It’s the same method that was taken with Far Cry 5, a recreation with a premise that was quintessentially political, however, ultimately, merely dipped its toes within the pool quite than taking the total plunge. "We tend to see revolutions as black and white but they’re incredibly complicated conflicts and anyone who studies them will tell you that, so rather than tell a simple story with a binary point of view, we embrace that complexity."
With Far Cry 6, it regarded like the identical method was being taken. In an interview, Khavari claimed that the sport just isn't meant to be “a political statement about what’s happening in Cuba specifically” that appeared to suggest an apolitical method was being taken as soon as more. Nonetheless, he later certified his statements by saying that “our story is political” and based mostly on “other countries around the [real] world that have experienced political revolutions in their histories”, however that the sport was not a “simplified, binary political statement specifically on the current political climate in Cuba”. Ubisoft admits Anton Castillo, too, is influenced by real-life dictators from Cuba’s neighboring nations together with the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua – in addition to earlier Far Cry villains.
So how does that vital aspect mix with the fast-paced, bombastic gameplay of Far Cry 6? Effectively, in keeping with Khavari, Far Cry appears to be like to symbolize each the heavy, darkish parts of a revolution, alongside the bits that aren’t at all times critical. Nhavari explains that talking to real-life revolutionaries, he was intrigued by how they discovered humor and pleasure of their high-stakes conditions, recounting a narrative he was advised about guerrilla fighters who would play music within the jungle earlier than hiding them away when a navy aircraft flew overhead. He says these moments feed into the expertise too and preserve it grounded, whereas feeding into the “DNA of Far Cry itself”.
“We grappled with the sensitivity of the game from the beginning but it is important not to think about what we can or cannot say but rather what is the story that we’re trying to tell, to try to be fearless,” Khavari stated in a roundtable occasion earlier than the interview. “We tend to see revolutions as black and white but they’re incredibly complicated conflicts and anyone who studies them will tell you that, so rather than tell a simple story with a binary point of view, we embrace that complexity.
“The beauty of telling a narrative about revolution is that, with a revolutionary group, there’s a mix of ideologies and perspectives that you want to capture. We don’t want to hide from the rise of fascism or what we’ve seen around the world, we wanted to talk about the effects of imperialism on an island like Yara, and the effects of blockades, and wanted to talk about LGBTQ+ rights within the context of the story. Incredibly important topics didn’t feel right to shy away from.
“At the end of the day players will decide for themselves how we did and I encourage them to make their own opinion. We absolutely tried to approach the story with sensitivity and to not be afraid of sharing honest opinions.”
Along with Yara’s overtly political premise, it feels like we may additionally encounter some more delicate references to the trendy political panorama on this planet. Far Cry 5 had some tongue-in-cheek Easter Eggs that referenced Trump’s alleged “pee-tape” and even Alex Jones’ rant on homosexual frogs, so I {asked} Khavari if we'd see one thing comparable in Far Cry 6.
“What I will say is, if I were playing this game, having not made it, I would highly recommend going through it with a fine-tooth comb because there are tonnes of Easter eggs all over the place,” he coyly advised us. “But I wouldn't want to spoil that for folks. Make sure you play the game, make sure you check all the credits and everything.”
Genuine illustration
As Khavari says, LGBTQ+ rights are one other vital subject explored inside the recreation, beforehand untouched territory for the series.
“Without going into spoiler territory, we have numerous characters who identify as LGBTQ+,” Khavari tells us. “I think one of the things, speaking to experts and speaking to individuals on our team in consultation with experts outside of our team, we wanted to capture this idea of a revolution within a revolution. We have a character that speaks to that, that no matter what the bigger revolution of Libertad is fighting for, there is an ongoing revolution in terms of LGBTQ+ rights that wouldn't just end if Clara Garcia [leader of the Libertad] frees Yara. And that, in consultation with a lot of folks, we found really interesting and something that could be powerful to explore.” "At the end of the day, it's up to people to decide. I'm not presumptuous to say we did it right. I know we did what we felt was our absolute best."
The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in Far Cry 6 is welcome – although we wished to understand how this subject was being tackled, significantly with regard to illustration, because it’s one thing that we’ve seen poorly executed in video games time and time once more.
“We wanted to represent our characters who identify as LGBTQ+ as folks that don't just identify their personality and who they are as LGBTQ+,” Khavari explains. “For example, we have a character called Rosa Mel Paquete, who is a drag queen who is gay. They're fantastic at the performance aspect of being a drag queen, but also, while they're performing for the military, they're secretly working for the guerrillas. We wanted to be as authentic as possible, as well, in how we approach these topics so we cast an actual drag queen in Toronto, Selena Vyle.
“Also, in terms of representation, one of our guerrilla leaders, Paolo, is trans and we cast a trans masculine actor to try and represent that as well. I'm trying to say that we wanted to approach it with sensitivity and actually work with the performers to make sure they felt they were included in that process.
Khavari explains that the team was aware of addressing any blind spots they may have missed with regards to representation throughout the game, including that of both the game’s LGBTQ+ and Latinx characters. But, following feedback from those who played early previews of the game, were there any that he felt had been overlooked?
“No, not really,” he tells us. “I know the sort of work we put in over five years. So I know I can stand proud and confident of the work my team did and the time we spent. Again, I think we were really trying to push new ground in terms of the focus on authenticity, but come up with methods to have multiple checks throughout production. One of the things I was really concerned about was not to just do a check or talk to experts at the end when we can't change everything. We spoke to folks like Tanya DePass, of I Need Diverse Games and we spoke to Ana López, who's a professor of media and Cuban media at Tulane University, and even more. So I can stand by it.
“At the end of the day, it's up to people to decide. I'm not presumptuous to say we did it right. I know we did what we felt was our absolute best.”
