One talking point that comes up almost every time a shooter game is released is the topic of video game violence, despite studies debunking any link between gaming and being violent. With Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint shaping up to be one of 2019’s most buzzed about titles, I decided to talk about this very topic with one of the game’s writers and its military consultant, Special Forces Media Sergeant Emil Daubon.
When I ask him about the topic of video game violence, his thoughts on it given both his extensive experience in both the United States Special Forces and in writing a shooter game like Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Emil doesn’t think much about it.
“I don’t know if I’m qualified to have an opinion about video game violence,” he muses, “truthfully, this is a fantasy and it’s a fantasy based on something people want to experience.”
“What we’re doing is providing players the opportunity to immerse themselves in a fantasy that embodies the essence of that [soldier] persona, and that’s it. There’s no way you can ever emulate combat and that’s never been the point, the point it’s always been the fantasy.”
Emil’s response to my question about video game violence certainly aligns with how Ubisoft approached Ghost Recon Breakpoint compared to past titles.
Whereas previous Ghost Recon entries were set in real world locations, Breakpoint is set in a fictional island called Auroa and this allowed for greater flexibility in terms of the storytelling and gameplay mechanics.
“A fictional location gives [Ubisoft] unlimited licence to expand on it however we see fit,” says Emil, “we don’t have to justify some new, curious biome, it’s our world, it’s a fantasy we created.”
“With post-launch content planned, we wanted the ability to expand the story, the gameplay, all aspects of the game in whatever direction [Ubisoft] felt was necessary to continue the fantasy, the immersion of the Ghosts.”
While Ubisoft originally brought Emil on to do “systemic” writing for Ghost Recon Breakpoint (the callout signs from the AI, comments random non-playable characters make), his Special Forces experience made him the perfect person to consult on the game and his role eventually evolved to include working on things like missions and combat details.
While accuracy from a military perspective was important, Emil stressed that full-on authenticity wasn’t what Ubisoft were going for due to technical and storytelling constraints.
“Often times it’s just the way someone holds a gun, it might not fit with the aesthetic they’re trying to achieve,” says Emil, “my job isn’t to lay down the law of what is or isn’t real, my job is to take the director’s vision and make it viable within a realm of authenticity.”
Aside from slightly inaccurate gun-handling moments in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, players shouldn’t expect the games and missions to operate like they would in real-life either. Emil says he did draw on his military experience, there actually wasn’t as much emphasis on accuracy on the minute details.
“I didn’t feel that pursuing it in that [realistic] way would be effective,” recalls Emil, “there were countless times in development when there were certain things [Ubisoft] wanted to achieve and I was able to take my experience, my training and just say ‘when I was in a similar situation, this happened or I did this, maybe we can find a balance between [realism] and [fantasy].”
Given how shooters like Ghost Recon and Call of Duty are all bringing in real life soldiers and experienced military personnel as consultants, I wondered what would set Breakpoint apart from all the other games of the same ilk.
After some thinking, Emil points to the game’s narrative – Breakpoint has players playing as a Ghost Recon leader who goes up against a former brother-in-arms who has gone rogue – as the standout aspect.
“I honestly feel the narrative experience of Ghost Recon Breakpoint is more immersive than you may find in any other shooter games,” opines Emil.
“The mechanics are there, they’re vastly improved over the last game, on top of that [Ubisoft] have now created this really compelling, deep backstory that drives the gameplay.”