Former Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs Director Likens Large-Scale Game Development to Working With 'Flaming Barrels Falling Down From a Construction Site,' Months After Parting Ways With Ubisoft

Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell improvement seasoned Clint Hocking has described the acquisition of starring a ample squad wrong Ubisoft arsenic similar moving portion "flaming barrels [are] falling down from a operation site," akin to a country from the arcade crippled Donkey Kong.

Hocking made the remark arsenic portion of a lengthy treatment astir however his relation changed arsenic improvement squad sizes grew, starring him to consciousness little effectual portion starring Ubisoft's multi-studio effort connected Watch Dogs Legion.

Hocking and Ubisoft parted ways abruptly earlier this twelvemonth amid a reshuffle astatine the apical of the publisher's prized Assassin's Creed brand, contempt being successful the mediate of starring improvement connected Assassin's Creed Hexe. The franchise's adjacent blockbuster, Hexe is understood to inactive beryllium connected people to get successful 2027.

"On [Splinter Cell] Chaos Theory, I would conscionable locomotion implicit to the table of the idiosyncratic who was making a thing, and beryllium down with them and speech to them astir what they're doing," Hocking recalled, speaking via the FRVR podcast.

"We could person a conversation," helium continued, suggesting a script wherever helium was capable to connection granular input specified arsenic the placement of a circumstantial airy root to amended usher subordinate movement.

"But connected a immense crippled with 1,000 people, you spell into a gathering to reappraisal immoderate portion of contented — immoderate quest, say, oregon immoderate determination — and there's 30 radical successful the meeting," Hocking continued. "Directors and producers and task managers, and precise often adjacent the level decorator who built it isn't adjacent successful the meeting.

"And it's like, 'where's the idiosyncratic who worked connected this?' 'Ah, they're moving connected the happening they request to bash for their adjacent meeting. But don't interest we'll instrumentality notes and enactment it successful Jira for them.' So there's radical determination penning down what you say, making tasks of it.

"Then you decorativeness the review, you say, 'OK, erstwhile are we going to spot the iterations and the improvements we talked about?' And they're like, 'Well... truthful it's going to beryllium six weeks earlier we spot an iteration connected this due to the fact that the idiosyncratic who needs to bash the iteration is moving connected this [other thing].' Then, by the clip you get backmost determination six weeks later, possibly the full discourse is different. It precise often feels like... you cognize those flaming barrels that Donkey Kong throws down astatine you? Very often crippled improvement feels similar this watercourse of burning barrels falling down from a operation site."

Hocking initially joined Ubisoft to enactment connected the legendary 2002 stealth enactment escapade Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, which helium contributed to arsenic a decorator and scriptwriter. Hocking past served arsenic originative manager connected its follow-up, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, earlier holding the aforesaid relation connected Far Cry 2.

During a play distant from Ubisoft, Hocking served years astatine LucasArts, Valve, and Amazon. Hocking past returned to Ubisoft to service erstwhile again arsenic a originative director, this clip connected Watch Dogs: Legion, which launched successful 2020 to a mixed response. Following that, Hocking moved implicit to Assassin's Creed, and had been starring enactment connected Hexe retired of the company's Montreal studio. Legion remains Hocking's lone shipped rubric since Far Cry 2 backmost successful 2008.

Hocking's relation starring Assassin's Creed Hexe has present been taken up by Jean Guesdon, the Assassin's Creed franchise's Head of Content, who is seen arsenic a dependable and acquisition manus with a lengthy way grounds moving connected galore titles successful the series.

Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social