Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Ubisoft Doesn't "Want To Make A Political Statement Specifically About Cuba" With Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 flirts with reality while striving to do its own thing.

www.thegamer.com

Speaking to TheGamer, narrative director Navid Khavari talked to us about the island of Yara and the circumstances behind its inevitable arrival of revolution. He wanted to pay homage to fighters from the past, while also crafting a narrative that wishes to avoid drawing on inspiration from similar events found in reality.

“The original inspiration was Guerilla Warfare and what is that guerilla fantasy, which is obviously tied to revolution. When you talk about guerillas, you think of the guerillas in the 1950s and 1960s, we actually went down there to speak to actual guerilla fighters who fought back then, and we just really fell in love with their stories,” Khavari tells us.

“But we also fell in love with the culture and people we met. When we came out of that, it wasn’t that we felt we had to do Cuba, we realised it’s a complicated island and our game doesn’t want to make a political statement about what’s happening in Cuba specifically. Beyond that, we’re drawing inspiration from guerilla movements around the world and throughout history. For us, it felt like doing the island of Yara would help us tell that story while being very open with our politics and inspiration.”

Although it seemingly attempts to disassociate from political themes, Far Cry 6 still intends to tell an engaging story, and one that isn’t afraid to explore the deeper circumstances of a revolution. “A revolution is complex, and the people you’re going to engage with are also complex. I use this line of philosophy, which is that every character has their own heartbeat, you just have to find it,” Khavari says, who also wants the game to strike a balance between serious storytelling and engaging action. “We have this melting pot of motivational complexity where we tried to translate that into the gameplay and the story. So tonally, it sort of already existed. But for us, thematically, unifying that into the guerilla fantasy felt pretty natural.”

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Ubisoft Doesn't "Want To Make A Political Statement Specifically About Cuba" With Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 flirts with reality while striving to do its own thing.

www.thegamer.com

Speaking to TheGamer, narrative director Navid Khavari talked to us about the island of Yara and the circumstances behind its inevitable arrival of revolution. He wanted to pay homage to fighters from the past, while also crafting a narrative that wishes to avoid drawing on inspiration from similar events found in reality.

“The original inspiration was Guerilla Warfare and what is that guerilla fantasy, which is obviously tied to revolution. When you talk about guerillas, you think of the guerillas in the 1950s and 1960s, we actually went down there to speak to actual guerilla fighters who fought back then, and we just really fell in love with their stories,” Khavari tells us.

“But we also fell in love with the culture and people we met. When we came out of that, it wasn’t that we felt we had to do Cuba, we realised it’s a complicated island and our game doesn’t want to make a political statement about what’s happening in Cuba specifically. Beyond that, we’re drawing inspiration from guerilla movements around the world and throughout history. For us, it felt like doing the island of Yara would help us tell that story while being very open with our politics and inspiration.”

Although it seemingly attempts to disassociate from political themes, Far Cry 6 still intends to tell an engaging story, and one that isn’t afraid to explore the deeper circumstances of a revolution. “A revolution is complex, and the people you’re going to engage with are also complex. I use this line of philosophy, which is that every character has their own heartbeat, you just have to find it,” Khavari says, who also wants the game to strike a balance between serious storytelling and engaging action. “We have this melting pot of motivational complexity where we tried to translate that into the gameplay and the story. So tonally, it sort of already existed. But for us, thematically, unifying that into the guerilla fantasy felt pretty natural.”

 

[Wunray]

b4 you know.....

 

[KungFucius]

How can a story about a revolution not have political themes? Isn't revolution a political theme?

They are just so afraid of morons that get all bent out of shape when they see something in a game that they think is shining a negative light on something they support. The story in these games is just there to motivate the mindless killing. It's not a statement other than lets make the bad guy bad so you want to shoot him in the balls and then the head.

I wish they just made every one as silly as Blood Dragon, or made a Blood Dragon version for each proper FC so I wouldn't have to see such stupid shit.

 

[01011001]

grow a spine ffs...

 

[jigglet]

grow a spine ffs...

They sold it to Tencent.

 

[HAL-01]

You play as a guerrilla fighter thats part of an organized group fighting against a fascist south american dictator and his army

But theres nothing political about this we swear pinky promise

 

[IntentionalPun]

For us, it felt like doing the island of Yara would help us tell that story while being very open with our politics and inspiration

They are just saying they are making a generic story while being open that it's a political statement.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Same line they took with Far Cry 5.

 

[j0hnnix]

 

[Phase]

grow a spine ffs...

These certainly seem rare nowadays.

 

[Sander Cohen]

History shouldn’t be political, it’s just things that happened in the past. And in 1959 there was Cuban Revolution where Marxist guerillas overthrew Batista government.

So they fell in love with stories of those fighters. Cool. It’s not like you have to get approval from US government for your game.

 

[e&e]

They are not trying to make a political statement doesn’t mean “Our game doesn’t have any politics”. Reading this threads reaction is something else.

 

[Plantoid]

I couldn't care less, I just wanna shot people

 

[ACESHIGH]

How about hiring more codemonkeys to optimize your pc ports better instead? That would be quite "revolutionary" from a company whose slogan should be:

CPU0 = 100%

 

[Wandering Leopard]

I thought this is exactly what people wanted, developers to make games without any political ideas or particular themes.

In any case, developers should be free to create and express whatever ideas they want; and if I have no interest in it, I can simply choose not to buy their game.

 

[Chiggs]

I couldn't care less, I just wanna shot people

This is such a maddening post.

On one hand, the author nails "couldn't care less," which nearly everyone always screws up by using "could care less," which makes them sound like a moron.

But on the other hand, the author botches "shoot" by using "shot."

Part of me wonders if this isn't an incredible troll that has already cost me precious time. Hats off to you, good sir.

****

And now back to your regularly scheduled Far Cry 6 thread.

 

[rolandss]

Honestly who cares, it’s a game. It’s sad they feel like they can’t make a political statement. If they want to make a political statement and its part of the story, go ahead. Why not give us a game about socialist revolutionaries or something. If it’s fun and engaging why not? You’d think most people who play video games these days are old enough to cope with different stories, themes and statements without their world crashing down around them. I don’t like all this tip toeing around stuff like this. People want to say games are art then get pissed off when studios exercise creative freedom.

 

[IntentionalPun]

The OP really should bold, and make bigger this part of the quote:

"while being very open with our politics"

They outright say the game is very openly political lol

The article is so click baity.. they didn't want to set it in Cuba specifically, that's it.

 

[CitizenZ]

Did they talk to that husband and wife who were held hostage for 18 months by guerrillas in Somalia? Or how about the parents of soldiers who were decapacitated by guerrillas in Afghanistan? No? Well, i guess they did their usual review analysis which equals none.

 

[Xenon]

Having a game with a political story, sure np.

Having a game infused with creators personal politics front and center, no thanks.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

I understand exactly what they mean by not making a political statement even if the game is full of political themes. What's so hard to understand about this? This topic comes up everytime for Ubi for some reason. Are people braindead?

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Ubisoft Responds to Criticism Over Far Cry 6's Politics

Last week, Far Cry 6 narrative director Navid Khavari told The Gamer that Ubisoft's upcoming game [...]

comicbook.com

Last week, Far Cry 6 narrative director Navid Khavari told The Gamer that Ubisoft's upcoming game will avoid making political statements, despite taking strong inspiration from the history of Cuba. That interview led to some pushback from gamers, who pointed out that it's nearly impossible to make a game about guerilla warfare without making some kind of political message. In a new blog post, Khavari clarified his previous statements, indicating that it would be impossible for the game to avoid making any kind of political statement, but the game won't be a direct commentary on the history of Cuba or its present.

"What players will find is a story that’s point-of-view attempts to capture the political complexity of a modern, present-day revolution within a fictional context. We have attempted to tell a story with action, adventure, and heart, but that also isn’t afraid to ask hard questions," said Khavari. "Far Cry is a brand that in its DNA seeks to have mature, complex themes balanced with levity and humor. One doesn’t exist without the other, and we have attempted to achieve this balance with care. My only hope is that we are willing to let the story speak for itself first before forming hard opinions on its political reflections."

 

[namekuseijin]

all their games are leftist propaganda

I still enjoy some.

 

[hybrid_birth]

And grass doesn't want to grow. I wish it didn't because my lazy ass has to mow it.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Eh I don't think anyone cares either way.

Look Ubisoft don't want to upset anyone it's as simple as that. They're just saying they're trying not to have a specific political message.

Which of course is translation for: this is a Ubisoft game with a Ubisoft story
Which is translation for: boooooorrrrrriiiinnnngg

 

[Shmunter]

Legit political topics are desirable. Post modern Identity politics as decided upon by sheltered no life experience children are not.

 

[FUBARx89]

Ubisoft keep reiterating their games aren't political.

I'm sure somewhere someone believes them.

 

[Renozokii]

Ubisoft keep reiterating their games aren't political.

I'm sure somewhere someone believes them.

They stated this game is political but will not be making a direct political statement on real life Cuba, which is fair. You people both have the reading comprehension of literal children and the grumpiness of an 80 year old man.

 

[Winter John]

Did they talk to that husband and wife who were held hostage for 18 months by guerrillas in Somalia? Or how about the parents of soldiers who were decapacitated by guerrillas in Afghanistan? No? Well, i guess they did their usual review analysis which equals none.

Why would they talk to Somalians or Afghans when their story is about Cubans?

 

[kikkis]

For me it's about intent. If the developers intent isn't to get you to think about politics let alone to get you lean some way in politics, game isn't political. Everything is political is just so dumb statement. I mean do you call game where dog shits on streets, that got you thinking about environmental issues and voting green party political?

 

[Zeroing]

For me it's about intent. If the developers intent isn't to get you to think about politics let alone to get you lean some way in politics, game isn't political. Everything is political is just so dumb statement. I mean do you call game where dog shits on streets, that got you thinking about environmental issues and voting green party political?

It’s about a revolution! It implies breaking the status quo, it’s often associated with political change! the French Revolution, the revolution of the carnations in Portugal etc even the industrial revolution was about politics and power!

Ubisoft gets away with the “inspired by real events” meaning it’s just the shooting game with guerilla tropes we see over and over…

so yeah I agree although it seems political, can we really expect a gaming studio to make a video game and a statement about the world? Yeah but not from Ubisoft

their idea of a game with impact is open world filled with collectibles!

 

[ANDS]

I see nothing wrong with this. "Political" obviously means "we're doing a commentary/critique of real world situations. . ." Just because I have a game with real world elements doesn't mean I'm trying to make some sort of statement. Maybe they just want to tell an interesting story. It's the same with FC5 - there was nothing in there that I found remotely political despite it being timely and focused on religious nuts in middle America.

 

[Rest]

Lol, are there people that are actually expecting "topical" content from Farcry? "Cults are bad" is about the edgiest thing I can remember in a Farcry game, and it's far from edgy.

 

[MrA]

Wasn't the bad guy in far cry 5 right the whole time?
And pagin min was definitely the least evil of the 3 in far cry 4 (personally I think the wait 10 minutes ending should be cannon)
I wouldnt be surprised if the guerillas are much worse than the antagonist

 

[FUBARx89]

They stated this game is political but will not be making a direct political statement on real life Cuba, which is fair. You people both have the reading comprehension of literal children and the grumpiness of an 80 year old man.

Part of the british charm init. Stiff upper lip and miserable.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

In the title:

" But Doesn't "Want To Make A Political Statement"

Then in the article, quoting the developer:

For us, it felt like doing the island of Yara would help us tell that story while being very open with our politics and inspiration

So these people can write, but they can't read or understand their interviews? No wonder people don't trust them media.

 

[TexMex]

No “actual guerilla fighter” is doubling as a consultant for Ubisoft as a video game consultant.

 

[nikolino840]

You play as a guerrilla fighter thats part of an organized group fighting against a fascist south american dictator and his army

But theres nothing political about this we swear pinky promise

 

[GuinGuin]

Remember when FarCry 5 was almost cancelled because of Christian backlash?

 

[NullZ3r0]

I find it odd that in 2021, in the Era of the Woke Corporation, that a company doesn't want to make a political statement. It must not be a popular political statement then.

 

[TonyK]

I love guerrilla. And Naughty Dog, Santa Monica...

 

[GuinGuin]

This thread isn't accurate. They said they didn't want to make a political statement about Cuba specifically.

Far Cry 6 narrative director issues statement after politics backlash

Far Cry 6 narrative director Navid Khavari has issued a lengthy statement on the politics of the game, following a back…

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Shodan09]

pOlITiCs Iz BaNnEd

 

[Amiga]

In real life guerilla fighters are bandits who murder and pillage in a scale so large it destroyers a whole country and gets millions of people dead or displaced.

 

[Vaelka]

People always come across as fucking retarded when they talk about this.
There is a huge difference between something being intentionally political in the sense that the writers etc sat down with a clear political message that they intentionally wanted to send, and a game just taking place in something inspired by the real world like most of these games with realistic graphics and visuals do.

Whenever someone goes '' EvErYtHiNg Is PoLiTiCaL '' you just sound like an obnoxious fucking moron.
Yes congratulations you engage with politics like a five year old and think that you're super clever because you managed to read some completely surface level political reference into Mario.
It's both irritating because of how obnoxious it is and also because it actually diminishes the cases when it is intentionally political.

These settings etc in Ubisoft games should be thought of more as backdrops for the gameplay, and it's a lot easier to just take something from real life and use it as reference than it is to create something completely new.
Ubisoft didn't sit down and choose the setting and characters etc for the specific reason to do some deep political analysis and messaging.

 

[MHubert]

So these people can write, but they can't read or understand their interviews? No wonder people don't trust them media.

lol this is just perfect

 

[NahaNago]

My skeptical side says the game was always going to be political in some way, like most AAA games, and the other side is like these folks of course tried to talk to guerilla fighters when making the game and of course would fall in love with the local culture and people (typical western foreigner traveler response). Any game where you fight some major power and you are some small rebel fighters is going to be somewhat political even if you don't specifically aim to be. Plus everything is political these days.

 

[namekuseijin]

their idea of a game with impact is open world filled with collectibles!

like botw

 

[Birdo]

I wonder if Atari spoke to archeologists before making Pitfall.