For Honor is one of the biggest new Ubisoft games of recent years. A documentary now shows the development of the fighting game in which knights, Vikings, and samurais compete against each other. It also provides insight into the ugly side of game development.
The gaming industry is usually known for its secrecy. How stressful the job in the industry is, is usually only told by “anonymous sources” or former employees. It is all the more surprising that filmmaker Jean-Simon Chartier was allowed to make a documentary about the development of For Honor.
“Play Hard” showcases the development process, but also hard facts
What is For Honor? For Honor is an online hack-and-slash game set in a fantasy environment. The focus of For Honor is on the multiplayer mode, in which players confront each other in different classes, such as knights, samurais, or Vikings, in battle.
For Honor was first announced at E3 2015 and was released on February 14, 2017, for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
What is “Play Hard”? “Play Hard” is the documentary by filmmaker Jean-Simon Chartier, who premiered it at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. The film follows the early development story of For Honor, which Chartier was allowed to accompany for six months.
Afterward, Chartier was excluded from the development work because some people on the team allegedly felt uncomfortable with his presence. Eight months later, when For Honor was approved for completion by Ubisoft, Chartier was allowed to return, and the filming continued.
An author from the US site Kotaku has seen the documentary and summarized his impressions of the film. We will orient ourselves based on this article.
What is “Play Hard” about? The documentary mainly revolves around Creative Director Jason Vandenberghe, who is credited with the original creative vision of For Honor. Also featured are Stephane Cardin, the game’s producer, and Luc Duchaine, who is responsible for developing the brand behind the game.
The film does not judge the differences between the individuals, but shows the emotional burden of development. The creative process weighs heavily on each of the three main players in different ways:
- Vandenberghe is shown feeling as if his artistic child is being taken from him.
- Cardin was so stressed by the balancing act between private life and work that he underwent therapy for a few weeks in December 2016.
- Lastly, there is Duchaine, who traveled the world to engage players with the idea of For Honor. At the same time, he felt guilty for not seeing his family enough. He nearly ate himself into a heart attack due to stress.
Development does not seem to have gone smoothly
The documentary hints at drama: A tragic role seems to be played by Jason Vandenberghe in the documentary. It is suggested that by the time For Honor was completed, a rift had developed between the Creative Director and Ubisoft. However, the film never goes into detail about what exactly caused this break.
The core team began working on For Honor in 2013, and Vandenberghe mentioned at that time that he had wanted to make the game for ten years. At the height of development, however, more than 500 different people were working on it. The documentary suggests that Vandenberghe’s relationship with For Honor began to break at this moment.
In a blog post in May 2017, Vandenberghe wrote that he was planning a sabbatical year and would later consider which project he would take on next at Ubisoft. Shortly thereafter, he announced that he had left the studio to join ArenaNet, the creators of Guild Wars 2. Vandenberghe had been at Ubisoft for over ten years and worked on games from Red Steel 2 to Far Cry 3.
