At Gamescom 2018, Jürgen was able to try out the pirate MMO Skull and Bones and talk to the developers from Ubisoft. There, they revealed how Skull and Bones aims to avoid the sad fate of Sea of Thieves.
This is how Skull and Bones plays: I have been waiting a long time for an opportunity to play the pirate epic Skull and Bones myself, and at Gamescom 2018, it was finally time. And I was not disappointed. The naval battles are fast, dynamic, and action-packed.
The tragic fate of Sea of Thieves: However, during the wild naval battles, I always had the fate of Sea of Thieves in mind. Here too, it was about pirates, and the game made a great first impression. But then it quickly sank and was lost in the deep sea of irrelevance due to a lack of content and massive griefing – at least for the time being.
When I finally had the opportunity to speak with Justin Farren, the Creative Director of Ubisoft Singapore, I had a few burning questions on my mind.
The features of Skull and Bones
Mein-MMO: “How do you want to keep the game feeling fresh and prevent it from ending up like Sea of Thieves?”
Justin: “Players need a strong motivation; they don’t want to be bored. They have to be engaged in a motivating progression. They need social interaction opportunities, and they need us as developers to tackle toxic behavior.
In that area, some players are surprisingly creative, as seen with griefing in the Dark Zone of The Division. Fortunately, we at Ubisoft can coordinate with other internal teams and draw on their experience in dealing with griefers.”
Skull and Bones will offer Seasons
Mein-MMO: “Is there any kind of road map or plan for how you will continue the game after release?”
Justin: “Skull and Bones will be a ‘Live Service Game’ [a game that continues to be developed and updated]. We will develop it in the context of ‘Seasons’. In each Season, there will be new content, new challenges, and new regions for you to experience.
Many online games are going this route nowadays to keep players engaged. So we will constantly have new things, including cosmetics for captains and ships. Additionally, there will be a progressing timeline, meaning the scenario in the game world will evolve.
There will also likely be certain rewards and items that you can only earn in a specific Season and will never be available again. For example, if we featuring a legendary NPC pirate in a Season. Whoever manages to defeat them might receive a cosmetic item that no one else has.”
How will they prevent griefing?
Mein-MMO: “Players can spontaneously form groups in the open world, but they can also betray each other and stab each other in the back. This is very ‘pirate-like’, but how do you want to prevent griefing?”
Justin: “We definitely have to assume from the start that toxic behavior exists. We cannot pretend it doesn’t. Therefore, we need to provide players with systems that give them a sense of trust among their group members.
In our demo video from E3, it comes across that you can betray and backstab at any time. However, in the game, we want to ensure that you don’t just join a group to be ambushed shortly after.
That doesn’t sound like a fair encounter. We will therefore give players the ability to determine how groups operate and not force them into unfair situations.”
Mein-MMO: “Ah, so something like a cooldown period that is triggered when you want to break up the group and during which you are still invulnerable?”
Justin: “Exactly something like that! We want to incorporate betrayal and treachery as a positive part of the game that can be enjoyable. As a fun PvP element. Not as an expression of toxic player behavior to which one is helplessly exposed.”
The possibilities of the harbor
Mein-MMO: “Will you always be stuck to the ship or will you also be able to go ashore?”
Justin: “In our demo here, you can only stand at the helm of your ship. But in the release version, we will have a fully buildable pirate hideout. There, you can walk freely and visit places like taverns, weapon shops, and shipwrights.
Here, you will be able to make changes to your ships and pirate captain, customize your crew, and do many other things. You can walk around freely on foot and check everything out here.”
Mein-MMO: “You could also incorporate mini-games like sword fights or drinking games into this pirate hideout?”
Justin: “We want to integrate the hideout as a meaningful element into the game and continue to expand it with features and functions. Who knows what else is to come?”
Mein-MMO: “Skull and Bones originally came from Assassin’s Creed, so it would surely also be possible to implement features from this game?”
Justin: “We work closely with other Ubisoft studios to learn from them. About 60 percent of our team has worked on the Assassin’s Creed franchise. So we can draw on a lot of internal know-how.”
Mein-MMO: “Will there actually be a story?”
Justin: “We do not have an offline single-player campaign, but there will be specific places, people, and events that will play a role over the course of the Seasons.”
Jürgen’s conclusion – Hopefully, more will come
This will determine the success of Skull and Bones: If Skull and Bones is to work as a pirate MMO, then it needs to have regular content. Otherwise, the raids on the open ocean will surely become dull and boring quickly.
The developers’ plans for regularly new Seasons sound promising, as long as they bring variety each time and do not take too long to arrive.
I am positively impressed by the apparently close collaboration of the various Ubisoft studios. This way, the combined know-how of the Assassin’s Creed and For Honor teams can be drawn upon, and possibly even further game modes like sword fights or stealth missions in enemy ports can be incorporated. That’s just part of a pirate game.
But those are probably still dreams for the future for Skull and Bones.
