After Massive announced several comics and a novel at ComicCon, there are now comments on their influence on the development of The Division 2. In the game itself, agents will operate almost like detectives. However, the story will also be told through a novel and comics.
The Division 2 was present at ComicCon. A cooperation with Dark Horse Comics has been confirmed, and a novel is also in the works. All these media are intended to be linked with the story from The Division.
Despite ongoing development of The Division 2 – Massive involved in comics and books
Although the developers’ focus is on the game and they largely write the story independently, the influence of the books is important for the team.
Active exchange of ideas: The exchange between Massive and the authors is high:
- What parts from which story fit which medium?
- What are the weaknesses and strengths that the narratives bring with them?
Different media allow for different styles. Video games have their advantages, such as creating an open game world, non-linear gameplay, and co-op experiences.
Books and comics tell their stories in different ways, allowing for more detail. This provides the opportunity to further expand the Division universe in various ways.
The Division as detectives in Washington D.C.
While we accompany certain protagonists in the books and comics, the story in the game will be more designed to create an original story.
Washington D.C. tells its story through the environment: The game world itself tells a story through its design in a passive way. A destroyed environment automatically raises questions:
- What happened here?
- Who was involved?
- What were the reasons?
These stories are always underlying yet present, while players move through this world, complete missions, and experience the overarching story. Still, it influences every one of those activities.
Considering this is one of the most important aspects for Björling when incorporating specific locations and missions into the story.
Division agents on a trail? He describes players as detectives, piecing together clues bit by bit, like a puzzle. The open narrative structure allows for this to be experienced in any order until a bigger picture emerges.
You’re actually more of a detective at a crime scene, really, and you try to piece things together and you build a narrative out of a lot of different puzzle pieces. And since it’s completely open, you can pick them up in any order, and hopefully by the time you’ve collected a certain number of puzzle pieces, you start to get a bigger picture.
In books, other things are the focus: Novels can add depth to the stories: In a game, no one wants to hear an agent’s inner monologue. In books, however, this is easily possible. One can focus even more on personal fates.
The change of seasons opens up new possibilities
Against monotony and as a new beginning: Gerighty justifies the change of seasons with the lack of variety. While New York is a great city, it geographically lacks the possibilities to make the setting more diverse. Additionally, the monotonous coloring of winter is an issue.
I think that New York, with all of its qualities, is a city that doesn’t propose a huge amount of variety in terms of playing space. And winter is fairly monotone, in terms of color as well.
The new setting and summer should symbolize a colorful new beginning.
These books and comics await Division fans
In collaboration with Dark Horse and Alexander Irving,
- A large lore book with background information on the Division universe, which is set to be released on May 19, 2019,
- A comic book series, which comes from Dark Horse and is set to be released alongside the lore book over the next year,
- And a sequel to the novel “New York Collapse” by Alexander Irving, which is also scheduled for release in March 2019
The release of The Division 2 is planned for March 15, 2019, for Xbox One and PS4.
Will you check out the books and comics?
