TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 2,005
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Is that developer actually lazy for leaning on an old reload animation, or are they simply smart?
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Do you remember Far Cry Primal? Ubisoft’s prehistoric spinoff was pitched as an intriguing departure from the formula, in which players would leave their jeeps and helicopters behind to embrace life at the dawn of the Mesolithic period. They would tread lightly between the Carpathian mountains, taking down saber-toothed cats as a club-wielding tribesman with the voice of Adam Jensen from Deus Ex.
Then, within the first week of release, players started to experience deja vu. They noticed a familiar curvature to Far Cry Primal’s waterways, and a well-worn pattern to the paths that crisscrossed the Oros valley. This, despite the geographical and historical disparity, was roughly the same map they’d conquered in Far Cry 4.
The controversy was a source of frustration to Alex Hutchinson, Far Cry 4's director, who was still working at Ubisoft during the development of Primal. "I kept saying to them, 'Just announce it, because someone will figure it out. Just say it's the same place 40,000 years ago. And then it's cool.' They didn't say anything and then everyone was like, 'Cheap developers!', as always."
The Far Cry Primal map debacle wasn't the first of its kind. A couple of years earlier, Activision released Call of Duty: Ghosts, and fans picked up on the fact that its opening mimicked the motions of Modern Warfare 2's ending—reusing a highly specific set of animations in which two limping and injured characters were escorted across a blasted warzone. At the time, the scene was viewed as evidence that the series had lost its power to surprise—a major PR blow for an FPS sold on the promise of expensively-rendered spectacle.
For a while there, asset reuse became a byword for laziness in the eyes of many gamers. And this was a big problem for developers, who relied on an iterative model to create better sequels to their games; it was the groundwork provided by previous entries that allowed them to build higher, dedicating time to new features and ideas.
"In Assassin's Creed, animations move through multiple iterations," Hutchinson says. "Black Flag reused like 80% of Assassin's Creed 3. So there's always some reuse, at least in the big studios."
Search YouTube for videos on asset reuse today, however, and you'll notice the tone has turned. The platform...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Do you remember Far Cry Primal? Ubisoft’s prehistoric spinoff was pitched as an intriguing departure from the formula, in which players would leave their jeeps and helicopters behind to embrace life at the dawn of the Mesolithic period. They would tread lightly between the Carpathian mountains, taking down saber-toothed cats as a club-wielding tribesman with the voice of Adam Jensen from Deus Ex.
Then, within the first week of release, players started to experience deja vu. They noticed a familiar curvature to Far Cry Primal’s waterways, and a well-worn pattern to the paths that crisscrossed the Oros valley. This, despite the geographical and historical disparity, was roughly the same map they’d conquered in Far Cry 4.
The controversy was a source of frustration to Alex Hutchinson, Far Cry 4's director, who was still working at Ubisoft during the development of Primal. "I kept saying to them, 'Just announce it, because someone will figure it out. Just say it's the same place 40,000 years ago. And then it's cool.' They didn't say anything and then everyone was like, 'Cheap developers!', as always."
The Far Cry Primal map debacle wasn't the first of its kind. A couple of years earlier, Activision released Call of Duty: Ghosts, and fans picked up on the fact that its opening mimicked the motions of Modern Warfare 2's ending—reusing a highly specific set of animations in which two limping and injured characters were escorted across a blasted warzone. At the time, the scene was viewed as evidence that the series had lost its power to surprise—a major PR blow for an FPS sold on the promise of expensively-rendered spectacle.
For a while there, asset reuse became a byword for laziness in the eyes of many gamers. And this was a big problem for developers, who relied on an iterative model to create better sequels to their games; it was the groundwork provided by previous entries that allowed them to build higher, dedicating time to new features and ideas.
"In Assassin's Creed, animations move through multiple iterations," Hutchinson says. "Black Flag reused like 80% of Assassin's Creed 3. So there's always some reuse, at least in the big studios."
Search YouTube for videos on asset reuse today, however, and you'll notice the tone has turned. The platform...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?