Since the first Splinter Cell game based on the spy missions of the emblematic protagonist Sam Fisher (a highly trained special agent and voiced by one of the most famous villains in Hollywood - Michael Ironside) the series has come a long way to its fifth part - Conviction. This time Sam Fisher is working alone, pursuing the murderers of his daughter. We have lots of questions about this highly anticipated continuation of the Splinter Cell franchise and creative director Maxime Beland is with us ready to be interrogated by any means.



UGDB: Please introduce yourself briefly. What is your current job position? What is your experience in the game industry, etc?

My name is Maxime Beland and I am the creative director on Splinter Cell: Conviction. I have been designing games for Ubisoft Montreal since 2000. I have worked on well-knowed titles such as the Rainbow 6 series and Assassin’s Creed…





UGDB: The first time we heard about Splinter Cell: Conviction was back in September 2006. Then we saw Sam Fisher with a long hair and a full grown beard, trying to blend in a crowd full of people. In May 2008 rumors spread that the project was put on hold and its concept was taken back to the drawing board. Since that we saw radical gameplay and visual changes in the game. What were the reasons behind the decision to start from scratch again? Was it that back then the gameplay of Splinter Cell: Conviction seemed similar to your other big franchise Assassin’s Creed?

Maxime Beland: Ubisoft is totally committed to innovation and quality so when we started working on the game four years ago, the team was very dedicated to this and we drove innovation into every field, whether it is technological, gameplay or character design. Some of the risks we took in these areas paid off, such as the technology, but some didn’t work out as well as we’d hoped, such as some elements of the gameplay. We felt we went a little bit too far from what the Splinter Cell brand was about and we needed to refocus on the core values: stealth, tension, cool moves and so on.
Due to this, we kept all the great tools we already had, such as an amazing lighting engine and the dynamic environment, then we focused the gameplay more on the Splinter Cell values and strengths, such as light and shadows, athletic moves or gadgets.



UGDB: In the previous installments of the series Sam Fisher was a spy, then a double agent, now it seems that he has abandoned the NSA and we already know that he is looking for the killer of his daughter. What more can you tell us about the story behind Splinter Cell: Conviction?

MB: One of our great ambitions was to really push Sam’s character, and develop him. We had to rethink the way Splinter Cell stories were written and told. Furthermore, we have opened up the storyline and enabled Sam to develop as a character, instead of simply an agent carrying out orders. We wanted to present him like never before: a more human Sam, but also more brutal and direct than ever Now, Sam is driven by his own personal quests and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill them.

For years, Sam Fisher has been off the grid and on his own, chasing his daughter's murderer. But the trail leads to the last place Sam wants to see again: Washington D.C. Now Sam must work with old friends he can no longer trust, forced to save a country that used him and threw him away. Unless he can stand up against both a vast, faceless enemy and a corrupted Third Echelon, he'll never know what happened to his daughter - or himself…



UGDB: You’ve released a couple of gameplay videos that showed action scenes in both Malta and Washington D.C. Where else is the action going to take place in the new game?

MB: The game starts in Malta, but then moves onto Washington, D.C. where most of the game takes place. As well as developing Sam’s character, we wanted to move away from traditional SC Setting ( a secret headquarter in North Korea, an oil-refinery in the middle of the ocean…) and placing him in a more civilian populated setting.
The player will navigate through famous national landmarks of Washington and discover the hidden secrets within DC.

UGDB: What about Sam Fisher? What is going on with him? Obviously he looks older now and maybe the grief about his daughter’s death made him a bit sloppy or sluggish?

MB: Leaving Third Echelon to work for himself was a decision that involved many things: one of them being the change in his looks. He’s not wearing any special suit anymore and his casual wear allows him to better blend into the crowd during broad daylight.



UGDB: For the first time in the series, Sam will not take orders from the upper levels of some classified organization, so how this will affect the experience of the game?

MB: Indeed Sam does not take orders from any organisation anymore and this is aspect of the storyline is totally present in Splinter Cell: Conviction’s gameplay. In very simple words we wanted to give the “ruthless elite agent” fantasy to the player. We focused on keeping what made Splinter Cell special: intelligence in action. Splinter Cell is not and will never be a skilled base shooter at its core, it has to incorporate tactical elements, and be rewarding for those that are using it effectively. Meanwhile, we realized that gamers enjoy innovative gameplay and fast-paced action. Our ambition was to bridge the tactical elements with the needed action and pacing that would resonate with gamer’s expectation.

This leads to some brand new gameplay that are aiming precisely at this. The Mark and Execute is a really good example of this philosophy; Being granted a mark and execute, and using it well will require some thinking, while the execute part will be driven by providing the sense of being this ruthless agent. Additionally, the ability to use Last Known Position™ will allow players to strategically flank opponents. This gameplay encourages gamers to learn their surroundings and utilize strategic positioning, while still allowing the freedom to run head first into battle.



UGDB: It appears that Splinter Cell: Conviction is the first game that will feature the Israeli hand-to-hand combat system Krav Maga. Why did you choose to include that martial art style? Can we expect Sam Fisher to use it or this style will be only used by his enemies? If Sam is going to use Krav Maga as well how are you going to introduce this new skill to the storyline since this is the first time that we are going to see it being included in the series?

MB: We really wanted to find a martial art that corresponded to Sam and his desires of vengeance. Since the days he had left Third Echelon, he has become more brutal than ever. Krav Maga – which is very quick, brutal, efficient, and doesn’t obey to any rules – proved to be the perfect match with Sam’s state of mind. He will use a whole set of Krav Maga moves to take enemies down in the most efficient manner.

UGDB: What about weaponry? Should we expect some new hi-tech gadgets and weapons? Can you tell us about any new gameplay mechanics that will be connected to the use of a given weapon?

MB: There will be a large range of different weapons, from shotguns to sniper rifles and machine guns. Sam will be able to pick up any weapon in the game.

Since Sam is not working for Third Echelon anymore, he no longer has access to the same gadgets. For example, he has to use a rear mirror as a snake cam at the beginning of the game. However, he’s got some good underground contacts from his old days as an agent, and those will grant him access to an array of tools – including some old time favourites, and a lot of new ones you’ll discover later on.

But as you saw in our demos at E3 and TGS, there will be obviously some hi-tech gadgets. Some are new, such as an EMP grenade, allowing you to fry all the lights and stun your enemies in a certain radius. Compared to previous Splinter Cells, our ambition is not to focus on the quantity of different gadgets but more on gadgets that will be fun, cool to use for the players… Gadgets that you will love to use.



UGDB: Hiding in the darkness, blending into the shadows, stealthy kills… The stealth aspect has always been a major part of the Splinter Cell franchise, but after four games, how do you plan to keep the stealth experience fresh?

MB: Stealth is a genre with precise guidelines and rules: slow and very tactical. We wanted to expand this and bring the franchise into new territories. We are keeping what we love about stealth games (e.g. the tension, the suspense, the quiet kill), but increased the pace and the number of innovative features.
SCC became thrn a stealth and action game where players will have to opportunity to strategically decide how to approach all situations. Therefore, we are offering a different opportunity to the players vs. other games in the market... Gameplay loop in SCC is more action-paced oriented vs. previous Splinter Cell games. It is the creative direction we took for this episode as we wanted to bring a new vision of stealth-action gameplay to players. However, we are still a Splinter Cell, based on its acclaimed and beloved pillars of tension, tactic, outwitting and predation. The pacing is now up to the player – the game is what you want it to be: you can play either super slow and stealthy / or more straight-forward and action.



UGDB: Interrogation has always been a feature in the series (used to interrogate guards) and from the latest gameplay footage it seems much more complex. How has the interrogation evolved in Splinter Cell: Conviction?

MB: Sam is on a personal quest to find his daughter’s killer, and he’s been trained to the limits of human capability. He knows all about getting information out of people!

During each Interrogation, you have total control over the scene; you get to choose how the action plays out. You can move around in the environment and use anything you see to help get the information out of your target.

Some moves are more brutal than others, and every interrogation will be unique. When Sam is faced with people that he knows are involved with the death of his daughter, he doesn’t hold back. But, if it’s someone that he just needs a little information from, he wont be so over the top.

It also serves an important narrative purpose: it allows the player to learn more about the story and his objectives. These are real interactive narrative moments. We did lots of motion capture sessions for these, with tons of different interactions with the environment (animations, destructions…) specific to the location where the interrogation is being held.

Each interrogation will be a memorable moment for the player!

UGDB: You are working with Michael Ironside [the actor behind Sam Fisher’s voice] for the fifth time. What is to work with an actor who played some of the most fearsome villains on the big screen? Is he so scary in real life?

MB: Working with Michael Ironside has been fantastic. Not only is he a great actor, but he is totally in tune with where we are bringing Sam in this episode of his life. On top of that, what I found great was that he really thinks about the gamers. Sam Fisher’s character is really important for him, as he’s already played him in the fourth previous games. Often during recording sessions, when we felt we had a good take on a dialog he would request to try it differently, because he really wanted to “talk to the gamers”.



UGDB: For the first time in the Splinter Cell series Sam Fisher acts in such brutal fashion, showing no mercy to his enemies. What is the reason behind this? Is on a psychological basis as a result of his daughter being killed or you just wanted to have give the players an even more “mature” and brutal experience?

MB: Please have a look at the storyline (question 3) for this answer.

UGDB: We know that developers usually hate questions about the length of their game, but being journalists we hate the fact that you usually don’t want to comment such questions. So while we’re on the subject - what is the average length of Splinter Cell: Conviction going to be? :)

MB: As we are still working on the Multiplayer game mode and more details about it will be unveiled very soon, you’ll get your answer in time. :)



UGDB: It’s a popular trend amongst developers and publishers to expand their game universes with lots of additional media – animated films, comics, novels, live-action movies, etc. Sam Fisher already has four games behind his back and millions of fans around the globe. Do you have plans to expand the franchise beyond gaming? What happened to the movie that was in the works?

MB: For now our main and only focus is to develop our game in the best possible way.

UGDB: All of the previous games were released on all the major platforms. This one is coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC. Are there plans on releasing a PlayStation 3 version in the future or that will be the only platforms we’ll see Splinter Cell: Conviction on?

MB: Splinter Cell: Conviction will be out on February 25 in Europe and will be available on Xbox360 and PC.