Were you left dazed and confused by last week's Watch Dogs info-dump, aka the "Doggening" and "Who Let The Dogs Out"? Allow us to clear the air. Ubisoft has penned a succinct little blog about the multiplayer, which comprises four modes, two of which see you slinking into another player's world and stealing "data" from their character's in-game smartphone. Lead gameplay designer Danny Belanger assures us, however, that there are mechanisms in place to stop player invasions breaking up the story. "If you're in a narrative experience, that's your narrative experience you're living in," he told the author of the blog. "We try to make sure it's when you're available and during your free-roaming and you're not doing something else that could be disrupted. That's when we turn it on and allow players to come in and invade you." The game will also pick up on your preferences, and slowly adjust the likelihood of an online encounter to suit. "We have a shield," Belanger went on. "So if someone comes into your game and hacks you, you're protected. It can't happen. The less you partake in the multiplayer, the longer the shield. "If you're not hacking people and you're not into that gameplay, the game will recognize and acknowledge that you're not into that. That's fine. The shield will slowly become many hours because we're trying to adapt. There are so many different players and we're trying to adapt to all of them and make an experience that works for them." Players who do partake in the multiplayer gain "Notoriety" by completing hacks. As I wrote in our Watch Dogs multiplayer hands-on last week, this translates to a higher leaderboard placing. Turns out you'll also get access to unique "skills" when you earn Notoriety. Belanger is confident, however, that players who avoid multiplayer entirely won't feel short-changed. "You can be disconnected and there's still a very big action-adventure open-world game. This just gives you more choice. It's the same for the companion app. If you're online there's more gameplay you can enjoy." For more on the companion app, read my list of things to do in Watch Dogs. Scroll down for full details of the multiplayer modes. Intrusion Belanger describes this as a "techno high-and-seek where you need to steal data from your opponent and get away. He can actually stop you if he finds you with the profiler." Decryption Those who want a highly competitive team-based throwdown will find it with this four-against-four PvP mode. It's fast, it's intense, and it's fully integrated into the open-world Chicago. See it in action in the video above. Tailing If you enter someone's game, you can follow and observe him. The goal is to gain valuable information before escaping. As Belanger explains, both the tailing and intrusion gameplay are built to "create a neutral-positive dynamic between two players that's in the universe of Watch Dogs. If someone comes into your game just to kill you, it's not fun." Racing As straightforward as it sounds. Players can use different cars and race on different tracks, all set within the game's world. Source - OXM This post has been promoted to an article
