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Splinter Cell: Double Agent Interview

-- January 17, 2006 by: David Craddock

Splinter Cell has been a big hit ever since Ubisoft introduced Sam Fisher to the gaming world in 2002. Not too long ago Ubisoft announced that the fourth installment, Double Agent, was on the way - promising to "revolutionise and reinvent the spy action genre by introducing an unprecedented double agent concept and an entirely new breed of game play". Of course, we had to know more! Ubisoft was kind enough to grant me access to Daniel Roy, Associate Producer on the Xbox 360 version of the game, as well as Arnaud Carrette, Senior Producer for the multiplayer aspects of the game. Daniel tackled my single player inquiries, while Arnaud stuck to what he does best and provided answers to the multiplayer questions.

Shack: Sam Fisher seems a lot darker and moodier than in previous Splinter Cell installments. What accounts for this change?

Daniel Roy: Sam goes through a hell of a lot emotionally at the start of Splinter Cell Double Agent. His daughter Sarah was killed in a drunk driving accident while he was away on a mission, leaving him suddenly without a family. His outlook is darker than before, but he's still trying to do what he always has: the right thing. Problem is, it's not so easy to say what's 'right' anymore.

Shack: Screenshots show Sam as being in prison. How did he end up there?

Daniel Roy: Sam is planted as a prisoner in Ellsworth Federal Penitentiary in order to establish contact with a member of a criminal organization called the JBA. Third Echelon has been meaning to crack the JBA for a while, and Fisher is the best man for the job. Sam goes undercover using his real name, since he has a public record as an ex-Navy SEAL. One highly-publicized bank robbery turned messy later, and Sam is incarcerated at Ellsworth.

Shack: Who is James Washington, and why is he important to the storyline?

Daniel Roy: Jamie Washington is the JBA man with whom Sam must establish contact. Sam's mission is to escape from Ellsworth, but more importantly, use this escape as a way to create a bond with Jamie and thus get an 'in' with the JBA. When they meet, Washington is in jail serving consecutive life sentences. They develop a strong bond, with Jamie taking to Sam as an older brother of sorts.

Shack: In jail, Sam obviously won't have access to his night vision goggles, weaponry, or other gadgets. What game play mechanics were created for use in the prison stage, and perhaps others?

Daniel Roy: Removing the goggles from Sam in some missions was a big decision for us, but it turned out to be a very liberating one. In the case of the Jail level, removing the goggles means we have to step away from the 'traditional' Splinter Cell environment: darkness and silence. Instead, Sam has to rely a lot more on distractions to proceed. Good thing is, he has the mother of all distractions at his disposal, with a full riot breaking out across the jail. The use of environmental distractions is a game mechanic we have reused a couple of time throughout Double Agent, in drastically different ways.

Shack: How will Sam and James work in tandem to escape from prison? Will there be co-op moves they can use, for example?

Daniel Roy: Jamie acts as a full co-op partner to Sam throughout the Jail level; sometimes he will suggest a strategy or a particular route, and he is capable of sneaking by hostile NPCs or engaging them successfully in a firefight. For instance, at the beginning of the Jail level, Sam can give Jamie the short ladder so he can reach a catwalk, and access a security guard post. Sam can then wait for Jamie to sneak up to the guard inside, and take out the one on his side of the bulletproof glass in a simultaneous take-down.

Shack: Once out of prison, Sam becomes inducted into the JBA to work undercover for the NSA. Will there be instances when mission objectives for both organizations will be relatively the same, thus allowing Sam to kill two birds with one stone?

Daniel Roy: It does happen, but overall, there are few instances where the JBA and Third Echelon see eye-to-eye. Keep in mind that the JBA is making its moves towards a terrorist attack against America, so the NSA is looking for every possible way in which they can throw a wrench in their plans without awakening their suspicions. Most of the time, Sam has to deal with simultaneously protecting his cover while also pleasing his Third Echelon bosses.

Shack: Inevitably, objectives will conflict, and a choice will have to be made. How will choosing one organization over the other affect the game? Could you provide an example?

Daniel Roy: Let me first say that Sam never 'chooses' the JBA over Third Echelon. We've endeavored to stay away from this 'Good vs. Evil' simplistic duality. The choices Sam is faced with are more between his sense of morality, and the difficult things he has to do for his mission.

As an example, early on in the game, Sam is ordered by the JBA to shoot an innocent man. Does he refuse, thus seriously compromising his cover and his chance to gain the JBA's trust? Or does he go along and commit this act of necessary evil, with the knowledge that this sacrifice might be what is needed to later save thousands of innocents? Shoot the innocent, and the JBA will entrust him with greater access to their facilities… but Third Echelon might lose faith in Sam’s ability to come through, and withdraw their technological support.

Shack: Will the game have multiple endings that will be determined by the player's pro-JBA or pro-NSA actions?

Daniel Roy: Yes, the game has multiple endings. Depending on Sam's choices, some of the major characters in the game may live or die, and thousands of innocents might be killed, or saved. Sam never becomes pro-JBA... But in some instances, his desperate bid to stop the JBA's actions can result in catastrophic failure.

Shack: Let's say the player is a nice guy at heart and decides to do more for the NSA than the terrorists. Will the evil doers get suspicious, and if so, is there a chance (or more than one) to earn back their trust, or is it game over? Or vice versa: if the player chooses to go more bad than good. Will the NSA attempt to have Sam killed off, or is there a chance for redemption?

Daniel Roy: If the player decides to heed Third Echelon's warnings to the risk of his cover, the terrorists will get suspicious, and there are some dire consequences to this which I will let you discover. Sam can indeed win back their trust, sometimes through treachery and deception, but it's not that easy. On the flip side, if Sam protects his cover at all costs with no regard for Third Echelon's orders, he will be rewarded with greater trust by the terrorists, but innocents will perish. Ultimately, Third Echelon might even stop supporting Sam altogether.

More about your allegiance, Direct Moments and multiplayer on page 2!

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