The start of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds early access in 2017 marked the beginning of many things. It was the rise of a genre, Battle Royale, that even today creates fortunes and titles of meteoric success, including itself. It was also the genesis of one of the largest original game franchises in the last 10 years. And for Dave Curd, creative director of the title, it was the start of the challenge that motivates him to get out of bed every morning.
At that time, PUBG versions for consoles, which were released the following year, were in development, and Curd joined the game team in the offices of Madison, in the United States, for the first major expansion of the game: the Miramar map, which was launched in December 2017. At that time, not only did the work of bringing more than competitive gameplay and keen control to the title begin, but also a storyline that would tie up all this shooting.
"Battle Royale is [a genre] complicated to tell a story because the best plot is always the one that the player is creating [during the game]," he explained in an interview. “No game is the same as another and competitors are always making choices. The plot ends up making this adventure even more dense and tasty ”.
The way to do this is through the display of human stories, those responsible for the deadly game of PUBG, and also the inhabitants of the scenarios in which the action takes place. There are different examples placed on, today, seven maps available in the game, with subtle indications that something else is happening there, stories told through trailers or short stories available on the title's official website. Everything to the taste of users and so that they have more and more elements according to the degree of interest in the plot of this universe.
Throughout the title's updates and seasons, the original map, Erangel, came to contain different references to the dictatorship that reigned in the place and the rebellion that turned against it, through destroyed posters, graffiti, and guerrilla hiding places. In Sanhok, you can find a hidden audiovisual production bunker, which not only shows a bit of underground video production to support the resistance, but also the symbol represented by former survivors who now turn against the game organizers, in the best style. Hunger Games.
Such elements, Curd points out, can also be used in favor of the gameplay itself. On the Karakin map, for example, the graffiti of the red octopus, a symbol of local smugglers, not only tells the story but also indicates to players the presence of interesting loots or hidden tunnels that can give a strategic advantage in combat. In Haven, the main scenario of the current season, the focus is on the Pillar faction, which has sophisticated technology and heavy weaponry to carry out missions in favor of its corporate clients, in addition to, of course, representing a stone in the shoe of the aspiring chicken dinner”, As PUBG's victories are called.
“The revelations of these stories are made on a small scale, but they are making the world more and more interesting”, completes the creative director. For PUBG Corp, this is also a way to guarantee the long-term growth of the security, as no consolidated success is anything if the numbers are not maintained. We are talking, as Curd recalls, of a team that hoped to sell 100,000 copies of the game in its first year of early access but found itself reaching the first million in 11 days. Today, more than 70 million units are already sold, which also means that the stakes, whether in terms of storyline or gameplay, are increasingly high.
Balancing, but not just gameplay
Curd mentioned the word balance several times, but he was not referring to PUBG's gameplay. In his ultimate goal of transforming the title into an increasingly fun and interesting experience, the creative director talks about finding the right rhythm to reveal the history of this world without actually getting in the way of what enshrined the battlefield for the world.
"If [the elements] are too hidden, no one will see, but if everything is very obvious, the plot won't stick," explains Curd, who also says working with telemetry and social media feedback in his process of deciding what to show, when and how. “We have a very varied audience; some don't want a plot, others find the story essential. There is no silver bullet for the content. We are not perfect, but I believe we are doing a good job of showing what's behind the curtains.”
In addition, the creative director knows that, just as his goal is to ensure success and interest in PUBG in the long run, the plot will also take some time to be incorporated by the players who arrive now. As users get used to the maps, he explains, they start to look around more closely and, little by little, notice that there is more than just a shootout going on there.
“We try to do something that is not intrusive, but that also makes players happy. Those looking for a greater meaning can find context, but those who just want to play can also do that ”, adds Curd. The plot, he explains, is only one facet of his responsibility, but the ultimate goal is even greater. “We want to be like Counter-Strike and make people still talk about PUBG 15 years from now”, he concludes.
This whole focus on PUBG 's history is about to make its biggest leap - out of itself. Announced in the latest edition of The Game Awards, The Callisto Protocol would be interesting only due to the presence of Glen Schofield, one of the creators of Dead Space, back in charge of the type of space terror that, among other works, enshrined it. When you think that this is a horror game in the Battle Royale universe, then things get more interesting and intriguing.
What we know, for now, is that the game should arrive in 2022 and will take the lore of this universe centuries into the future. Regarding the title, however, Curd was unable to comment on what the future of PUBG has in store for us in terms of history. If, as stated, generating interest in a Battle Royale plot is a difficult thing to do, the teams involved seem to be taking it to heart.
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