Ubisoft has used radio tower mechanics in plenty of its open-world games and though some gamers loathe them, they do have some value.
Ubisoft is one of gaming's biggest companies, and its impact on the gaming industry cannot be overstated. Notable franchises that Ubisoft has birthed include Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, Rayman, and Watch Dogs, all of which have become cornerstones of gaming. Many of the games that have been released by the studio are open-world games that let players explore a vast map filled with enemy camps to clear, activities to complete, and collectibles to find. While Rockstar and its Grand Theft Auto series are often cited as the pioneers of modern open-world games, the ideas and trends that Ubisoft has introduced have certainly had plenty of influence too.
Recently, Ubisoft's official TikTok account posted a video of Dani Rojas from Far Cry 6 dancing alongside a caption reading "us when we discovered the concept of radio towers." The self-aware joke highlights the frequent use of radio towers mechanics in Ubisoft open-world games, a trend that has bled into the games of other studios. Although Ubisoft's towers are often criticized for being evidence of lazy game design, they are useful when implemented creatively.
With many open-world games, developers do not want players to have access to the entire map at the beginning of the game, nor do they want the map to automatically reveal all points of interest, as this would take all the fun out of exploration. As such, developers have to come up with a way of designing open worlds that pace the player's exploration without making players feel as though there are arbitrary boundaries in place. With Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft chose to solve this problem by including towers and monuments for players to climb. At the top of the buildings, players have a greater view of their surroundings and, consequently, the map reveals more information. For Assassin's Creed, a game that revolves around climbing, it makes sense.
The tower mechanic did not remain in Assassin's Creed, and Ubisoft decided to insert it into the Far Cry series in the form of radio towers. It did not take long before the towers became a staple of Ubisoft open-world games, and soon enough other studios began implementing similar towers. Nowadays, Ubisoft towers are ubiquitous in gaming, and they can be found in games such as Insomniac's Spider-Man, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Batman: Arkham Knight. They have become so unavoidable that Assassin's Creed's creator, Patrice Desilets, has jokingly apologized for unleashing the towers on gaming, stating: "Breath of the Wild, wow! That was a game where you could do anything, once you finished the first half-hour or so. Now, you’re going to just climb towers and unfog the rest of the map. Sorry…it’s my fault…"
The biggest problem gamers have with Ubisoft towers is that while they are convenient, they have been overused in gaming. Hence, the appearance of the towers has the potential to make a game seem uninspired and derivative. This is a valid criticism and, when the towers are mere copy-paste fixtures, they do end up feeling as though they are just busywork included to artificially extend the game's length. However, when radio tower mechanics are incorporated in original ways, they can enhance a game and make exploration more fun.
An example of this can be found in Horizon Zero Dawn. The game features a post-apocalyptic world filled with dinosaur-like robots called machines. As Aloy explores, she comes across giant machines called Tallnecks that look a little like giraffes or brontosauruses. By climbing to the top of a Tallneck, Aloy can see more of the map, though it is not always an easy task. Tallnecks are often surrounded by hostile machines, and Aloy has to find a good spot in the environment that she can use to jump onto a Tallneck. Ultimately, Tallnecks are still Ubisoft towers, but they do not feel tedious to complete due to the innovative way they have been implemented.
Gamers are right to be wary of games that are reliant on Ubisoft towers, as they feature far too frequently in games. However, this does not necessarily mean that they should not be used at all because the towers are useful for ensuring that exploration is evenly paced. As games like Horizon Zero Dawn reveal, with a little imagination, radio tower mechanics can be made to feel less like bloat and more like interactive puzzles that enhance gameplay and also make sense on a narrative level.
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Smangaliso Simelane spends most of his time writing. When he isn’t working on his imaginary worlds, he is writing about video games.
