Steep (video game)

Steep
Developer(s) Ubisoft Annecy[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Director(s) Igor Monceau
Platform(s)

Release date(s) 2 December 2016
Genre(s) Extreme sports
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Steep is an open world extreme sports video game developed by Ubisoft Annecy and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game places a great emphasis on online multiplayer, focusing on competing in various winter sporting challenges with other players online.

On October 27, Ubisoft announced two beta periods for Steep.[1] The game released on December 2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Gameplay

Steep is an extreme sports game set in the Alps, an open world free for players to explore.[2] The game can be played from either a first-person or third-person perspective, which can be switched instantly at players' will. The game also utilizes the GoPro camera during races.[3] The four main activities available in the game include skiing, wingsuit flying, snowboarding, and paragliding. Players can switch between these activities by using the game's menu wheel.

Steep is a very online-focused game, in which all players share the same game world, engaging in various sports activities simultaneously.[4] Players can also collide with each other if they enable the collide feature.[5] To navigate the world quickly, players can use the mountain mode, which shows different "drop zones" in the game. These drop zones serve as fast travel points that allow players to reach different parts of the game's world without having to actually interactively move that distance. There are various hidden races and challenges and secret areas, which can be discovered and unlocked through exploring the world.[6] Players are also equipped with a pair of binoculars, which can be used to discover new locations.[7]

The game also has a trick system, which allows players to perform special techniques such as spinning and grabbing while they are skiing or snowboarding. Players receive points if they perform tricks.[8] If the player performs excellently in a race, they will receive a medal as an award. When the player crashes during a challenge, they have the ability to retry it immediately[9] and view the amount of g-Force the player's character endured during the crash.[10] When players are participating in these extreme sport activities, a trail will be recorded automatically, which can be viewed through entering the mountain mode, Players can use the pause, rewind, and replay features to capture screenshots and view their own performance data and other players' experience.[4] These replays can be shared to the game's community and various social networking sites. Players can also set and share their trail as a challenge for other players.[4]

According to Ubisoft, there are four types of play style. The Explorer style tasks players to explore the world to discover new challenges and locations, while the Freestyler style focuses on tricks' precision and accuracy. The Bone Collector playstyle rewards players for performing ridiculous stunts and crashing. The last playstyle, Freerider, is described as a mix of all the three playstyles, in which players would be rewarded if they explore the world, perform accurate tricks and take risks to perform dangerous stunts.[11]

Development

The game was developed by Ubisoft Annecy, a French studio which had previously worked on the multiplayer modes of the Assassin's Creed franchise and the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell franchise as well as assisting in the development of Tom Clancy's The Division. The game was co-developed by Ubisoft studios in Kiev and Montpellier.[12] Steep would become the first original game created by them.[4] Development of the game was started in late 2013.[13] The concept was inspired by the developer's close proximity to the Alps, and another Ubisoft game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands, whose large open world forced developer Ubisoft Paris to implement transport methods such as paragliding. The Trials series also influenced the game's design.[12] Ubisoft originally was not convinced by the development team, but they later greenlit the project's development, mainly due to the huge popularity of extreme sporting videos on the video sharing website Youtube.[14] According to Igor Manceau, the game's director, the team pitched the project to Ubisoft as they believed that the game's online structure and open world are elements that are new to the sports genre.[12]

Manceau claimed that the game was a "passion project" and a "natural progression" for the studio,[15] and that it was designed to be accessible for newcomers and complex for fans of the genre.[4] The team collaborated with the action sport industry and consulted several professional skiers and extreme sports athletes and experts, such as Louis Aikins, Kevin Rolland, Sammy Luebke, and Horacio Llorens.[16] However, one of the professional skiers, Matilda Rapaport, died while shooting a promotion video for the game in Farellones, Chile due to a sudden avalanche accident.[17]

In February 2016, Ubisoft announced that their games lineup in their fiscal year 2017 will be "multiplayer-centric",[18] and described the IP as a "high-potential" project with a heavy online emphasis.[19] The game was revealed at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo as the closing act to Ubisoft's press conference. The showing included a trailer and playable demo.[20] An open beta was set to be released prior to the game's official launch.[21] Steep was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 2 December 2016.[22] A new region, Alaska, will be introduced into the game as a free update upon the game's release.[3]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by Ubisoft Kiev and Ubisoft Montpellier

References

  1. ↑ "Steep's open beta will let you hit the slopes early". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  2. ↑ Orry, James (13 June 2016). "Ubisoft reveals extreme winter sports game Steep". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Miller, Ross (13 June 2016). "Steep is Ubisoft's new extreme sports game, complete with 'GoPro view'". The Verge. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Makuch, Eddie (14 June 2016). "Ubisoft's Open-World Action Sports Game Is a Challenging Thrill". GameSpot. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Futter, Mike (13 June 2016). "Ubisoft's Steep Is A Connected Action Sports Game In The Alps". Game Informer. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Blain, Louise (17 June 2016). "Steep is beautiful but its open world leaves me cold". GamesRadar. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Furniss, Zack (13 June 2013). "Ubisoft's Steep is scratching my SSX itch". Destructoid. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Coffey, Helen (14 June 2016). "Experience extreme skiing without the risk in new video game Steep". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Kollar, Phillip (15 June 2016). "Steep: Watch 15 minutes of Ubisoft's new extreme sports game". Polygon. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Senior, Tom (17 June 2016). "Steep pits you and your friends against the mountain". PC Gamer. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Reparez, Mikel (June 21, 2016). "Steep: How You'll Go From Scrub To Legend". Ubisoft. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Partridge, Jon (13 June 2016). "Find your own way down the mountain in Steep". Red Bull. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  13. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (14 June 2016). "Ubisoft Announces Open-World Action Sports Game for Console, PC". GameSpot. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  14. ↑ Dring, Christopher (13 June 2016). "The story behind Ubisoft's new open world action sports game Steep". MCV. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  15. ↑ Schwartz, Terri (13 June 2016). "E3 2016: Ubisoft's Steep Link Open World And Sports". IGN. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  16. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (13 June 2016). "Ubisoft's Steep is a daredevil sim for winter sports". VentureBeat. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (July 19, 2016). "Pro Skier Matilda Rapaport Dies During Promotional Film Shoot For Ubisoft's Steep". GameSpot. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  18. ↑ Sinclair, Brandon (18 February 2016). "Industry has become less hit-driven, more dependable - Ubisoft". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  19. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (18 February 2016). "Ubisoft's AAA New IP Is "Multiplayer-Centric," But Also Has Single-Player". GameSpot. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  20. ↑ Grayson, Nathan (13 June 2016). "Steep Is Ubisoft's Open World Alpine Sports Game". Kotaku. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  21. ↑ Skipper, Ben (13 June 2016). "Steep: Ubisoft announces new open world skiing and snowboarding game at E3 2016". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  22. ↑ Frank, Allegra (August 17, 2016). "Steep drops this December". Polygon. Retrieved August 17, 2016.

External links

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