The Preacher - Far Cry 5 Enemy Design Concept

 Ubisoft NEXT Game Design Competition 

2nd Place Winner

Project Description

The Preacher is a concept for a new enemy unit for Far Cry 5 that I designed for the Ubisoft NEXT competition as part of the game design category. 


The objective was to design a new enemy unit for any game in the Far Cry franchise; as 5 is the one I'm most fond of, I chose to design an enemy that not only changed the way players approach outposts and general combat encounters but also one that fit thematically within the game's narrative. 


The competition was split into three phases, and my entry made it through all three rounds to the final 3 entries, in which I earned 2nd Place. The first phase was to design a high-level creative brief that pitches the enemy unit, their role in the game's current enemy roster, and what makes them a unique addition to the game 

Phase 1 - Creative Brief Showcase

NEXT_2023-2024_CreativeBrief.pdf

Phase 2 - Detailed Design Document 

NEXT_2023-2024_GameDesign_GD-10_DetailedDesignDoc.pdf

Design Goals:

My initial thought when choosing to do a design for Far Cry 5 specifically was that I really enjoyed the game's setting, story, and the boldness of the choice of main enemy faction for this entry into the franchise. I wanted to match that and design an enemy that fits the game's world so thematically well that it could compel others to believe that this enemy unit is already in the game.


My next goal when designing the preacher was that I wanted to do an analysis of the enemies currently within the game, and find a way to leverage what they already do. Trying to create an enemy unit that is standalone and completely well-designed would've been tricky with the timeframe I had to work on this project, so I had to work smarter.


This ties in with my previous goal, but I wanted to not only leverage the existing enemy units but also change the standard flow of combat that players already find in Far Cry 5. As the game is somewhat of a combat sandbox that offers players a 360-degree approach to outpost encounters, the entire emphasis of this game's combat is on player freedom, so I wanted to try my hand at making an enemy that restricts that. Not to punish players but to get them to think more carefully when they see a preacher enemy, and force them to temporarily shift their priorities mid-combat or face the consequences.

Takeaways from experience:

A lot of what I learned throughout the entire competition wasn't strictly related to game design. I learned a lot from the interview process that occurred in the final phase, as it was one of my first-ever industry-related interviews, and I learned a lot about how Ubisoft approaches the design challenges I faced when working on this concept. 


 I also learned from my mistakes and realized that while my priorities and goals when designing the preacher weren't entirely misguided, they just weren't what Ubisoft was necessarily looking for. After some time has past since the competition and I've reflected on it, I really enjoyed working on it, and I really do like my enemy unit concept however, I do see where my faults lie and how I could've shifted my priorities to create an enemy that's a bit more standalone in its capabilities. I also could've prioritized the thematic context a bit less as that only does so much for the actual design of the enemy.

Phase 3 - Interview & Final Presentation Slides 

UbiNext_FinalPresentation_Slides.pdf