Have you ever played a video game and noticed that, “hey, this enemy looks the same as the last one”? One would say this place looks familiar, and they’re not even in the same locations. That’s because the assets are often reused again and again. However, this one game called Far Cry Primal got a lot of flak for that, and some old wounds just opened again, which led to a healthy discussion.
What is this controversy with Far Cry Primal and asset reusing?
Back in 2016, a game called Far Cry Primal was released. The controversy started when players noticed that the map of Oros was similar to the map in Far Cry 4 (released in 2014). Players are very persistent, so the overlapped both maps on top of each other. The results were striking, but players weren’t wrong; it was the same map and layout from the land to the rivers.
Why was this such an issue?
Both games are not connected in terms of story and location. One is set in modern day (Far Cry 4), and Primal was set back in the time of the dinosaurs. Some players believe that the developers were being lazy. Even though the games were set two years apart, it seems the developers were just rushing the game, according to the players and critics, of course.
Why is this an issue now?
It’s not really an issue, but the director of Far Cry 4 just expressed his opinion in a recent interview. He stated that it was frustrating that people were criticizing the reuse of the assets again. So that begs the question, in an age where technology is advanced enough, is reusing assets for video games such a bad thing?
Why isn’t it a bad thing to reuse assets for video games?
When we say assets, it can mean a lot of things. Back in the old days, enemy sprites were common assets that were reused. You can see a goblin enemy, and then there’s another enemy later on that looks like the goblin, but it has a different weapon or skin color. Those are the early days of asset reusing.
In terms of sequel games, there are some that reuse assets in terms of characters and locations. A good example is Final Fantasy X with its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. A lot of the character models look the same in both games, and a lot of the locations were also the same. Fans could forgive that because they are in the same world, with a time jump a couple of years later.
Nowadays, the Unreal Engine store is a good example where assets can not only be reused but also sold. To summarize, this is a store where programmers can buy assets to put in their game. Let’s say you need assets for a living room in your game; there are a lot of them for sale. Don’t be surprised if some assets look the same and the games are made by different companies. It makes the work easier and faster for the developers.
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with developers wanting to use or reuse older assets. As long as the game is good, then these assets won’t really matter. It’s just the minor things that people want to discuss. Plus, it’s a healthy conversation, especially when companies are charging a lot for their games.
