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I still fought tooth and nail for that concept simply because I believed in it.
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"Looking back now," Caya continued, "it wasn't really professional on my part – but I just didn't care about office politics. One of modern gaming's most iconic elements of design, Sam Fisher's night vision goggles weren't just an element that affected how you played, allowing you to cycle between heat and night vision modes – they defined the character. Martin Caya, lead character artist on what became Splinter Cell, said: "After Ubisoft acquired Red Storm back in 2000, the company wanted to create a new action game based on the universe found within the Tom Clancy novels, more specifically the Op-Center book.
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The team was tasked with making 'a Metal Gear Solid 2 killer'. With this new licence to hand, the studio figured it could make something with the idea that had been put on hold. But that project didn't move much and was shelved – until Ubisoft acquired Red Storm and the Tom Clancy back catalogue. Initially it was a retro sci-fi shooter called The Drift featuring flying vehicles, floating island settings and – tellingly – spy gadgets like a grappling hook and the ability to shoot cameras into walls.ĭevelopment on The Drift didn't get much further than a demo stage before the idea segued into something more familiar – a James Bond-style spy game. Splinter Cell was not just another game it was a challenger." Splinter Cell had been bubbling away under the surface for years, but it took a long time to be recognised. "The moment we all understood we had something," says Hugo Landreville-Potvin, level designer on Splinter Cell, "was when we realised the Metal Gear team was in the crowd, pen and paper in hands, carefully taking notes.