Ubisoft consulting with security firm for Watch Dogs

Hacking is a core element in Ubisoft Montreal's modern day action game Watch Dogs and to depict scenes and ideas correctly, the developer has sought help from an established real-world security company.

Ubisoft Montreal senior producer Dominic Guay told Joystiq that the developer is working with Kaspersky Lab, a recognized antivirus and security company. Ubisoft submits concepts to the company and the feedback it receives guides development moving forward, Guay said.

"They have really hardcore experts there on hacking," Guay said of Kaspersky Lab. "We send them some of our designs and we ask them feedback on it, and it's interesting to see what gets back. Sometimes they say, 'Yeah, that's possible, but change that word,' or, 'That's not the way it works.'"

The feedback from Kaspersky Lab, as well as input from Ubisoft engineers, is aimed at presenting a more realistic depiction of hacking, instead of a "sexed up" Hollywood version.

Set in Chicago, Watch Dogs puts players in the shoes of Aiden Pearce, a hacker who uses his smartphone to break into the city's central operating system to control things like security cameras and also to obtain personal information.

Watch Dogs launches November 19 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC. The PlayStation 4 version will be available "at the launch" of the system, while a next Xbox iteration is rumored, but has yet to be revealed.