James Cameron's Avatar Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

James Cameron is well known as the director of Titanic and the original Terminator movies, but he was at Ubisoft’s E3 conference today to talk about the upcoming video game based on his newest movie--Avatar. Although there was no actual footage or even screenshots of the game shown, he did give a lengthy overview of the story and world contained in this fantastical universe. He also explained how the game has been able to steer away from the pitfalls into which so many other licensed games fall. In Cameron’s words, he “didn’t want it to suck” and believes Ubisoft accomplish that goal.

Avatar takes place on a far away moon called Pandora some time in the 22nd century. The planet resembles Earth’s rain forests, covered in lush plant life and towering trees that stretch more than 4,000 feet above the ground. The larger-than-life atmosphere caries over to the creatures that inhabit this world. The dominant creatures on Pandora are the Navids, which look terrifyingly fierce but are actually quite docile. They are 10 feet tall, have blue skin, and resemble felines. Though they are peaceful, they will fight when provoked. However, humans cannot live on Pandora, so they create Navid/human hybrids that are known as avatars. These are real human beings that live, breathe, and otherwise interact with the world, but they are controlled by a human driver. And when the two species meet, conflict arises.

After going into some detail about the events of the movie, Cameron explained that the video game is actually much different. It does not follow the same storyline as the movie; rather, Ubisoft has written its own script, creating new characters, weapons, and vehicles to tell its own story within this universe. Ubisoft has also further developed the societal aspects of the Navids, giving more detail to how they live when not under attack from humans. The conflict comes in the form of Earth’s military complex upsetting Pandora’s native inhabitants, and you can choose which side of the war on which you wish to fight. You can play as either a Navid or human, and there are various points in the game that will allow you to switch sides if you are unhappy with your chosen race.

Like the movie it’s based on, Avatar is going to be a fully 3D game. It’s one of the first major releases to use stereoscopic technology, though Cameron didn’t go into detail on how this will work. Hopefully, we’ll find out more about this cryptic game during the course of E3. Both the movie and game are scheduled for release later this year.