Far Cry 3

The team avoided creating distinct levels. As opposed to traditional game design – in which designers carefully calculated where and how to place environmental objects on a grid – the team instead experimented with dynamic cover design and utilized an algorithm provided by the Dunia Engine to quickly procedural generate the layout of a large area. The team would then manually adjust the placement of different objects and test the output. By avoiding repeating patterns, this enabled the world to be unpredictable and realistic, and allowed dynamic wildlife and enemy encounters to remain fresh even when players explore the same area again. Spaces are created to be logical and grounded. For instance, some enemy outposts are sites of industries, crucial for the pirates to operate at Rook Islands. The team wanted players to believe that the spaces they explore "[exist] for a reason" within the game – not merely for gameplay purposes – and these efforts at creating a civilization helped increase the game world's credibility.[32] When creating the world's space, the game was inspired by The Elder Scrolls series and Red Dead Redemption in how these series reward players with progression. However, the team wished to avoid repetitiveness in gameplay, and created over 250 different hostile encounters and a system that remembers each encounter and only recycle it after extended play.[38] The team believed that this helped raise the diversity of the experience.[39]

The team evaluated the gameplay elements from Far Cry 2 and determined which gameplay elements they should include or improve. Weapon degradation and malaria infection were removed as the team thought that it made the game less fun. According to producer Dan Hay, Far Cry 2's world was barren and lacked reactions to players' actions. Therefore, the team decided to make the world more lively with the goal of creating "an actual civilization" for players to encounter.[32] In Far Cry 3, players' actions impact the game's world, with Vaas's influence gradually reducing after Jason liberates a hostile camp.[40] The world of Rook Islands was designed to be filled with opportunities and activities for players, enticing them into exploring so that they would not feel bored while traveling within the game's world. The team introduced side quests which allow players to learn more about the history and inhabitants of the islands. The world was designed to be empowering, so that players were free to do what they wanted in the world without being hurried into completing the main quests.[41] The team also attempted to increase the accessibility of travel by improving the game's driving mechanics and introducing fast travel points.[42] Within each mission, players can freely choose their playstyle, whether they choose to eliminate enemies using stealth or firepower,[43] Hay believing that the game respects players' choices. He also believed the team had crafted a meaningful open world,[32] and Rook Island was considered to be the "second most important character". According to Jamie Keen, the game's lead designer, the world was both "alluring and repulsive" and players will "feel seduced by the place and all the people in it". Inspirations were taken from media including Apocalypse Now and Lost.[44] The team decided to return to an island setting, like the first Far Cry, as a narrative decision made during the game's early development. The team believed that the setting mashed well with the story they wanted to create, enabled them to create a world filled with variety, and helped inspire a sense of isolation and discovery.[45]

Level designer Mark Thompson stated that in a Far Cry game, morality was not absolute and that there was always "a moral gray space". The team intentionally avoided introducing a morality system which would judge players' actions. Gray morality is seen as Jason murdered the pirates in order to rescue his friends and survive on the hostile island.[46] The team took inspiration from Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, and Deliverance when they were writing the story.[47] They understood the game as a first-person shooter, which involves killing many non-playable characters to succeed, and the team wanted a story that embraced the concept of shooting to prevent narrative dissonance that might hinder the story and the overall experience.[48] As Jason kills more people, he becomes increasingly tolerant toward violence. Hay stated that players will slowly see the transformation in Jason, as he strays further from who he was at the beginning of the game, and begins to parallel his pirate counterparts.[47] Jason's hallucination sequences were meant to reflect his destabilizing psyche. Thompson described them as "introspective sequences" in which Jason's conscience questions the players' actions. When he was writing these sequences, Jeffrey Yohalem was inspired by the dreamlike levels from Prince of Persia.[49] Jason's friends view him differently and he will begin experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite his explanatory closing narrative, the game left room for interpretation.[46] Ultimately, Hay stated that the story was about the cost of becoming a hero, and how heavy the toll can be in one's journey.[50]

Yohalem designed a story that examines the minds of players. The game was described as being "self-aware", reacting to players' style of play. Yohalem, in particular, wished to contrast the difference between players and the playable character, in which players have fun playing the game, while Jason is forced on a terrible journey killing people.[43] Being able to freely explore the game world and enjoy the activities it can offer, while ignoring the urgency to save Jason's friends, was meant to reflect players' inner mindset. According to Yohalem, the game can reveal a player's personal perspective,[32] and asks whether players are willing to "kill these characters in the game in order to finish your entertainment".[51] This creates a sense of discomfort to players. Yohalem, when creating the story and the world, was inspired by Pulp Fiction, A History of Violence, Requiem For a Dream and Exit Through The Gift Shop. As opposed to Far Cry 2's oppressive world, the game was inspired by Alice in the Wonderland; Yohalem stated that the game asked why players would willingly trap themselves in a beautifully-crafted but virtual world instead of spending time with real people.[52] The story was widely criticized for racism and colonialism, though Yohalem defended it by calling the game "the opposite of Avatar" as the local indigenous people did not need Jason's help and he was being manipulated into doing what the people wanted.[51] He insisted that players need to approach the game like a riddle so as to understand the subtext and clues that the game offers.[53]

Initially, the game's primary villain was named Bull, a bald and muscular man who looked similar to "a 300-pound, six-foot-tall bullmastiff dog". The character was redesigned after Michael Mando auditioned for the role, as his physicality was very different from what the developers had planned. Bull's physical fierceness transformed into the villain's emotive and volatile personality. A second iteration of the character was named Pyro and featured a heavily mutilated body, though such features were later removed as Mando's portrayal of Vaas enabled his personality to be expressed through subtle mannerisms. The team envisioned him to be a charming but menacing villain.[54] Hay compared Vaas to Darth Vader, in which his presence is often short and brief, yet when he appears, he catches attention and galvanizes players' memories.[55] Hay described Vaas as a character that was "very much in your face", which helped cemented Jason's early status as a "victim".[56] Yohalem added that Vaas's death at the game's midpoint was inspired by the novel To the Lighthouse, in which the protagonist died midway through the story and the rest of the plot explores her absence.[32] To create nuanced characters, the team utilized motion capture so that actors could convey more-complicated emotions on-screen.[57] Enemies are controlled by AI which was designed to be believable, such as when untrained enemies would make mistakes during combat.[58] Elias Toufexis initially was chosen to voice Jason Brody, though he was replaced by Gianpaolo Venuta two years later.[59]

Massive Entertainment handled the game's multiplayer development. According to David Polfeldt, the managing director of Massive, the team was involved at the early stage of development and the opportunity helped diversify their portfolio, as the team had only had experience working on real-time strategy games like World in Conflict.[33] Magnus Jensen, the multiplayer portion's creative director, stated that the multiplayer carries the theme of insanity from the single-player. To accomplish this, the competitive multiplayer allows players to use supernatural elements to combat enemies, while the cooperative multiplayer features characters that are "as unhinged as any of the characters" in the single-player mode.[60] The multiplayer was also said to include elements commonly found in independent games and social games.[61] The game's multiplayer functionality was shut down on September 1, 2022.[62]

Jim Sterling from Destructoid felt the game had a larger emphasis on storytelling when compared with its predecessors, and liked the game's cast of characters. Sterling called the story "tightly written" and "stylishly presented".[7] Matt Bertz from Game Informer agreed, calling the story "compelling". The game's cast of side-characters was praised for their acting and characterization. Mando's performance as Vaas was praised by critics: Ryan Taljonick from GamesRadar stated that his presence made some missions memorable.[95] Mitch Dyer from IGN noted that Jason is a relatable character due to his many flaws.[96] Kevin VanOrd from GameSpot questioned some of the narrative decisions, such as the heavy emphasis on drug use.[94] Other story beats, such as Jason's transformation into an effective combatant within a short period of time[98] and Vaas's early death in the story, were criticized.[99] Bob Mackey of 1Up.com felt that the game lacked cultural commentary that it promised stating: "The team at Ubisoft Montreal could have used this opportunity to point out the strange trend of our wise-cracking, pretty boy video game heroes ruthlessly slaying hordes of faceless human opponents in increasingly cruel ways, but Far Cry 3 plays it incredibly safe -- despite what its advertising campaign would have you believe."[91] Both Bramwell and Tom Francis from PC Gamer remarked on the main quest's linear design,[92] which Francis described as a "guided tour of all the clumsiest ways to mash story and videogames together until both of them break".[16] Arthur Gies from Polygon criticized the story for being clichéd. The game's handling of subject matter like misogyny and homophobia and its usage of the white savior trope were also criticized.[100]

The island setting received critical acclaim. Tom Bramwell from Eurogamer stated that the island was the main reason he became captivated by the game, mainly due to the game's diverse activities and the island's rich history. He liked the artificial intelligence of the game's wild animals, which makes the game unpredictable.[92] Bertz agreed, saying that the environment was "varied" and "gorgeous", and appreciated its design for accommodating multiple playstyles.[93] VanOrd appreciated the effort Ubisoft had put into designing Rook Islands, saying that "Far Cry 3 isn't so much about the story as it is about its world", and called the world "enthralling" and "focused". VanOrd also liked the ecology, which interacts with each other and helped make the world more believable.[94] Dyer enjoyed finding the game's collectibles, which helped enrich the island's history. According to Dyer, the game had an "astonishing sense of place" and "captivating culture and scenery".[96] Arthur Gies from Polygon was also impressed by the world design, which he felt allowed various emergent events to occur and systems to flow and intertwine with each other.[97] Taljonick added that the emergent gameplay contributed to some personal stories which are unique to each player.[95]

Critics generally enjoyed the gameplay. Sterling praised the freedom given to players to approach objectives, though they felt that many of the side-objectives became repetitive very quickly. They praised the game's increased accessibility, though they noted that travel was an annoyance for them.[7] Bramwell appreciated players' freedom, citing stealth as one of the game's strengths and noting combat's adaptive nature. VanOrd agreed, calling stealth "a blast" and praised the game for presenting opportunities that allow players to experiment and be creative.[94] Dyer agreed, saying that the game's action can be exhilarating and that actions can be chained together.[96] Bertz and Taljonick liked the gameplay improvements such as the inclusion of fast-travel points and the removal of weapon malfunctioning,[95] though Bertz was disappointed that the AI-controlled human enemies were not more adaptive.[93] VanOrd liked the gunplay and vehicular control, and the game's sense of progression presented due to the inclusion of role-playing game elements,[94] though he and Francis lamented the respawning enemies, which they felt were frustrating.[16][94] Gies praised the game's wealth of content, though he warned that such could be "intimidating".[97]

The multiplayer component of the game was considered as a disappointment. Sterling remarked that the game's competitive multiplayer lacked new ideas and compared it to Call of Duty. They liked the efforts put into cooperative multiplayer which they compared to Left 4 Dead, but criticized the lack of characterization for the player avatars.[7] Francis called the cooperative multiplayer "fun", though he was disappointed by the lack of a server browser.[16] Bramwell called the multiplayer components the least interesting parts of the game, though he appreciated the presence of bonus content, saying that it made for a generous package.[92] Bertz called the cooperative mode "a fun diversion", though he lamented clumsy movements and sub-par hit-detection mechanics as factors that hindered competitive multiplayer's appeal.[93] VanOrd felt that the cooperative mode did not use the excellent open world created by the team, though he praised the "unique twists" featured in the progression system. Dyer had a more negative view on the multiplayer components, calling them uninspired and criticizing the confusing map design. He felt that the cooperative component made the game a "mindless shooter with senseless direction",[96] and further criticized the lack of difficulty scaling.[96]

The game's preorder sales were below Ubisoft's expectations.[101] In the US, it was the sixth-bestselling video game according to NPD Group. It was also the second-biggest launch for a video game in the region in December.[102] In January 2013, it became the second-bestselling game, trailing behind Black Ops II.[103] In the UK, it was the ninth-biggest launch for a video game in 2012. In its week of release, it became the second-bestselling retail game, only behind Call of Duty: Black Ops II.[104] Far Cry 3 later toppled Black Ops II as the bestselling game of the week during Christmas.[105]

More than 4.5 million copies were shipped to retailers in December 2012.[106] In October 2014, Ubisoft announced that approximately 10 million copies of the game had been sold.[107]