An upcoming Black Panther game, in the works at EA’s Cliffhanger Games, will be a ‘sandbox’ according to a job listing.
This isn’t necessarily a massive surprise, given that few would expect a Black Panther game to be a farming sim, but EA’s upcoming videogame will be some sort of ‘sandbox’ according to a job listing.
Listed on EA’s own website, the detail is right up there in the job title: Principle Sandbox Designer. The role will require the design and prototyping of “gameplay mechanics that contribute to a rich sandbox environment.”
The listing, first reported by VGC, also reveals that the game will take place in both cities and more natural environments that will potentially be filled with simulated animals. The successful candidate, EA writes, will “create sophisticated AI behaviours that enhance the open-world experience, from urban crowds to wildlife ecosystems.”
It’s an interesting detail, given that most recent superhero games of the open-world type have tended to take place in cities – Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series, for example, or Marvel’s own Spider-Man titles. The listing also talks about “dynamic events and interactions that respond to player actions and contribute to a living, breathing game world.”
Might we be in for something akin to The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild but set in Wakanda? That’d be quite a sales pitch to would-be players if so.
Black Panther is in development at EA’s Cliffhanger Games, a studio led by former Monolith Productions creative Kevin Stephens. Monolith’s most acclaimed title was Shadows Of Mordor, and it’s likely that Black Panther will follow a similar open-world template to that Middle-earth classic. A job listing from last year talked about an “open story system”, which hinted at something akin to Shadows Of Mordor’s innovative (and patented) Nemesis mechanic.
Black Panther is one of three games being made by EA’s teams in partnership with Marvel; there’s also an Iron Man game in the works at Motive Studio.
Black Panther is said to be “in early development” so we likely won’t see much from it for a good year or so. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
