The first thing Arc Raiders’ devs did during its extraction pivot was to reduce the speed of everything by 60%: ‘All the craft that was in the game was kind of background noise’ is currently attracting attention in the technology world.
Experts believe this development may influence how digital platforms evolve
over the coming years.
The topic has already sparked discussions among developers, analysts,
and industry observers who are closely monitoring how the situation unfolds.
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Arc Raiders looked very different in its early stages of advancement, and even compared to its initial reveal trailer. While the team was flip-flopping between genres, one thing was clear: your goal was to kill a boss as fast as possible. Naturally, there was a lot of mobility in these early prototypes. You’d move fast to reach the boss’s location, there were jump pads to fling you around, and the Snap Hook was unlimited. It’s almost unrecognisable to today, where your character has a satisfying heft to them and limited stamina that makes crossing vast, open areas an intense prospect.
In his GDC talk yesterday, Arc Raiders’ production director, Caio Braga, remarked that “because we made you run so fast towards the boss, all the craft that was in the game was kind of background noise.” This faster, more upbeat pace is immediately apparent in the gameplay section of the old reveal trailer.
Speaking to Braga afterwards, he explained to us that one of the most impactful changes they made was to slow the game down: “The very first thing we did after the reset was reducing the speed of everything” by roughly 60%. This helped the team realise how strong aspects like the sound design, tool sandbox, and maps were. In other words, the foundations of Arc Raiders’ extraction shooter roots.
“It was very odd because all the animations were kept at high speed” while they were testing the change during advancement, Braga jokes. Again, looking back to the original reveal trailer, we raiders sure had some pace.
The fast-paced boss-killing loop wasn’t working, no matter what genre spin was laid on top of its bones, so the team leveraged their experience with PvP from The Finals, and many developers’ past work at EA’s DICE.
This all loops back around to a statement Braga made in his GDC talk about how Embark eventually ‘found the fun’ and turned Arc Raiders into what it is today. Ultimately, “We stopped forcing the game [or games] we wanted, and we looked at the game we had,” he explained.
That slower pace is now key to Arc Raiders, and I imagine it inspired many of the design decisions about player movement, like every action costing lots of stamina, taking valuable time, and making unique noises. All of which, of course, can be improved through the skill tree. It just goes to show that it only takes pulling one right handle to figure out how everything else fits into place.
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Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.
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Why This Matters
This development highlights the rapid pace of innovation in the technology sector.
Companies are constantly pushing boundaries in order to stay competitive.
Analysts suggest that such changes could influence future product design,
user expectations, and industry standards.
Looking Ahead
As technology continues to evolve, developments like this may shape the next
generation of digital services and consumer experiences.
Industry watchers will continue to monitor how this story develops and what
impact it may have on the broader technology landscape.