Ubisoft Developing Minecraft-Style Social Sim, "Alterra"

Minecraft and Animal Crossing-inspired game is reportedly under development at Ubisoft Montreal, titled "Alterra." Read on to learn more about this new voxel-based game!

Minecraft and Animal Crossing-Inspired Voxel Game Under DevelopmentFeaturing Building and Social Sim Mechanics

Ubisoft Montreal, developer of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Far Cry 6, is developing a new voxel game codenamed "Alterra," according to Insider Gaming’s November 26 article. The game reportedly emerged from a previously canceled voxel game, which was in development for four years.

Following the report, sources stated this new project’s gameplay loop will resemble Animal Crossing. Instead of friendly anthropomorphic NPCs, the game features "Matterlings," with whom players interact on a home island. While details are scarce, Animal Crossing is renowned for its relaxed atmosphere, where players design homes, collect bugs and wildlife, and socialize with villagers.

Players can leave their home island and explore other biomes to gather materials and interact with diverse Matterlings. However, enemies pose a threat. Minecraft-like mechanics are also present, with biomes linked to specific building materials. For example, a forest biome offers abundant materials for wooden structures.

The report also includes the appearance of Matterlings as "somewhat reminiscent of Funko Pop figures in their design with large heads." Moreover, they are inspired by mythical creatures like dragons and animals such as cats and dogs. Each species also exhibits variations, depending on their attire.

"Alterra" has been in development for over 18 months with Fabien Lhéraud, a 24-year Ubisoft veteran, as its lead producer. His LinkedIn page indicates that he is working on a "Next Gen Unannounced Project," which commenced in December 2020 and continues to the present. Patrick Redding is also reportedly serving as the game's creative director. He previously contributed to titles such as Gotham Knights, Splinter Cell Blacklist, and Far Cry 2.

Despite this exciting news, approach this information cautiously as "Alterra" is still under development and is subject to change.

What are Voxel Games?

Voxel games employ a distinctive method for modeling and rendering in-game objects. These games utilize minuscule cubes or pixels, aggregating them to render 3D representations. Simply put, they resemble LEGO bricks, assembled to construct novel and intricate objects.

A currently popular voxel game is Teardown, where players execute elaborate heists via meticulous environmental interaction, demolishing walls and other objects pixel by pixel. Interestingly, Minecraft is not a voxel game. It merely adopts a voxel-like aesthetic for its world, but each large cube or "block" is rendered using conventional polygon models.

In contrast, games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or Metaphor: ReFantazio render visuals with polygons, which are composed of millions of tiny triangles forming a surface. This is why, when players inadvertently clip inside an object such as walls or NPCs, they will usually encounter an empty space. In voxel games, this doesn't occur, as each block or pixel is stacked to create an object, giving them volume.

Most developers have employed polygon-based rendering for efficiency, as it only necessitates creating surfaces to render objects in their games. Despite this tendency, Ubisoft's project "Alterra" sounds promising with its use of voxel-based graphics.