Far Cry 3's mid-game story change explained

Far Cry 3's story changes about half way through. If you've finished the game or are happy to read a few spoilers, head through the break for Ubisoft Montreal's reasoning for the shift in focus.

Last chance for no spoilers. Half way through Far Cry 3's story, charismatic antagonist Vaas drops out of the picture, leaving the player somewhat lost.

Speaking to IGN in an extensive and interesting look at Far Cry 3's development, lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem said he was inspired by Virginia Woolf's 1927 novel To The Lighthouse.

“The main character dies in the middle, kind of parenthetically. The whole book is going and you get to these parentheses in this middle portion, and she's dead,” Yohalem said.

"The rest of the book is about the absence of her. That is so daring. And we did it."

Yohalem said he understands people wanted to see more of Vaas, but that just shows his exit was timely.

"You also want that kind of a character to take a bow when everyone wants him the most," he said, commenting that few games remove the character's motivation so thoroughly.

“You never feel that in a game,” he added.

Meanwhile, producer Dan Hay compared Vass to Darth Vader.

"You think about that opening scene in Star Wars," he said.

"What you think is a huge ship is going by overhead, and then it is absolutely dwarfed by a massive ship. Then everything inside it is white and the Rebels are holding against the door. It blows up. They just had a firefight going on, and when it’s all over, in walks this guy who’s head-to-toe in shiny black.

"That moment is galvanized in your memory as a kid forever. For us, giving that taste of Vaas and making sure that it’s short and that it’s sweet and that it is about craving more of it. That was a focus for us.”

Far Cry 3 released in November last year on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. While not without flaws, and perhaps not what Far Cry 2 fans wanted, it's a heck of a lot of fun.