Watch Dogs' Release Delay Gave Developers More Time to Animate Thumbs

When Ubisoft delayed their highly-anticipated new open world IP Watch Dogs by six months, the reasons weren't exactly clear.

While the animation of lead character Aiden Pierce's thumbs probably wasn't the only reason for Ubisoft's decision, Ubisoft Montreal's animation director Colin Graham has said his increased dexterity will be one of improvements gamers will see thanks to the delay.

"We animated Aiden's thumb movements so he's better at hacking," Graham explained to Ubi Blog. "For example, when he hacks a tower, you'll see he clicks on the screen properly with his thumb. We didn't have that quite right before.

"The animation is always a bottleneck on memory, so we can have a lot more diversity and variety now," he added. He also pointed out that other newly implemented animations include shop owners flipping signs in their windows and street performers.

"You will never see the same thing twice, guaranteed. Your experience is unique," continued Graham. "You go around this corner and the ten people that are there will be ten completely different people. Ten different profiles, ten different backgrounds, different actions, different combinations of actions."

Watch Dogs had been touted as a launch title for next gen consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but was delayed until 27 May 2014. The game will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 as well. A Wii U version is coming later in 2014.