Exploring Ghost Recon Wildlands' Map: Bolivia As A Backdrop

Ghost Recon Wildlands is a video game set in Bolivia, a landlocked South American country known for its rugged landscape and ecological diversity. The game features an interactive map of Bolivia, with 21 regions and 11 ecosystems. While the game's map is based on Bolivia, it is not entirely accurate. Some towns are fictional, while others are real towns placed in the wrong locations. The game's developers, Ubisoft, sent a team of over 30 designers to Bolivia in 2012 to capture reference material and create a geotypical recreation of the country. They took thousands of pictures and hours of video to use as a reference database for the game's art and design. The in-game Bolivia features a diverse range of environments, including salt flats, broadleaf forests, and the Andes Mountains. The game's provinces are associated with branches of the Santa Blanca Cartel, with varying levels of enemy presence and equipment.

The game map is not an accurate representation of Bolivia

The game map of Bolivia in Ghost Recon Wildlands is not an accurate representation of the country. While the game does feature some real-world locations, the geography, cities, towns, roads, and bridges are made up. The game includes a disclaimer stating that it is entirely fictional and does not represent the real place or people.

The game map is a fictional amalgamation of Bolivia, created by Ubisoft's art team to capture the diverse regions and ecosystems of the country. They travelled to Bolivia and took thousands of pictures, videos, and interviews to use as reference material. They then used this data to create a series of produced videos and scrapbooks to set the tone for each location in the game.

While some real towns and locations, such as Espiritu Santo, Barvechos, and Poopo, are included in the game, they are often placed in the wrong locations on the map. Additionally, many towns and cities, such as La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, are missing entirely. The network of roads in the game is also much more extensive than in real-world Bolivia, with over 800 kilometers of roads created using algorithms.

The game map focuses on creating a varied and dense landscape, with 11 different ecosystems, five million trees, and two million bushes and rocks. Ubisoft's lead artist, Benoit Martinez, stated that the goal was to create a landscape that players would enjoy exploring, rather than an accurate representation of Bolivia.

In conclusion, the game map of Bolivia in Ghost Recon Wildlands is a fictional and stylized version of the country, focusing on creating a diverse and immersive gameplay experience rather than geographical accuracy.

Ubisoft sent a team to Bolivia to capture reference material

The team was divided into four groups, each heading in a different direction—north, south, east, and west. They took thousands of photographs, hours of video, and conducted interviews to capture the country's diverse landscapes and ecosystems. They also paid attention to the small details, such as stores, doorsteps, and buildings, to understand how everything fit together.

The reference material collected in Bolivia served as a database for the Ubisoft team to work from in the years following their trip. They used the footage and images to create videos and set the tone for each location in the game. Martinez considered these books to be a treasure and a valuable tool for the development team.

The team's goal was to create a geotypical recreation of Bolivia, evoking the country's unique characteristics without representing it in exact detail. They wanted players who had been to Bolivia to recognize specific places and for those who hadn't to experience the country through the game.

To achieve this, Martinez and his team had to carefully craft the game world, paying attention to the smallest details. They studied the processes of erosion and how rivers shape the terrain and vegetation. They considered factors such as soil type, altitude, steepness, and proximity to water to determine the placement of trees, bushes, and rocks. They even took into account the impact of sunlight and shadows on the growth and appearance of vegetation.

The Ubisoft team's dedication to capturing the essence of Bolivia resulted in a lush and varied landscape in the game, offering players an immersive and authentic experience of the country's beauty and diversity.

The game features 11 ecosystems

The map in Ghost Recon: Wildlands features 11 ecosystems, which offer players plenty of variety as they explore. These ecosystems are based on Bolivia's rugged landscape and breathtaking ecological diversity.

The 11 ecosystems include:

• Lakes (and Waterways)
• Arid Mountains
• Canyon
• Coca Plantation
• Forest Valley
• Greenland
• Highlands
• Jungle
• Salar
• Salt Flats
• Swamp
• Yungas

To recreate such diverse environments, the development team at Ubisoft, led by artist and technical art director Benoit Martinez, travelled to Bolivia in 2012. They spent weeks capturing reference material, taking thousands of pictures, and gathering hours of video and interview footage.

The team aimed to understand how the different ecosystems fit together and used this data to create a realistic and immersive game world. They paid close attention to details such as soil type, altitude, steepness, and proximity to water to inform the placement of vegetation, including five million trees and two million bushes and rocks.

The result is a lush and varied landscape that players can explore on foot or by driving through the countryside. The different ecosystems also have their own unique climates and weather events, further enhancing the immersion and providing a dynamic gameplay experience.

The game features 21 provinces

The player begins in the province of Itacua, where they meet Karen Bowman and embark on their first mission. This province had the lowest difficulty score in the game, making it ideal for players to familiarise themselves with the gameplay. In contrast, the province of Montuyoc is one of the most challenging areas in the game, offering players a starkly different experience.

Each province in Ghost Recon Wildlands has its own biome, known as an ecosystem. These ecosystems include lakes and waterways, salt flats, swamps, arid mountains, and more. The placement of over five million trees and two million bushes and rocks was determined by the specific characteristics of each biome, such as soil type, altitude, and proximity to water.

The provinces also vary in terms of their affiliation with the Santa Blanca Drug Cartel. For example, the province of Libertad is where the cartel uses its top scientists to create their product, while the province of Ocoro is a quiet, rural area chosen by El Sueño to settle coca paste and cocaine labs.

The player will encounter different missions, weapons, accessories, skill points, and bonus medals as they progress through the provinces. They can also choose to explore weapon locations to gain better armament and firepower, which will aid them in taking on more difficult factions like the Unidad and the Santa Blanca Cartel.

The game features 26 bosses

Ghost Recon Wildlands features 26 bosses, or "Buchons", that are part of the Santa Blanca cartel. These bosses are spread across the game's 21 regions and must be defeated to progress through the game and complete side missions. The bosses are divided into four main sections of the cartel's operation: Security, Influence, Smuggling, and Production. Each section has its own grouping of bosses, with about six individuals before the head cartel boss of that operation.

• La Yuri - Chief "interrogator"
• El Polito - Chief "interrogator"
• Carl Bookhart - Combat instructor
• General Baro - UNIDAD general
• El Pozolero - Body disposer
• El Commandante - UNIDAD commander
• La Plaga - Head sicario
• El Muro - Head of security and El Sueño's personal bodyguard
• DJ Perico - SB radio DJ
• El Chido - Narco singer
• Carzita - International businessman
• La Santera - Preacher
• Ramon Feliz - Narco Blogger
• El Cardenal - Head of influence and El Sueño's advisor
• El Emisario - Production manager
• Madre Coca - Co-head production manager
• El Wey - Pryolusite mine supervisor
• Marcus Jensen - Assistant chemist
• La Gringa - Head chemist
• El Yayo - Head of production
• El Gato - Packaging manager
• El Pulpo - Accountant
• Antonio Garcia-Taylor - Storage coordinator
• Boston Reed - Air smuggler
• El Cerebro - Submarine engineer
• La Cabra - Cocaine buyer

Defeating these bosses requires gathering important intel, completing side missions, and progressing through the game's regions. The player must dismantle the Santa Blanca cartel network by killing or capturing these bosses, with the ultimate goal of taking down the final boss, El Sueno.

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