Far Cry 5 is aiming to deliver the most dangerously believable cult in games

From meeting a cult expert to getting the cast right, we look at the process of making The Project At Eden’s Gate scarily real...

Far Cry 5’s Joseph ‘The Father’ Seed doesn’t fit in with other video game cult leaders. There are no oversized robes and hoods like Resident Evil 4’s Los Iluminados in The Project At Eden’s Gate. You won’t find him bringing about the apocalypse as The Order keep trying in Silent Hill. As far as we know, he’s also not worshiping a giant nuclear bomb like Fallout 3’s The Children of the Atom. Instead, he’s worse. Seed is a charismatic and fearful prophet who is ready to bring salvation to the people of Hope County, whether they like it or not. But more importantly, he has a lot more than just charm at his disposal. 

When Far Cry 5’s story kicks off, your deputy is along for the ride with a federal marshall and the local sheriff to bring in The Father. Creative director Dan Hay describes Seed’s central belief: “that the world is on the edge and that we're almost not mature enough to realise something's going to happen. And he's going to save as many people as he can.” The only problem is that attempting to take him in is the first of sign of the apocalypse according to, er, him. Triggering a lockdown across the County, you’re now stuck in the area with a group of people who believe the world is coming to an end. Not exactly ideal. 

The key to Far Cry 5 is making you believe in the power of this group and, when it comes to creating a cult that feels real, Hay tells me that the research his team did was key. They drafted in the help of experts who “can talk to us about the nature of the magnetic leader, teach us about the sort of people that work underneath, the jobs they have, the organisational structure, even the structure of how they use money or do they [even] use money?” 

So if the idea of a cult taking over a chunk of Montana by force might initially sound far-fetched, you’ll be uneasy to learn that when Hay first took his ideas for the game to founder of the Cult Education Institute, Rick Ross, there was historical precedent for this type of control. One example Ross gives me is the group Rajneeshpuram, who committed the first act of bio terrorism in the United States by poisoning ten different restaurants in Oregon with salmonella, in an attempt to swing a local election in their favour.   

While that is one of the most extreme examples, it’s not a consigned to history. Ross says: “Today, I can think of towns in the United States that are disproportionately populated by the members of a single group, or a group that dominates a section of a downtown area through its real estate holdings.”

But what are the key signs of a real world cult? Ross explains that are three key signs to a destructive cult. One is an absolute authoritarian and charismatic leader who becomes an object of worship for the group. Another is the “process of coercive persuasion” which helps the leader control his followers. And finally, that the group does harm. Ross defines this as “objectively demonstrated by criminal activity, the physical abuse of members and the pilfering of people's assets.” Watching all these elements find their way into fictitious The Project At Eden’s Gate means that Seed should feel more chillingly plausible than pagan Mn or Vaas ever did.