' Tom Clancy's The Division 2' shows the effects of flooding on D.C. and the National Mall

By Joe Zad

For anyone wondering what the nation’s capital would look like after significant flooding in and around the National Mall, as well as the effects of a catastrophic pandemic, video game developer Ubisoft offers an eye-opening vision.

It’s latest third person shooter, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, arriving March 15 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows, gives players the chance to control an agent tasked with restoring order back to Washington D.C. and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Players and budding historians will be impressed by the detail and work created by the roughly 10 environmental artists that worked over three years to bring the game locations such the White House, the Capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Mall to life.

Chad Chatterton, lead environmental artist on the game, actually talked to FEMA experts about the potential uses for the National Mall after this type of disaster.

He found out that a large, open air space would be critical to setting up National Guard bases and refugee camps and “in our [Mr. Chatterton] case, even mass graves between the Washington Monument and the Capitol.”

As far as creating the aftermath of a realistically flooded area, the artist said, “We looked at real world flood data and how those flood footprints affected the landscape and what would happen if the storm drain system that is so important to D.C. was to collapse, what areas would that impact.”

The results are as disturbing as one would imagine.

On a side note, the National Mall Coalition has actually developed a solution to handle much of the anticipated future stormwater flooding in the Mall area, the National Mall Underground. They have not yet worked on pandemics.

Here’s a collection of images from the video game presenting just some of the devastation game artisans wreaked upon famous monuments, memorials and museums, and government buildings in Washington D.C.

Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Washington Monument.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Lincoln Memorial.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the National Mall and United States Capitol building.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. buildings as the National Archives.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Washington Monument.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. buildings as the White House.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the United States Capitol building.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Lincoln Memorial.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the United States Capitol building.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the National Archives.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. museums as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. museums as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the Lincoln Memorial.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the White House.
Ubisoft's third person shooter, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, features such ravaged Washington D.C. landmarks as the entrance to Chinatown.