The 150-person team consisted mainly of first-person shooter veterans or longtime '' Rainbow Six '' players . Despite having prior knowledge on how these types of games work , the team decided to study historic examples of counter-terrorist operations , including 1980 's London Iranian Embassy siege , 1977 's Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacking , and 2002 's Moscow theatre hostage crisis to ensure that the portrayal of these operations was accurate and appropriate . The team also consulted counter-terrorism units , such as the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group ( GIGN ) , for their opinions on how they would react during a hostage rescue situation . According to Xavier Marquis , the game 's creative director , having a hostage rescue mission in the game helped create an immersive story . By allowing players to assume control of an operator tasked with saving innocents , it gives them an objective and a priority . They must be careful in dealing with the situation and try their best not to hurt the hostage . This further promotes teamwork between players and prompts them to plan before attacking , and further makes the game more realistic , tense and immersive . To make the game feel more realistic , the team introduced a mechanic called " living hostage " to govern the hostage character 's behaviour – e.g. , coughing if there is dust in the air or shielding him or herself if there is nearby gunfire
Lufthansa Flight 181
Lufthansa Flight 181
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege