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Watercolor JRPG Child of Light tells its story on April 30
The whimsical Child of Light, inspired by Japanese role-playing games, will launch on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Wii U and PC through Steam on April 30, Ubisoft has announced. The game will be a $15 download across all systems. Child of Light is the product of a small internal team at Ubisoft Montreal headed up by Far Cry 3 Creative Director Patrick Plourde. The story follows a young princess named Aurora who is mysteriously whisked away to the land of Lemuria, where all of its citizens have been turned into crows. Aurora, along with her magical blue orb companion Igniculus, must not only discover what caused this, but find a way to reverse it. Plourde's Child of Light is built entirely in UbiArt Framework, the same engine powering Rayman: Origins and Rayman: Legends. Combat in Child of Light is turn-based and employs a set-up not unlike the Active Time Battle system seen in the Final Fantasy series. There is also a co-op element where a second player can jump in at any time and control Igniculus. [Image: Ubisoft]
Far Cry 3 creative director discusses JRPG-inspired Child of Light
As expected, Far Cry 3 Creative Director Patrick Plourde revealed a few details on his JRPG project Child of Light at GDC Europe. Described as a mix between Limbo and Final Fantasy 6, the game will feature both turn-based combat and side-scrolling gameplay. The Ubi Art Framework will be the foundation of Child of Light, the same engine used for Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. Child of Light will explore a woman's "coming of age" story, using fairy tale-like art inspired by artists such as Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac. While he didn't list which platforms the game will arrive on, Plourde noted it will be downloadable and will not be on mobile devices, nor will it be free to play.
Far Cry 3's creative director to unveil Child of Light at GDC Europe
Far Cry 3 creative director Patrick Plourde will unveil his current project, Child of Light, during an upcoming session at Game Developers Conference Europe in August. During his talk, Plourde will discuss "the unique challenges and opportunities of producing a small title within the walls of Ubisoft Montreal." Contrasting Plourde's previous work with the Rainbow Six and Assassin's Creed franchises, Child of Light is a smaller-budget game with an "intimate scope," designed with an indie mentality and produced with Ubisoft's support. Details regarding Child of Light's target platforms have not been revealed, and a release date is not yet known.
GDC: Designing Assassin's Creed 2 (or: Dodging a curveball from upper management)
Though Uncharted 2 may have snatched away most of the Game of the Year trophies, Assassin's Creed 2 stands out as another of 2009's most acclaimed and successful titles. Lead game designer Patrick Plourde candidly discussed Ubisoft Montreal's development process at one of the final panels during this year's Game Developers Conference and gave some surprising insight into what happens when a project's scope is altered in the midst of development. From the outset, Assassin's Creed 2 took aim at the commercial success of the first game, as well as its vocal group of detractors. "I'm not gonna lie about it," Plourde said, "some people liked it, some people despised it. That's the way it is." The way things would be took a surprise turn in the middle of 2008, months after the game had begun development in earnest. As Plourde puts it, a "curveball from upper management" requested a change in the game's scope. Ordinarily, ambitious plans may get trimmed down as a launch date draws near, but Ubisoft had decided to increase the number of features dramatically.
