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Ubisoft's beautiful Child of Light coming to the Wii U eShop
News reported by 
(Editor-in-chief)
September 10, 2013, 22:06
 
Players will control a child named Aurora who has been stolen from her home and must find her way back, as well as bring back the sun, moon and stars. According to the Ubisoft press release, players will "uncover mysteries, participate in turn-by-turn combat inspired by classic JRPGs, and explore the mystical kingdom".


Ubisoft press release:

PARIS, FRANCE – September 10, 2013 - Today, at its Digital Days event, Ubisoft shared more details about Child of Light, a digital title to be released in 2014 on current- and next-generation platforms as well as PC.

The game is being created by a small team of seasoned developers based in Ubisoft Montreal. Child of Light has been developed on Ubisoft’s UbiArt Framework, a powerful engine that lets programmers and artists to bring their art to life by allowing original concept art to be inserted unedited into the game world. In Child of Light, the effect is that playing becomes akin to stepping into an interactive painting.

Child of Light is a reimagining of classic fairytales, inviting players on an epic adventure into the magical painted world of Lemuria. Players will uncover mysteries, participate in turn-by-turn combat inspired by classic JRPGs, and explore the mystical kingdom. The game puts players in the shoes of Aurora, a child stolen from her home, who, in her quest to return, must bring back the sun, the moon and the stars held captive by the mysterious Queen of the Night. Helped by her companion Igniculus the firefly and several unlikely allies, Aurora will face her darkest fears, including dragons and other mystical creatures in this modern take on a coming-of-age story.

“Ubisoft’s strengths include its diversity and the freedom it gives its creative teams,” said Patrick Plourde, Creative Director, Ubisoft. “We want Child of Light to be like a playable poem, a love letter to art and video games."


Child of Light will be releasing in 2014 on the Wii U / PS4 / PS3 / 360 / One / PC.

What do you think, are you ready for a 2D JRPG from Ubisoft?

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09/10/13, 22:06
 
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Sure looks pretty. Color me interested.

Posted by 
 on: 09/10/13, 22:25
I'll be keeping an eye on this for sure.

Posted by 
 on: 09/10/13, 22:29
Day fuckin' Zero.

Thanks Ubi for at least attempting to support the Wii U. I wish the characters didn't look so...silly though. I'm sure it's quite intentional, but personally I don't think the characters jive with the environments. And it doesn't seem very Amano-ish to me. When I think Amano I think dignity and androgeny in the designs. I also expect strange random abstraction. This isn't quite there yet. A little too cartoony still IMO.

Posted by 
 on: 09/10/13, 22:35
@carlosrox
Agreed. This looks more unfinished than Amano-ish, to me. Like you say, I think I'd want something more abstract or fantastical out of something like that as well; this just looks like an old European folk tale come to life. Which isn't bad at all.

Posted by 
 on: 09/10/13, 22:42   Edited:  09/10/13, 22:52
Ubisoft continuing with that put on everything mentality. Looks interesting, may pick it up if it turns out good.

Posted by 
 on: 09/10/13, 22:47
I came to post this in the Tropes vs Women thread as an example of an upcoming non-sexualized, empowered, female protagonist, but that thread's apparently been locked.



Posted by 
 on: 09/11/13, 01:11
@nacthenud

I erased mine because you beat me by 44 seconds. Here's the link that I used.

Posted by 
 on: 09/11/13, 01:14
@shinriley

I'm quick like jungle cat. Hoo-ra.

Posted by 
 on: 09/11/13, 01:19
@nacthenud

I'm slow like sloth :(

By the way, I'm really loving the art style of this game. I mean "really" loving it.

Posted by 
 on: 09/11/13, 03:48
I'm totally sold after reading this interview. I think it's pretty awesome that they made the game they wanted to make despite being ridiculed (probably in what was meant to be a good-natured way) within the studio. And I'm also sad to see that the majority of the people at Ubisoft actually only seem to want to make violent AAA games.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 17:28
Yeah, great interview. Alarming that he felt "open to be laughed at by the frats". Don't like the thought of there being a lack of respect amongst industry peers.

This game looks utterly splendid.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 18:41
@Guillaume
@Super_Conzo
There are a few points on this... first off this is still a male-led industry and when in bulk the general group are people who grew up with games like Doom, Goldeneye, Counter-Strike and Halo and want to make the next Call of Duty. We'd like to think that developers are all about creating creative experiences but most of them are more along the lines of making games that remind them of the summer blockbusters they grew up with.

It's basically like in High School or College and daring to say that you prefer stuff like Thelma & Louise, Good Will Hunting and The Artist over The Avengers, Aliens and The Lord of the Rings amongst a group of guys. Not that there is anything wrong over the latter movies as they are good/great movies in their own right, but I'm sure plenty of peers would question your tastes on the former movies, even if it is in good natured fun.

Despite the general snubbing towards "dudebros" and the "freemium games" on this board, they are still the more dominant aspects of the gaming industry. I do feel lucky that the indie gaming area is still able to take off and carve out its niche, cause god knows that's one of the few things that still interests me in this industry.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 19:05   Edited:  09/12/13, 19:05
@CPA Wei
On top of all of that is also the whole multibilliondollar industry aspect. There are plenty of actors within, and influences over it that don't give a shit about what is being put out as long as money flows back in. Couple that with the patriarchal dominance in both the gaming industry and society outside of it, and it's bound to breed a creatively restricted climate unless the opposite is actively fought for.

Here's hoping this project will be successful, just to show the naysayers wrong.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 19:19
@CPA Wei

Right, I know that we don't represent the majority and I suspected that most people in the industry are absolutely eager to make the next violent blockbuster, but it still surprises me to see someone mocked for daring to want to do something else within a big studio. I haven't surrounded myself with people who have the maturity of high schoolers and people really aren't like that in my field, so it still comes as a surprise to see it's something that goes on so close to me geographically. Might as well be another reality over there.

@r_hjort

Yeah, I too am rooting for it now because of that. I hope it turns out well! I do love that it's multiplayer. I too was eager to play Ni no Kuni with the girlfriend and when I heard it was single-player only, I couldn't believe it.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 19:30
r_hjort said:
Couple that with the patriarchal dominance...
I don't see any sort of relation whatsoever, in any way, shape or form, that's typical propaganda. During Renaissance society was ridiculously more patriarchal than it is today, and it was all about art, poetry, wigs, science, naked men and women in refined sculptures or paintings, etc. in fact, it was about stuff the average modern US student would label "gay" or "geeky". And boy, was it more patriarchal.

Even if we were in a 100% matriarchal society, games would still be about overcoming opposing forces, and young males would still enjoy blowing shit up. In fact, it'd be very, very easy to argue games are becoming more about grittiness and confrontation because society is less and less patriarchal. Games are fiction, fantasy, and fiction and fantasy is precisely made to enjoy stuff that doesn't exist any more.

Games like this one are rarely made simply because it doesn't fit in a precise target audience marketing boys can understand. Tons of games targeted at girls or at any gender are made all the time, in fact it's more and more the norm thanks to phones and Facebook. Targeting is the issue, not that society would be horribly patriarchal.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:11   Edited:  09/12/13, 20:12
CPA Wei said:
There are a few points on this... first off this is still a male-led industry and when in bulk the general group are people who grew up with games like Doom, Goldeneye, Counter-Strike and Halo and want to make the next Call of Duty. We'd like to think that developers are all about creating creative experiences but most of them are more along the lines of making games that remind them of the summer blockbusters they grew up with.

I took a game design class like ten? years ago and we had to come up with our own theoretical game and yeah, I sort of was a bit surprised when I saw that most of my classmates theoretical games were just the same junk all of the big AAA developers were making at the time. This was around 2003? 2004? so Halo, GTA, etc. This silly part of me assumed that most people getting into game design wanted to do truly new, unique things and would end up "forced" to work on that kind of stuff, but apparently that is just what a lot of them want to do.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:12   Edited:  09/12/13, 20:32
@Zero
Yep. Just like most people just want to buy better versions of what they already enjoy, most people interested in making anything are wanting to make better, in their mind at least, versions of what they already enjoy.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:18
@Simbabbad I wouldn't say society is that much less patriarchal. I do think you have a point, but I wonder if it is more along the lines of the fact that, in the modern Western world, unless you sign up for it, war is just a thing that happens to other people elsewhere. Whereas in many, many ages throughout history, if you were a young male, chances are you would be involved in war in some fashion in your life, either as a soldier or as someone trying to survive the wars around you. Now war can be a nice fantasy because it's something most of us will never have to face in our lifetime. Probably. In the Western world.

All fears of Obama starting World War 3 aside.

The irony is my country is constantly involved in war. It's just easier for us to not think about... it's happening over there, and 9-11 aside, "those people" can rarely strike back at us. There was a point in my teens / early 20s when I was worried about a new draft happening, but I can look back on it now and realize it was just my mom's paranoia bleeding into me. For most of us, war is easy fantasy material, because it has little to do with our daily reality.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:33   Edited:  09/12/13, 20:34
Zero said:
I wouldn't say society is that much less patriarchal.
From Renaissance? Are you joking? Do you want me to remind you the difference of status between men and women back then? Compared to that, 1950 USA are a model of matriarchy. You're way, way, way off the mark here, Zero.

Hey, even without going back in the past we can compare with countries. I guess you'd agree Arab countries are pretty patriarchal, no? Yet their TV is so kitsch it'd make any western male blush. Same with India.

The truth is, there is no correlation between violence and confrontation in fiction on one hand, and patriarchy on the other hand, in fact, the only relation you can find is a reverse relation. Never have women in western countries been as equal to men as now, and never have fiction been that violent and grim.

Zero said:
I wonder if it is more along the lines of the fact that, in the modern Western world, unless you sign up for it, war is just a thing that happens to other people elsewhere.
It's not just war, it's violence in fiction in general. All the tons of zombie fiction, horror movies in general, movies about criminals, superheros, etc. aren't "war", yet they're mind-bogglingly violent compared to fiction decades or centuries ago. The more society is feminine, the more fiction is violent. So it really amuses me to see patriarchy blamed for a non violent game having a hard time.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:49
@Simbabbad
My opinion is propaganda now? Great way of making me want to respect your viewpoint, Simba.

I'm talking about an industry that is dominated by men in all aspects. Men funded an industry where men developed games starring men, marketed towards boys who grew up to be men wanting to work in the industry that raised them, going on to create new experiences for men based on the ones they themselves enjoyed, and when said experiences bring in big money to the men with financial influence over the industry, more of the same is shoveled out, completing the circle. Anything differentiating from the well established and profitable formula will have a harder time gaining momentum, and makes it less likely for those who are not immediately attracted to it to make their way into the industry, which in turn makes it less likely that people there will push for new experiences aimed at new audiences.

It's this structure and the consequences thereof I'm talking about, not specific subject matter.

What they were doing in the renaissance, what has been considered masculine historically, and what your hypotheses are about the cultural impacts a matriarchal society would have are not revelant to what I'm saying, nor do I imagine there is enough information to make any assumptions about the latter within this context, but that's a different story altogether.

Posted by 
 on: 09/12/13, 20:53
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