The colorful, vibrant nature of Child of Light doesn’t exactly fit the mold of the average Ubisoft hit. Assassins, drug-laced jungles, and cities bursting with crime are just a few elements that have led the French company to success, but Child of Light creative director, Patrick Plourde, isn’t afraid of how the game’s tone will be interpreted. Instead, he sees these types of emotional games as complements to the other software out there.
"In my mind, we are all human beings first, whether we are gamers or not," he told OXM. "I believe that we all respond positively to emotions that are true. If you make something true and original, people from different backgrounds and with different interests can and will want to experience it.
OXM brought up the game’s feminine aspects, and if the female lead will turn away the average gamer. Plourde looked to other media for answers.
"Miyazaki movies are a great reference for me because they primarily have female main characters, and at the same time, I feel they are loved by gamers. You can watch Iron Man and My Neighbor Totoro in the same weekend and it's not considered weird,” he continued. “In fact, you would be considered a film aficionado. So why wouldn't a gamer, somebody that likes games, be interested in playing different experiences? One type of experience doesn't replace another, they complete each other.
"We will see if Child of Light will be well received, and I hope it will be, but in the end its success will be riding on the quality of the experience and not its subject matter."