Far Cry 3 director Patrick Plourde isn’t just making another first-person shooter with a violent tone. Although the developer has plenty of experience working with big franchises and genres that help push millions of units, he’s thrilled to be behind something like Child of Light. And thankfully, it seems that other members of Ubisoft are fully behind this JRPG-inspired side scrolling "fairytale game."
"We're super grateful for the backing of people that aren't on the project. Like, I'm constantly receiving emails from people internally that are excited, saying it's so different,” he told OXM in a recent interview. “And if at one point it's going to inspire – that's when you become the veteran, if there's some guy going, 'I love that game, I want to do that. It creates that hope.'”
A game with this type of art style and tone is a risk for a massive publisher like Ubisoft that's found so much success with games where you often stab people, but it’s a creative move that Plourde needed to make.
"There's nothing wrong with first person shooters, or that kind of game," Plourde continued. "But at the same time, I don't want to become the Assassin's Creed meat factory, where it's like: 'this is what we're making.' That kills creativity. Especially when you have a big studio like that, you want to be in an environment where it feels like there's no limit."
The genre, presentation, and inclusion of a female hero are all aspects of Child of Light that will help it to stand out and hopefully, Plourde’s gamble will pay off when the game launches in 2014.