How Beyond Good & Evil 2 made Rayman Origins possible

Rayman Origins owes part of its existence to Beyond Good & Evil 2, which had its development tools turned toward making a 2D game with a heavy emphasis on art assets.

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Rayman Origins is one of the most gorgeous 2D games ever created. The "UbiArt" framework used to create the game produced spectacular results, and surprisingly, was born from technology developed for the perpetually in-limbo Beyond Good & Evil 2.

"It was a continuation of what we were doing with Beyond Good & Evil 2 -- a visual pattern generating-based engine," Ubisoft designer Michel Ancel said.

"Artists make some patterns, like samples, and we use them to quickly model levels, as to have a forest, for example. Everything started from this tool, which we called the UbiArt Framework," Ancel told Gamasutra. "Then we said to ourselves, 'To prove that this engine works, let's make an entire game with it!'"

So then what happened to BG&E2? Ancel says that the first game became too ambitious for its platform, and history repeated. "It turned out that we were heading to the same syndrome -- that is to say that, even if current consoles can apparently feature some very good-looking things, with lights, shadows and so on, architecturally speaking, we felt bounded. So I said, 'Let's make a full 2D game instead of half of a 3D game.'"

Ancel seems pleased with the results, and the game has received a positive critical reception. We've heard that BG&E2 is aiming for next generation, which will hopefully enable Ancel's ambitious visions to come to fruition.

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    December 5, 2011 9:00 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, How Beyond Good & Evil 2 made Rayman Origins possible.

    Rayman Origins owes part of its existence to Beyond Good & Evil 2, which had its development tools turned toward making a 2D game with a heavy emphasis on art assets.

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      December 5, 2011 10:50 AM

      as long as a PC version for both eventually comes out, ill be happy but I am not buying a console for just two games, sorry.

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        December 5, 2011 11:28 AM

        I know you're gonna deny this, but you're really missing out on some quality games without a console.

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          December 5, 2011 1:37 PM

          oh there are lots of great console games out there no question! I'd get a PS3 but with no backwards compatibility, I have a load of PS2 games sat going unused (my PS2 broke a while ago) and my brothers gone through more Xbox 360s then I dare to count.

          Plus Steam being so damned convenient and I can't really see myself getting a console right now or in the foreseeable future.

          Besides, there isn't really any excuse not to put things on PC now. The distribution is there (Steam representing) and hell, Sonic Generations sold really well over Steam. If Sonic can do it I'm sure Rayman, Jade and Pey'j can! :)

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        December 5, 2011 11:38 AM

        [deleted]

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      December 5, 2011 10:52 AM

      sadly it will be a great game that bombs just like BGE

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        December 5, 2011 11:41 AM

        That's why I think it would sell better as a downloadable for $15.

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        December 5, 2011 1:50 PM

        It pains me to see that something as awesome as Rayman Origins is going to fail. I've been putting the word out to family and friends to make sure they or their kids get it, and to dodge the Wii version if they can, since it looks absolutely stunning in HD.

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      December 5, 2011 1:47 PM

      That BG&E 2 teaser still puts a tear to my eye...

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