Michel Ancel
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{short description|French video game designer (born 1972)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michel Ancel
| image = Michel Ancel.jpg
| caption = Ancel in 2007
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|3|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Monaco
| occupation = Game designer
| years_active = 1989–2020, 2024–present
| notable_works = Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil, Rabbids
}}
Michel Ancel ({{IPA|fr|miʃɛl ɑ̃sɛl}}; born 29 March 1972) is a retired Monégasque-French video game designer. He is best known for creating the Rayman franchise and was the lead designer or director for several of the games, including Rayman Origins and its sequel Rayman Legends. He is also known for the critically acclaimed video game Beyond Good & Evil, as well as for King Kong, based on Peter Jackson's 2005 film of the same name. In 2017, he began work on Beyond Good and Evil 2, although he left the project in 2020.
Early life
Born in Monaco in 1972, Michel Ancel spent his early years traveling all around the world due to his father's military career.{{Cite web|date=13 January 2006|title=Michel Ancel: le Mal, c'est le marché|url=https://www.jeuxvideo.com/dossiers/00005309/les-grands-noms-du-jeu-video-michel-ancel-le-mal-c-est-le-marche-012.htm}} It was in Tunisia where he first discovered a video game console. Since then, Ancel had been drafting game concepts while learning to program in his computer. At the age of 16, he dropped out of high-school in order to pursue his career as a graphic designer for Lankhor.{{Cite web|date=30 May 2008|title=Michel Ancel, piqué au jeu|url=https://www.liberation.fr/ecrans/2008/05/30/michel-ancel-pique-au-jeu_957930/?page=article}}
Career
Ancel's first demo, Mechanic Warriors, was developed for software house Lankhor. Ancel joined Ubi Soft as a graphic artist after meeting the game author Nicolas Choukroun in Montpellier at the age of 17.{{Cite web|date=14 November 2011|title=Ubisoft Developer Michel Ancel Interview|url=https://www.nowgamer.com/ubisoft-developer-michel-ancel-interview/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823043601/https://www.nowgamer.com/ubisoft-developer-michel-ancel-interview/|archive-date=23 August 2018|website=NowGamer}} He designed the graphics of Choukroun's games such as The Intruder and Pick'n Pile before doing his first game as both programmer and graphic artist. Brain Blaster was released by Ubi Soft in 1990. In 1992, he began to work on Rayman, his debut as lead designer in a game. During development, Ancel moves to Carnon and Ubi Soft opened a studio at there; it was named Ubi Pictures, where Ancel would reside for his tenure at Ubisoft. Rayman was released in 1995 for PlayStation, Atari Jaguar and Sega Saturn.
While Ancel was heavily involved in the development of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, his directorial debut,{{cite web | url=https://gamerant.com/michel-ancel-best-games/ | title=Michel Ancel's Best Video Games | date=18 September 2020 }} he would only have an advisory role on Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. Although he praised the development team's efforts in the final game, he claims still that he would have "made the game differently".{{cite web |title=Interview |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/interviews/september03/ancel |publisher=GameSpy |access-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917212350/http://www.gamespy.com/ |archive-date=17 September 2013 }}
In 2003, he created Beyond Good & Evil, which garnered critical acclaim and a cult following, but was a commercial failure. However, film director Peter Jackson's admiration of the game — and his frustration with EA's handling of The Lord of the Rings license — led to Ancel being given direction of the King Kong video game adaptation. In spite of Ubisoft's reluctance to produce a sequel Beyond Good and Evil 2, Ancel has expressed a clear wish to produce one in the future,{{cite web|title=Making King Kong, Interview with designer Michel Ancel|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/03/making-kong-interview-with-designer-michel-ancel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128024107/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/03/making-kong-interview-with-designer-michel-ancel/|archive-date=28 January 2015|access-date=29 October 2007|publisher=Joystiq}}{{cite web|last=Brightman|first=James|date=27 March 2008|title=10 Questions: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillem|url=http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/10-questions-ubisoft-ceo-yves-guillemot|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411043426/http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/10-questions-ubisoft-ceo-yves-guillemot|archive-date=11 April 2009|access-date=29 March 2008|publisher=GameDaily|quote=Michel Ancel is working on several unannounced projects, and I [Yves Guillem] am afraid I cannot tell you more at this stage. You can expect to hear more from Ubisoft about these projects soon.}}{{cite web|author=Kévin|date=15 May 2008|title=Beyond Good & Evil 2 en préproduction|url=http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/beyond-good-evil-preproduction-actu-139816.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712222253/http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/beyond-good-evil-preproduction-actu-139816.html|archive-date=12 July 2014|access-date=18 May 2008|publisher=JeuxVideo|language=fr}} which was officially announced at Ubidays 2008 event on 28 May 2008.{{cite web |url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/877/877261p1.html |title=Ubisoft Announces Beyond Good & Evil Follow-up |first=Matt |last=Wales |date=28 May 2008 |publisher=IGN UK |access-date=30 May 2008 }} On 18 December 2008, at the VGL event in Paris.{{cite web |url=http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=58434 |title='Beyond Good & Evil 2' Already 1.5 Years into Development |date=19 December 2008 |access-date=23 December 2008 |publisher=WorthPlaying }}
On 5 April 2006, Ubisoft announced that Ancel was leading the development of the fourth game in the Rayman series, eventually known as Rayman Raving Rabbids, for Wii.{{cite web|date=5 April 2006|title=Ubisoft Announces All-New Rayman Video Game for Holiday 2006|url=http://ubi.com/US/News/Info.aspx?nId=3861|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831183308/http://ubi.com/US/News/Info.aspx?nId=3861|archive-date=31 August 2011|website=ubi.com}} The game began production in early 2005 and was released on 15 November 2006 for the launch of the Wii. However, Ancel was absent from the project after its E3 announcement, and made no public appearances regarding the game after the development team switched focus from a free-roaming platformer to the final party game format shortly after E3. In the final game, Ancel was credited with storyboarding and character design, while the directorial credits were shared amongst Patrick Bodard, Jacques Exertier, Yoan Fanise and Florent Sacré.
In 2010, Ubisoft announced Rayman Origins, first unveiled as an episodic video game designed by Michel Ancel and developed by a small team of five people, but it was announced that the project had been expanded into a full game. The game was the first Ubisoft title to use the then newly-created UbiArt Framework. Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and Ancel, UbiArt is a 2.5D game engine that allows artists and animators to easily create visual content and use it in an interactive environment.{{Cite web|title=How do you create an animation in UBIart Framework?|url=http://ubi-art.uk.ubi.com/2010/07/07/how-do-you-create-an-animation-in-ubiart-framework/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301032150/http://ubi-art.uk.ubi.com/2010/07/07/how-do-you-create-an-animation-in-ubiart-framework/|archive-date=1 March 2015}} The engine is optimized for high-definition resolutions and is capable of running games at 60 frames per second in 1920x1080 resolution. UbiArt tools were expected to be released for third-party use as open-source software in 2011,{{Cite web|last=Fletcher|first=J.C.|date=6 July 2010|title=Rayman Origins slapped on XBLA, PSN this Christmas, other platforms possible|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/rayman-origins-slapped-on-xbla-psn-this-christmas-other-platfo/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201062049/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/rayman-origins-slapped-on-xbla-psn-this-christmas-other-platfo/|archive-date=1 February 2015|website=Joystiq}} but this failed to materialise due to concerns of the perceived complexities to properly develop in it raised from personnel within the company.{{Cite web|last=Tim|first=Geoffrey|date=11 April 2016|title=Ubisoft Boss explains why we haven't seen any UbiArt games lately|url=https://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/ubisoft-boss-explains-why-we-havent-seen-any-ubiart-games-lately/|website=Critical Hit Gaming}}
In 2014, Ancel announced he had formed an independent games studio called Wild Sheep. He would continue to contribute to the development of projects at Ubisoft, including "an extremely ambitious new title that is very close to his and the team's heart."{{cite news|last=Stead|first=Chris|date=2 August 2014|title=Another AAA Developer Goes Indie|publisher=Grab It Indie Games Magazine|url=http://www.grabitmagazine.com/blog/post/another-aaa-developers-goes-indie/|access-date=2 August 2014}} Wild Sheep's first project was a survival game titled Wild. Sony Interactive Entertainment purchased the game's rights, making it a PlayStation 4 and eventually PlayStation 5 exclusive.{{citation| url = http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/08/12/introducing-wild-ps4-exclusive-rayman-creator-michel-ancel/| title = Introducing WiLD, a PS4 exclusive from Rayman creator Michel Ancel| date = 12 August 2014| work = blog.eu.playstation.com }}
In September 2020, Ancel announced he was leaving the video game industry to spend time on a wildlife sanctuary. He stated that his two current projects, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Wild, were in capable hands with his departure.{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/370444/Rayman_creator_Michel_Ancel_leaving_games_industry_to_work_on_wildlife_sanctuary.php | title = Rayman creator Michel Ancel leaving games industry to work on wildlife sanctuary | first = Chris | last =Kerr | date = 18 September 2020 | access-date = 18 September 2020 | work = Gamasutra }} Despite this, Ancel would later show dissatisfaction at Wild, as Ubisoft Paris took over development, radically reworked the game and abandoned it due to internal conflicts, rendering it effectively cancelled by Sony.{{Cite web |last=Scullion |first=Chris |date=2024-12-09 |title=Ubisoft’s handling of cancelled PlayStation exclusive Wild was ‘a real scandal’, director claims |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ubisofts-handling-of-cancelled-playstation-exclusive-wild-was-a-real-scandal-director-says/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=VGC |language=en-US}} One week after his departure, Libération published an article investigating allegations of Ancel's toxic leadership at Ubisoft.{{Cite web |title=Enquête sur le côté obscur du géant "Beyond Good and Evil 2"|trans-title=Investigation into the dark side of the giant «Beyond Good and Evil 2»|work=Libération |date=25 September 2020 |access-date=13 June 2021 |url=https://www.liberation.fr/images/2020/09/25/jeu-video-les-coulisses-effarantes-d-un-blockbuster-geant_1800522/|language=fr}} Ancel confirmed he was aware that he was being investigated but denied the accusations against him and called Libération{{'}}s report about him "fake news".{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/report-beyond-good-evil-2-director-michel-ancel-left-1845184216| title = Report: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Director Michel Ancel Left Ubisoft Amid Investigation Into Complaints Of Toxic Leadership | first = Ethan | last =Gach | date = 25 September 2020 | access-date = 13 June 2021 | work = Kotaku }}
In October 2024, Ubisoft announced in response to rumors that Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan had been working on a new Rayman project, with Ancel returning to the company to consult on its development.{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=Matt |date=2024-10-23 |title=Ubisoft confirms new Rayman project currently in the "exploration phase" following reports of a remake |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/ubisoft-confirms-new-rayman-project-currently-in-the-exploration-phase-following-reports-of-a-remake |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}
Recognition
On 13 March 2006, he, along with Shigeru Miyamoto and Frédérick Raynal, were knighted by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, a knight of arts and literature.{{Cite web |last=Dubin |first=Jayson |date=2012-05-04 |title=Miyamoto and Ancel Knighted in France |url=https://www.gamezone.com/news/miyamoto_and_ancel_knighted_in_france/ |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=GameZone |language=en-US}} It was the first time that video game developers were honored with this distinction. Ancel is recognized as one of the best game designers in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators, ranking 24th out of 100.{{cite web|title=IGN - 24. Michel Ancel|url=https://www.ign.com/top/game-creators/24.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128060844/http://games.ign.com/top-100-game-creators/24.html|archive-date=28 January 2013|access-date=7 March 2009|publisher=IGN}}
Design philosophy
Ancel aims for a high degree of freedom in his games.{{Citation|last=Goldfarb|first=Andrew|title=Michel Ancel Discusses Beyond Good & Evil 2 - IGN|date=17 July 2013|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/17/michel-ancel-discusses-beyond-good-evil-2|language=en|access-date=13 August 2020}} He is critical of games that claim to offer freedom, but present limits or invisible boundaries where players do not expect them.
Games
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Role |
|---|
| 1989
|The Intruder |Graphics |
| rowspan="2" |1990
|Brain Blasters |Programmer, graphics, music |
| Pick 'n Pile
|Graphics, writer |
| 1995
|Lead designer, concept |
| rowspan="2" |1999
|Original concept |
| Rayman 2: The Great Escape
| Director, lead game designer, art director, story |
| rowspan="2" |2003
|Special thanks |
| Beyond Good & Evil
|Director, game designer, story |
| 2005
|Director, game designer |
| 2006
|rowspan="3" |Character designer |
| 2007 |
| 2008 |
| 2011
|rowspan="5" |Director |
| 2012 |
| rowspan="2" |2013 |
| Rayman Fiesta Run |
| 2015
|Rayman Adventures |
| 2021
|Special Thanks |
| TBA
|Original director |
| TBA
|Untitled Rayman project |Consultant |
| Cancelled
|Wild |Original director |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1885707}}
- [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,30395/ Michel Ancel] profile at MobyGames
{{Michel Ancel games}}
{{Rayman}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancel, Michel}}
Category:French video game designers