Beyond Good & Evil 2 in pre-production

[Flawless]

Destructoid

In an interview with JeuxVideo Magazine, Michel Ancel (creator of Rayman and the original Beyond Good & Evil) is quoted as saying that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in preproduction and has been for about a year or so:

We've been in preproduction for a year, and we're working on research in small teams. But, for the moment, it's just in the draft stage, and Ubisoft hasn't agreed to it yet.

According the rest of the article, about a dozen people are working on the project. Ancel wants to maintain continuity with the first game, and dropped some hints as to what that might imply: "Large variety of stages of play, lots of emotion in the gameplay, characters you can get attached to. This time, we're addressing the fate of the planet." He also mentioned that animals will play a role in the game, although there's very little elaboration on that point.

Considered one of the best games of 2003, the original Beyond Good & Evil was critically acclaimed but commercially panned. As someone who has very little faith in the creative capacities of the giant publishers in the industry, I'm glad that Ancel and his team are working on a new game. I can only hope that Ubisoft gives it the green light. Perhaps we'll get an official announcement at UbiDays -- coming on the heels of another BGE2 rumor, I think that's likely.

I will be sad, if Ubisoft doesn't green light it.

[Flawless]

Re: Beyond Good & Evil 2 in pre-production

It's really coming.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 revealed at Ubidays 2008

Closing out the Ubidays 2008 live conference, CEO Yves Guillemot left the audience with one final teaser: the next project from designer Michel Ancel. While the trailer stopped short of naming its subject, we'd recognize that snout from anywhere. Why that's Uncle Pey'j of course! And look at dear Jade, she's grown her hair out an inch or two since last we saw her.

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[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

YES!


beyond good and evil was a GREAT game.

[Pete1210]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

Great News!

[ChaseB]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point!

[Flawless]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

Eurogamer

Michel Ancel believes that, with the power of the new consoles, he can finally fulfil his original ambitious ideas for Beyond Good & Evil.

"We'll conserve the spirit [of the first game] but the form will change," Ancel told All-Gamers during a video interview, translated by our friends at Eurogamer France. Bon.

"For [BG&E], we wanted to create a more cinematographic game, but we didn't have the technical ability to do that. So we simplified. It was fun, because I remember we had to create a work for Sony to demonstrate how original our game was in order to get the dev kit. We wrote BG&E like we were in a film. After, we understood it would be very tricky to reach that immersion on that console!

"But now, with the next-gen consoles, we feel it is possible to develop the game we thought of for the first," he said.

Ancel said Beyond Good & Evil 2 - announced at UbiDays last May - will take longer to create but be "more immersive" and "more complex" as a result. The French clever-clogs noted that there is more expectation on the sequel now the brand is established, too.

So, when? "It is very difficult to answer: there is an unknown aspect," explained Ancel, revealing that his team has been working on new concepts that don't always work out, making dates difficult to forecast

"We could have finished the game," concludes Ancel, "but we want BG&E2 to bring something to the videogame universe."

He was also coy about which platforms we will see Beyond Good & Evil 2 on.

"We are not sure," Ancel admitted. "We are on a next-gen format but we can't say if it will be one or two." He even kept the possibility of a Wii version alive, claiming that his technical ambitions didn't "eliminate adaptations or particular versions".

Eurogamer

Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel has revealed his inspiration for the game's sequel.

"It was a mix of a lot of experiences," Ancel told All-Gamers (translated by our friends at Eurogamer France). "It was a phantasm to create an adventure game, a universe too. It was the game I wanted to create for a long time.

"There were a lot of inspirations: the Miyazaki universe, my own inspirations, politics and the media; the theme of September 11 - the CNN show with army messages and the fear climate. And it was a mix from other universes.

"It's different from Zelda and other titles like that; very good games but they are out of time. [BG&E] was issued of the actuality," he said, like a poet.

Ancel went on to reveal that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be inspired "completely" in the same way, and pick-up almost exactly where the original left off.

"Yes," he said, when asked if BG&E2 will be a direct sequel. "But it is better to discover that when you play, ha ha! But it is clear we want to continue the story - we won't create characters, story. The story continues and we'll react on important events of the first.

"Players who like the first should like the second," he added.

[Pappy Knuckles]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

I was surprised that I actually liked Beyond Good & Evil, but I thought it was a pretty amazing game. I'll definitely check out the sequel if it comes out.

[goh]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

http://kotaku.com/5246177/is-this-ne...evil-2-footage

I tried to embed it but it came out too large and messed up the page.

[Gibbz]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

I heard so many great things about the first game, but I just couldn't get into it.

[ChaseB]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

http://kotaku.com/5246177/is-this-ne...evil-2-footage

I tried to embed it but it came out too large and messed up the page.

Sup, Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed engine.

That looks amazing though, it's like a more cinematic version of the engine they have in place. I loved the first game so they don't have to sell it to me though.

[jmood88]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

I never played the first one but if that video is real, I'll be getting this one. I'll probably end up getting it regardless since I'm a big Ubisoft fan.

[Sandman42]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

That video reminded me a lot of the Bourne movies.

[CWood2]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

The original has to be the ultimate hidden gem of video games. The story and everything about it was just mesmerizing, despite what my expectations were picking up a dirt cheap game with a few raving reviews. Can't wait for the second.

[Goffs]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

here you go...i just finished the first one a few days ago...i got a great deal from Steam
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[Flawless]

Re: Beyond Good &amp; Evil 2 in pre-production

Booo!

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is on hold

What sorry news; Beyond Good & Evil 2 is now definitely on hold.

Why oh why would Ubisoft put the sequel to Beyond Good & Evil on hold? Especially following the game's announcement and then the release of its first teaser trailer. This just sounds like a cruel joke.

The game's creative lead Michael Ancel talked about Beyond Good & Evil 2 as far back as May 2009, with Ubisoft confirming that the game was in development at UbiDays in Paris.

In April 2009 we again heard from Ancel that the game would be bigger and more immersive than its predecessor, despite the fact that full production had yet to begin. Still, we had the game's first in-engine teaser trailer to gawk over.

However, in July of this year, Ubisoft's North American president Laurent Detoc coldly put doubt into our minds:

"Whether or not it [Beyond Good & Evil 2] comes out remains to be seen anyway, but we didn't want to abandon that IP because it has a cache and authenticity about it. There's something very pure about that game and it's too bad that we were not able to build it as an IP at the time."

"Well, I didn't say there's definitely going to be another game. I said something had leaked, which means we've been working on some Beyond Good and Evil stuff, but whether there's going to be another game or not, that's something for the future," Detoc added.

Now Gamersyde's Snoopers confirms that the game has been put on hold after being informed at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, tweeting:

"I got confirmation at Cologne's Gamescom that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is on hold for now. No idea if it's def or temporary but it sucks."

Sure, we don't know Gamersyde's source, and how long it'll be on hold we don't know, but the news sadly runs true. Sigh.