New Interview with Alex..... | Forums

[kudos17]

As for the article itself, I do like that Alex has no problem heaping praise on non-Ubisoft games when pointing out examples of games that are doing something right, like RDR and Batman. Most developers try to avoid drawing attention away from the game they're currently promoting with comparisons to other games, but Alex has discussed these examples in several interviews.

At the end of the day, that's really all I care about. He's human. He doesn't totally destroy "political correctness", but he says things without problem. Opinions, similarities with other games, etc - he's seems like an open guy.

So even if I don't necessarily agree with his opinion on the way Eastern games are handled, I'm glad I have an opinion to disagree with. The fact that Hutchinson observes and feels passionate about certain subjects in the gaming scene is a good thing. It reminds me that robots are not in charge here, but those who love telling good stories - and AC is in good hands.

[DarkSolitude-X]

I agree with Alex. Most of the Japanese games out there are complete gibberish. I also think there is a difference between stories that in all rights don't make any sense, whatsoever; and games that some people just don't understand.

I also want to say "Way to go Alex". So many people are so afraid to speak their mind, because of the s**tfest that is political correctness. Godd**n do I hate political correctness. In all honesty it flies in the face and smacks the very notion of free speech. I'm happy that Alex has no reservations about speaking his mind. Good guy, I say.

[Sabastian_AC]

People are being a little harsh on Japanese games for "not making sense". A lot of people seem to forget the cultural context. Many Japanese games' storylines are heavily inspired by ancient folklore and are heavy on wordplays and poetic phrasing which may be difficult to translate to westerners. We think it's weird when it may in fact be a case of lost in translation or missing piece of knowledge about Japanese culture. There's a reason Japanese games still sell way better in Japan than western games, and I bet the reasons are fairly similar.

Yeah I think the whole "cultural differences" explanation (excuse?) is what he's referring to. If Ubisoft can put together a "multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs" and come up with a reasonable narrative, then why can't these Japanese companies? If these game studios are going to market games to the west, then it's the studios' responsibility to create games and storylines that are able to be understood by all intended audiences.

To put it another way, a stand-up comic would not tell a series of inside-jokes during a routine, because those jokes would only be relevant to a limited audience. Likewise, it is unreasonable for Japanese game designers to write stories that can only be fully understood by a small portion of the intended audience.

[Serrachio]

What Hutchinson fails to realize though is that annual releases are boring and depreciate the industry.

You can boast all you want about how successful your series is selling, but we all know that Call of Duty and Mario aren't innovative, and Assassin's Creed doesn't deserve that sort of lackluster performance. The last time Mario was fresh was around the release of Super Mario Galaxy, and since then, they've recycled over and over, New Super Mario Bros. 2 coming to mind. Same worlds, same gameplay, it's just that you've got to collect some more coins this time around. They even recycle consoles, since they stuck a camera in their DS Lites, made the DSi slightly bigger, and then chucked on a gimmick with 3DS, before they are now making those bigger.

Does this make me want to buy a DSi, 3DS or 3DS XL over my DS Lite? No, because there's little point.

AC2 was fantastic, and you know why? Developers had the time to mature and fine tune it, and it meant a more enjoyable game for us. Brotherhood was a little lacking in story length, but it hadn't gotten as much time even though the story was somewhat fleshed out from initially being an expansion prospect, though it was immersive and kept the player occupied with plenty of side missions and a great multiplayer.

Revelations was a rush job and the Creative Director made poor choices, since I feel Alexandre Amancio treated the game more like a product to sell, instead of providing an experience, as he pulled time and effort away from what turned out to be the Lost Archive. Players got a recap at the start of the game, they didn't need to know Desmond's entire backstory. He's already bland enough as it is. The game had potential to be something awesome, but the convoluted time frame for Desmond's trilogy meant that it lacked quality, and Ubisoft didn't do themselves any favours by hyping the **** out of it.

I'm looking forward to AC3, given how much has been invested into it, but I think Hutchinson's mentality on this is wrong, and would lead to even more poor choices in the future. Ubisoft invested 7-8 teams on Revelations, and that was to fit a game into a 1 year deadline, pre-production and all. It didn't end well. Don't think that because you got good sales since you practically lied about how good the game was, that means that devaluing the series by shipping out a game year after year is wise.

I want to get excited about the series, and that means I need a chance to forget it first. Don't think that because I like your games, it means I'm something to be exploited.

[Subject J80]

Could we all have waited 3 years for ACIII?

[De Filosoof]

What Alex fails to realize though is that annual releases are boring and depreciate the industry.

You can boast all you want about how successful your series is selling, but we all know that Call of Duty and Mario aren't innovative, and Assassin's Creed doesn't deserve that sort of lackluster performance. The last time Mario was fresh was around the release of Super Mario Galaxy, and since then, they've recycled over and over, New Super Mario Bros. 2 coming to mind. Same worlds, same gameplay, it's just that you've got to collect some more coins this time around. They even recycle consoles, since they stuck a camera in their DS Lites, made the DSi slightly bigger, and then chucked on a gimmick with 3DS, before they are now making those bigger.

Does this make me want to buy a DSi, 3DS or 3DS XL over my DS Lite? No, because there's little point.

AC2 was fantastic, and you know why? Developers had the time to mature and fine tune it, and it meant a more enjoyable game for us. Brotherhood was a little lacking in story length, but it hadn't gotten as much time even though the story was somewhat fleshed out from initially being an expansion prospect, though it was immersive and kept the player occupied with plenty of side missions and a great multiplayer.

Revelations was a rush job and the Creative Director made poor choices, since I feel Alexandre Amancio treated the game more like a product to sell, instead of providing an experience, since he pulled time and effort away from what turned out to be the Lost Archive. Players got a recap at the start of the game, they didn't need to know Desmond's entire backstory. He's already bland enough as it is. The game had potential to be something awesome, but the convoluted time frame for Desmond's trilogy meant that it lacked quality, and Ubisoft didn't do themselves any favours by hyping the **** out of it.

I'm looking forward to AC3, given how much has been invested into it, but I think Hutchingson's mentality on this is wrong, and would lead to even more poor choices in the future. Ubisoft invested 7-8 teams on Revelations, and that was to fit a game into a 1 year deadline, pre-production and all. It didn't end well. Don't think that because you got good sales since you practically lied about how good the game was, that means that devaluing the series by shipping out a game year after year is wise.

I want to get excited about the series, and that means I need a chance to forget it first. Don't think that because I like your games, it means I'm something to be exploited.

Couldn't say it better myself .

[RatonhnhakeFan]

Not that I disagree Serrachio, however, what can he say? In the end, he has people above him that may fire him if they feel like he said something that put them in bad light.

His comments about Japanese developers were unnecessary and "uh oh the press doesn't appreciate western stories enough so I will point fingers". But what he says about annualized franchises is clearly what's expected from him from his company

[Serrachio]

Not that I disagree Serrachio, however, what can he say? In the end, he has people above him that may fire him if they feel like he said something that put them in bad light.

His comments about Japanese developers were unnecessary and "uh oh the press doesn't appreciate western stories enough so I will point fingers". But what he says about annualized franchises is clearly what's expected from him from his company

Is it? Ubisoft doesn't need to annualize its games. They just want more money, or that they have little in the way of new intellectual property. Watch Dogs is one example, but it's only one.

[RatonhnhakeFan]

Ubisoft doesn't need to annualize its games.

Of course they don't need to do it. But they did lol. It's already happened. So obviously they're gonna try make it look like it's totally fine and cool. And they will instruct all the employees to repeat the same thing so the audience doesn't think it's all about money (even though it is lol)

[De Filosoof]

I wonder how long it will take till they're going to change the templars into the "good guys'. Lol .