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Designer Explains Why BG&E2 Needs Next-Gen Power

Well, if you need more power…

The original Beyond Good & Evil was packed with plenty of content. The action/adventure cult classic featured exploration via hovercraft (which was upgradeable, by the way), a large map with multiple open locations, platforming and combat action mechanics, and a cohesive narrative.

But it was actually supposed to be even bigger, according to Rayman creator Michel Ancel. In a recent GamesRadar interview , the Ubisoft designer said the scope of BG&E was gigantic; said it included "the city, the ocean, the moon, and the spaceship." But that spaceship was supposed to go from planet to planet.

Unfortunately, the PS2's inherent limitations kept the vision smaller. And that's why they need the power of the next generation for the sequel; i.e., the PlayStation 4. Ancel cites Mass Effect as an example of the concept in his head for BG&E2:

"My thing is that we really want to make the game that was previously imagined, with all this feeling of traveling."

Ancel and Co. want to head in that direction, "with storytelling and a massive world," and that sounds plenty intriguing. The only problem is that they keep hitting some technical snags, which has delayed the product into another generation of consoles. It's that last answer that kills us; to the question- "Is that why it won't appear on the current generation of consoles," Ancel answers:

"Yeah, yeah. That's the reason."

Well, damnit.

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A3ero88
A3ero88
13 years ago

Well at least they haven't given up completely of this game, the first one took me by surprise and i loved it. While i was hoping for a sequel sooner i would rather them make it the best game that it can be

5TAY3R
5TAY3R
13 years ago

Seems like the word 'next gen' will be quite popular in gaming web pages in the next 12months, yeppp, time has come

GuyverLT
GuyverLT
13 years ago

If that's the case then it might not ever get made… I mean I could be wrong if I am then by all means correct me, but how exactly more powerful can the next gens systems be without the costs being to high for consumers like the PS3 when it 1st came out because it was such a leap in technology. I highly doubt the next PlayStation or Xbox is gonna be leaps and bounds better then the current gen systems although the both will more than likely be more powerful than the Wii-U(a system with massive potential yet the stupidest name ever).


Last edited by GuyverLT on 9/30/2011 11:17:00 AM

Excelsior1
Excelsior1
13 years ago

i think it is just flat wrong to assume the next round of consoles won't be significant improvement over the current consoles. the current batch consoles such as the ps3 and 360 are over 5yrs old. that is lifetime in terms of computer technology. we have games now that struggle to reach even 720p at 30fps. a 3 yr old budget desk top pc could blow those specs away. many games run at sub hd resolutions while sporting spotty frame rates to boot. i don't even consider this gen to be a true hd generation since there are so many games out there at well below hd standards. don't forget about the limmited amount of ram on the current batch of consoles either. the ps3 only has 256 mb of video ram plus an additional 256mb of system memory. that is a tiny amount of ram for developers to work with by today's standards.

the prices of ram have dropped significantly since the ps3 arrived so the the next batch of consoles should be able to pack in more memory at lower cost. combine that with the advances we have seen in terms of computer technology in regards to cpu/gpu and i think the leap will be pretty signicant. getting games up to 1080p 60 fps would be great. throw in some hardware based aa and plently of ram for rich textures and i think you will be pleasently surprised what the next round of hardware can do.

cost is a concern but i for one am prepared to pay. i doubt sony will be going with a $600 console again but $500 would be perfectly acceptable to me. plus the ps3 featured new technolgies that added to its cost such as the blu ray. that won't be the case the next time around.

Axe99
Axe99
13 years ago

Actually Excelsior, my three-year old fairly good spec PC is about spot-on PS3 quality (fairly good general spec, not fairly good 'gamer' PC dual SLI and all that), just a dash over. I agree that there'll be a step up, but BF3 is the first game to actually do anything on PC that's not being done on console, and even then it _could_ be done on console, but not pretty enough for DICE to be able to compete with MW3. I agree it'll be a step up, but mainly in textures and framerates, with a side helping of AI, and then mainly on the margins (other than the textures). Hell, most FPS games this gen still haven't matched KZ2's excellent enemy AI (and that includes PC shooters – which are mind-blowingly pretty but gameplay wise offer nothing new).

DrRockso87
DrRockso87
13 years ago

I think the problem is Ubisoft is afraid to release this game. They announced it back in 2008, but remember how much of a bomb the first one was in sales.

Just create the game, guys. Yes, I understand you can't rush success but honestly, this is just ridiculous. We don't even know when next-generation will be. The PS4 and Xbox 720 (or whatever) could arrive in 2014 for all we know. The longer they delay the game, the less hyped people will be and ultimately probably forget about it.

It's sad because the original is an amazing game but Ubisoft didn't advertise it correctly. Now it seems they're trying to delay it the inevitable flop sales it could potentially be (if it sells well, awesome, but I don't know anymore).

Axe99
Axe99
13 years ago

That's a _very_ good point – and Ancel may be betting that if it releases as a launch game on the new platforms (keeping in mind that games in pre-prod or early full dev now will come out 2013-2014, which is when the new boxes are expected to launch) it'll have an easier time getting noticed.

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
13 years ago

512 MB of RAM was a limitation that a newer 2GB or 3GB of RAM will overcome.

Plus better texture cache, faster bus speeds, improved on die cache, faster reading blu ray drive, perhaps BD100/BD200 media disc sizes/etc.

5TAY3R
5TAY3R
13 years ago

The next batch of consoles will arrive in holiday 2012, sony might wait a bit and join on summer of 2013 as the ps3 has something called ''exclusive games'', epic's next poject had a deadline window of fall 2012 if anyone remembers, and if u add epic's relation with microsoft it's pretty easy to guess what's coming

Warrior Poet
Warrior Poet
13 years ago

I wonder if we'll be seeing a new style of gameplay, or just better graphics and AI? I mean, NES to SNES, SNES to PS1, PS1 to PS2 – those were all huge shifts and each generation was very distinct as far as the gameplay and style went. I feel like the PS3 and 360 are just doing the same things as their predecessors were, though. Sure, they're doing them bigger and prettier, but not too much different.

Then again, I'm probably too old-school. I don't really want what we have to change 😀

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
13 years ago

Its already changing with some folks useing a PS3 to game on a 110 inch screen via a LED, HDMI, 720p projector from Vivitek…..Qumi.

To me a 60" HDTV looks small in comparison.

___________
___________
13 years ago

why not just do it on the PC?
got as much power as you could handle!

Lotusflow3r
Lotusflow3r
13 years ago

Mannn…..it sounds amazing!

Do what you need to do Ancel! The 1st is one of my favourites of all. Anything to relive that!

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