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Michel Ancel, the mind behind the Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil series, has complained about the state of violence in games, stating to Eurogamer: “The problem I have with violence is when there’s nothing behind it – when it’s just violence.”
Ancel compared the industry’s standards for violence with other media, saying: “Yeah, I think violence is not the problem, the problem is when it’s not done… if you look for example at Saving Private Ryan, the Spielberg movie. It’s violent but there is really dramatic and artistic storytelling behind it.
“The thing I hate the most is when you see people doing bad things and the player can say, ‘okay I have the right to kill them in horrible ways because they are horrible’. If you kill Nazis with the same methods as the Nazis themselves then you are Nazis too, no?”
He continued: “I like the way the movie industry is able to have storytelling, to talk about violence, sex and everything like that with real talent. Today, I think we have a lot of things to learn from that.
“It is very important to ask questions. We want to make games where there are those situations – how can we make the player have these kind of [violent] interactions but with some meaning?”
Ancel is currently working on an upcoming title in the Rayman series, Rayman: Origins, set to be released Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii later this year.
Ancel is known to be outspoken on a number of games-related issues. In the past he’s also bemoaned the state of US publishers who avoid taking risks, as well as the issue of blockbuster titles looking all too similar. Is he right? Are there too few risks taken in game development and too much mindless violence?
