Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been in development for what seems like forever, and in a new interview, former Ubisoft employee Michel Ancel shed some light on some of the issues that have plagued the game since its conception. The various directors seem to have continually disagreed on where to take the series and what they wanted to achieve with the game was different. Ancel even says that the head of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, had to go to Montpellier at one point to get things back on track and it didn't work.
“On some projects, we set ourselves big challenges and passionately oppose the teams, but we don't know how long and complex the road will be ahead of us,” explained Ancel. “Passion is an incredible energy, but it can also lead to conflict between enthusiasts. In Beyond Good & Evil 2, for example, there were too many problems between managers.
“The art director wanted to repeat everything over and over again, the game director wanted to make a generated dungeon game, and I dreamed of a space adventure. We simply could not agree and the game director took the project in a different direction.
“In a situation like this, the teams are scattered and they don't know who is in charge and who makes the decisions. The producer should have put the situation in order, but it didn't happen. Yves Guillemot even had to go to Montpellier to get things back on track, but it wasn't enough and the game director continued with his obstinacy.”
“When I read [French newspaper] Libé that I was the one leading the game and asking for changes, I thought I was going to suffocate,” he recalled. “Beyond Good & Evil 2 is the only game where I don't think I ever questioned a decision. I would be happy to discuss this with any detractors.
“At the end of the day, it's all a case of passionate managers disagreeing. I believe that some time ago these people were replaced and that the project found some balance with new managers.
“These management issues are of course very detrimental to teams. All of this shows that it is not an easy job – a lot of ego and a lot at stake, with clear room for improvement in terms of people management.”
He added: “There wasn't just one big villain, but a whole series of key issues that went unaddressed at management level, myself included. I have my share of responsibility and I should have defended the project better, been more present and more conciliatory with the staff.”
