Ancel details Rayman Wii

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 May, 2006

Raving nunchucks.

Rayman creator Michel Ancel has spoken out about how much he's enjoying working on Nintendo Wii - and given a detailed insight into how Raving Rabbids, the fourth game in the series, will take advantage of the console's unusual controls.

In an extended publisher-lead Q&A, Ancel dismissed the other current and next-gen console versions for now - he'll talk about those "soon" - and instead focused on the Wii version, which is due for release alongside the console at launch.

Raving Rabbids is deliberately "very cliché and ludicrous" he says, with a "completely open" world that you can navigate any way you like taking on the invasion of demented rabbits using the Wii controller and nunchuck to direct Rayman's attacks.

"If you give a real punch move [with the nunchuck], Rayman makes the same punch on screen," says Ancel. "If you shake the controller, Rayman will do some special kung-fu style moves."

"If you make a quick move with the nunchuck, Rayman will grapple the nearest enemies or objects. You can then make them spin around Rayman and throw them - as projectiles - just by swinging the nunchuck around your head."

Also, "while Rayman is in the air, he can perform an earthquake ground-shaking move. Just take both pads downwards to do it".

"Rayman will also be able to use creatures in the game. To ride them, you have to twist the Wii main controller in order to direct the creatures in certain ways. You can imagine that it feels very natural to control an eagle in the air or a shark under water, just by moving your hands in the direction you want to go."

You'll be able to dance with the bunnies too, apparently. And if it all sounds a bit ridiculous, apparently that's the point. "It's a comedy," says Ancel, "like Mars Attacks or some Monty Python movies, I'd like it to sound absurd and funny." Score one then.

"Fans of the series will find most of the characters they loved, but in new situations," he says of the story, which sees Rayman on a quest to save the world, his girlfriend, and some old enemies from the invading rabbits.

It won't all be bonking them on the head though - you'll be fighting the rabbits but also making use of them, taking control of them to open new areas. "It's interesting to manipulate your enemies. Depending on their powers and abilities, you'll have different reactions and surprises."

"The game is going to be completely open, so you'll be able to navigate freely and move from situation to situation with different companions, items, or dark creatures."

At the moment Ancel can't confirm if Raving Rabbids will run in prog-scan and widescreen modes, but does say that his Montpelier development team is aiming to get as close to 60 frames per second as possible, with a minimum of 30 in mind.

He also noted that there are currently no plans for multiplayer or downloadable updates, as the game is primarily a story-driven action-adventure and he doesn't want to dilute it.

As for the system itself, Ancel - veteran of many formats, in fact virtually all of them thanks to Ubisoft's determination to get his last game, King Kong, in front of everybody and their dog - says that the Wii hardware is "perfect to develop games". "Easy to program, you can concentrate on developing new ideas and pushing your gameplay," he says.

And with that, he's back to the grind. Expect to hear more on Rayman: Raving Rabbids, including other console versions, in the coming months.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • lambtron #1 6 years ago

    I like Mr Ancel,

    Beyond Good and Evil was awesome. Please make a sequel!

    Even though no one will buy it.

    /cries.

  • Blerk #2 6 years ago

    I'm not convinced about those controls. They sound awfully complicated.

  • Darkedge #3 6 years ago

    hope rayman is better than King Kong as that was utter rubbish

  • Markus #4 6 years ago

    Blerk:
    Does just making the motion with the controllers I want my game character to do on screen _seriously_ sound awfully complicated to you?

    Maybe I'm getting everything wrong for never having played a game with the Wii controllers myself, but from everything I've seen and read so far, it seems like a significantly more intuitive and natural controlling method than having to learn countless button combinations.

  • Cappy #5 6 years ago

    "Blerk:
    Does just making the motion with the controllers I want my game character to do on screen _seriously_ sound awfully complicated to you?"

    I agree with Blerk. So far from all descriptions Wii control schemes have taken actions that were previously initiated with a single button press or stick movement and replaced them with something more complicated. One action, a button press. Replaced with pointing and gesturing which will definitely take longer. At the very best it sounds rather imprecise.

    *edit* I just recalled the horrible mouse controlled gestural spell system from Black and White. Horrible.
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 10:06

  • afray #6 6 years ago

    Thanks for your insight, Blackdog! I'd never thought of it like that!

    Now I can go back to wanting shinier and shinier silicone, with little regard for gameplay or fun. You've saved me from a life of enjoyment and happiness!

    o_0
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 10:09

  • abeit2 #7 6 years ago

    With the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 we get the best of both worlds gameplay+innovation with Wii (wii sports and rayman raving rabbits) plus tradition and spectacular graphics on Xbox 360. i.e. Oblvion

  • abeit2 #8 6 years ago

    Planning to get 2 Nintendo Wii's if they are £150

  • afray #9 6 years ago

    Why would you want two? Just curious.

  • Triggerhappytel #10 6 years ago

    "shinier and shinier silicone, with little regard for gameplay or fun." - afray

    It's a little bit ignorant to insinuate Sony and Microsoft do/will not deliver 'gameplay or fun'. Just because they're not pushing the envelope as far as Nintendo doesn't mean they won't have quality games which are enjoyable.

  • Cabelo #11 6 years ago

    He's gonna build them into a 360 ;)

    Edit: someone posted before me :( That was "Why he'd want two."
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 10:17

  • abeit2 #12 6 years ago

    Why would you want two? Just curious.

    Sell on when all the Wii has sold out for a handsome profit. Like people have with 360 or give it to my cousin

  • afray #13 6 years ago

    Triggerhappytel: Yep, fair point. Sorry.

    But I admire Nintendo for their commitment to gameplay over graphics, and I don't like to see them knocked by people who haven't played the games. Especially from such an unapologetic PS3 fanboy as Blackdog.

  • Chtulie #14 6 years ago

    Well, it HAS to be better then Rayman DS, right?

  • krudster #15 6 years ago

    Yeah, that was a bit rubbish.

  • JonFE #16 6 years ago

    @blackdog,

    Well, I'm not convinced about the PS3 altogether. The PS3 seems like a PS2 with a HiDef (but not HDMI as standard) output, with new (but unproven and unestablished) technology inside, the same old contoller -with an "inspired by the competition" gimmick slapped on at the last minute- on the outside, probably less exclusive titles this generation and more expensive than the rest.

  • MadMirko #17 6 years ago

    You could also say that Wii controls are a lot more simple than traditional controls.

    Just because we as gamers had a (sometimes) life long conditioning towards the button / d-pad scheme doesn't mean it's a simple way of controlling a game.

    For me it is second nature that there is are kick and strike buttons of low, medium, strong varieties in a 2d fighter. It's clear to me that I initiate a jump by pressing up-left / right, can combine that with using the kick buttons for a jumping kick attack, finish the move with a shoulder button for a stomp attack or cancel via a movement with the d-pad towards the back of my avatar.

    Second nature to me, difficult for a non-gamer.

    The Wii-way, jerking the remote upwards for a jump f.ex. is a lot easier, as it has a natural connection between whats happening on screen and what you physically do to make it happen.

    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 10:40

  • El_MUERkO #18 6 years ago

    Adults may feel like twats spinning the controller over their heads but a 7 year old is going to lap this up

  • JonFE #19 6 years ago

    @El_MUERkO

    +1
    Exactly my sentiments on the whole Wii appeal...

  • Psi #20 6 years ago

    nintendo are battleing childhood obesity

  • Jos #21 6 years ago

    It's hard to describe the Wii control mechanics succinctly, but the actual actions generally sound pretty easy and very quick. Try and describe waving. It's very wordy in comparison to how easy it is to do.

    I'm sure some games will come up with impossibly complex gesture systems but most of what I've read about sounds a lot more instinctive than that.

  • peterfll #22 6 years ago

    The Wii has a hi-def output? Well, it can output 480p - but the GC can do that too (well, for the first 3 years all GCs were capable of it before Nintendo dropped it to make the GC cheaper to produce - they felt no-one was taking advantage of it).

    Personally I'm not too bothered the Wii isn't supporting 720p, but I would like to see Prog Scan and Widescreen as default on all games. It does make a difference if you've got the right telly.

  • SirScratchalot #23 6 years ago

    "I'm not convinced about those controls. They sound awfully complicated. "

    I disagree, they seem to melt into my mind. Then again I´ve sort of "felt" how I would play games using motions since the controller was revealed i.e. I think it will work very well for me but it will be a personal thing what´s prefered.

  • faux_carnation #24 6 years ago

    This sounds like it might suffer from the same problems mentioned in the impressions of Project HAMMER.

    "If you give a real punch move [with the nunchuck], Rayman makes the same punch on screen," says Ancel. "If you shake the controller, Rayman will do some special kung-fu style moves."

    "If you make a quick move with the nunchuck, Rayman will grapple the nearest enemies or objects. You can then make them spin around Rayman and throw them - as projectiles - just by swinging the nunchuck around your head."

    That's not intuitive mapping of motion, its replacing button controls with gestures. That cant be good.

  • Roamer #25 6 years ago

    One of the main selling points of this controller is that it intuitively translates 3d movements, while a D-pad or even an analog stick is, viewed by a non-gamer, more suitable to 2D games...

  • SirScratchalot #26 6 years ago

    I´m too lazy to type it again so I´m just copying it from another thread, this time it´s mainly @faux_carnation

    This is what I´m really interested in discussing actually I really think that gesturing will be superior to button mashing. As an example Blerk once asked me how one could play a football game with the wiimote and I thought that really making an upward motion to lob the ball high, or a curving motion to curve the ball in exactly the way you want it seemed miles more intuitive and eventually powerfull than the "pass" and "Hold button to shoot harder" techniques I´ve seen in footy games.
    Same for fighting games, making a circle in the air and hitting A just feels, intuitively when I think about it far, far easier than using the d-pad to make said circle.
    I have mounds of stuff that just makes ME as in me personally feel, yes, this is how I want to play games. As always there will be personal preferences though. The Swedish Quake championship was once on by a man playing with keyboard only.