Pure Nintendo Exclusive – An Interview With Ubisoft Montreal About Child of Light
The April/May issue of our magazine, PNM, will feature an exclusive interview, screens, and concept art from the upcoming Ubisoft RPG “Child of Light.”
Today, we have decided to share some of our interview with Patrick Plourde – Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal.
PNM: What is the premise of Child of Light?
PP: Child of Light is a Coming of Age Story, that explores the need for one to grow in order to become an Adult and reach our full potential.
After being poisoned, a young girl from Austria named Aurora wakes up in the Magical World of Lemuria. In order to return home to her aching father, she will have to collect the power of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars and face the Queen of the Night. In the adventure Aurora will have the choice to help people and see the impact she can have on their life.
PNM: Child of Light uses a very unique hand-painted art style. What inspired the art style used for Child of Light?
PP: We were inspired by the artists of the Golden Age of Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, John Bauer and Kay Nielsen. They mostly illustrated children books, especially Fairy Tales. Their works really draw you in magical universes. I connected viscerally to them and in my mind knew it would be the perfect style for a game, especially for a game in the JRPG style.
PNM: Has Ubisoft Montreal pulled inspiration from other games during the development of Child of Light?
PP: In Child of Light, I took a lot of mechanics from games that I loved and merged them to create a new experience: Valkyrie Profile for the mix of Side-scrolling and Turn Based Combat, Grandia 2 for the Combat system that focus on interruptions. Super Mario Galaxy was an inspiration for the CO-OP, but I wanted to make him more a part of the core gameplay for Child of Light. I also used the swimming sections of Rayman Origins for the template of our flying mechanics.
