Ubisoft announces JRPG-inspired Child of Light at GDC Europe

In a session at GDC Europe, Far Cry 3 director Patrick Plourde showcased a new title -- Child of Light -- developed on the Ubi-Art Framework tech developed for the Rayman series. According to Plourde, the downloadable title -- influenced by Japanese games like Final Fantasy VI and artists like Hayao Miyazaki and Yoshitaka Amano -- was started as an internal indie project within the developer and is targeted as a next-gen game. The game is a side-scrolling game with JRPG-esque turn-based battles. Beyond its artistic and classic JRPG influences, Plourde cited Limbo as a huge influence on the game's direction, along with European fairytales. Plourde said that the game aims to leave behind the testosterone-driven design of Far Cry 3, which he recently directed -- 33 percent of the game's team are women, which is the largest percentage of any Ubisoft Montreal team right now, Plourde said. He said the average number of women employees at the studio is 20 percent, including non-development staff. Plourde also alluded to a fourth Ubi-Art Framework game following Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, and Child of Light which is yet to be announced.