Ubisoft Montreal: Industry must hear film makers

Speaking to Develop for our third feature looking at the creation of Assassin’s Creed II, for which Ubisoft has assembled a huge team at it’s Montreal Studio, producer Sébastien Puel has suggested games makers have a great deal to learn about storytelling from cinematic luminaries.

"The movie industry is now over a century old, the games industry is around 30 years old," said Puel, speaking about his experience of creating Assassin’s Creed II in parallel with a series of live action mini-movies produced to accompany the game.

"If there’s one area where we have some steps to make, it’s in the way we are telling our stories," added Puel. "The likes of Spielberg, Cameron and Jackson have a lot to teach us in that field, because our industry isn’t at the point it should be when comes the time to tell a good story, or to transmit emotions."

In the same feature, which concludes a three-part focus on Assassin’s Creed II, Puel also explained that in working with Ubisoft’s sister company Hybride, which created the mini-movies, there were direct ramifications on the game’s development.

"The beauty of mixing two different universes such as cinema and video game is that by sharing expertise both spheres grow and improve one another," he revealed.