Ancel on why Beyond Good & Evil still resonates with people, making Jade unlike other female heroes
Beyond Good & Evil is a game that is widely respected today even though it’s considered a niche title. It’s one of those titles that still connects and resonates with players. Why is that so?
Creator Michel Ancel offered up his own explanation in a UbiBlog interview:
“Maybe because it’s a game between genres. Rayman is very creative and colorful. On the other side you have some extremely violent games based around shooting and killing. I’m not saying one is bad or good, it’s just that maybe Beyond Good & Evil is a bridge between those two kinds of games. It is a mix of creativity and more mature content. I think there is a lack of this kind of game in the games industry.”
Ancel also spoke about Beyond Good & Evil’s main character, Jade. She wasn’t your typical female hero, as Ancel discussed:
“Yeah. When we started the project the first thing we said was, If this project is different it’s because it’s a female character who is driving the story. She’s not like other characters who look like women but act like men. I’m not saying women don’t shoot guns or defend themselves; it’s just that most women in games are clichés. They are just one vision of the woman. We wanted to create this character and respect her. We said, This is our character. This is how she is. We are not going to modify her with our male fantasies. We tried as much as possible to make Jade her own entity and her own personality. It was one of the challenges of development.”
