Nintendo of France published a video interview with Rayman creator Michel Ancel last week, who is making a level for Super Mario Maker. Naturally, it was only available in French at the time. But Nintendo UK has now uploaded the same video with English subtitles, which you can watch below.

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Super Mario Maker now thought to have over 60 levels, one designed by Rayman’s creator

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 18 Comments

Originally, we thought that Super Mario Maker could have as many as 100 levels. That information was based on a tidbit found on the game’s UK website a few weeks back. The blurb was just updated earlier this week to say that Super Mario Maker will offer “dozens” of levels.

The final level count now seems to be sitting at over 60 based on information coming from Nintendo of France. It also looks like Rayman creator Michel Ancel has designed one of the courses. Below, you’ll find a video of Ancel playing around with Super Mario Maker and talking about the series – though it’s unfortunately only available in French.

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Rayman creator founds new studio, will continue working at Ubisoft

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments

Rayman creator Michel Ancel is founding a new studio known as “Wild Sheep”. However, he will continue to work at Ubisoft as well.

Ubisoft Annecy, Paris, and Montpellier managing director Xavier Poix said in a statement:

“Ubisoft Montpellier is a hotbed for artistic game development, including great games like Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil, and Valiant Hearts. We are fortunate to have some of the industry’s finest talents, including Michel Ancel, working with us at our studio. In addition to spending some of his time on this new venture, Michel is leading the creative development of select projects at Ubisoft Montpellier, including an extremely ambitious new title that is very close to his and the team’s heart.”

And how about that little game we’ve been waiting years for? You know, Beyond Good & Evil 2?

“In many ways, BG&E is an inimitable game – it appeals to all generations of gamers and is an inspiration behind many of Ubisoft Montpellier’s past and future games. It’s still far too early to give many details about this new title, but what we can say is that while Michel and the team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of BG&E, they’re developing something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel and leverages next-gen technologies to deliver a truly surprising, innovative and exceptional game. The entire team is excited about the direction this extremely ambitious project is taking, and we’ll have more to share later, as it progresses.”

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Michel Ancel thinks of himself as an “apprentice”, Shigeru Miyamoto as a “master”

Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

Michel Ancel may be the creator of Rayman, but he doesn’t consider himself to be on the same level as Shigeru Miyamoto.

Ancel spoke briefly about how he views himself in comparison to Miyamoto while speaking with ONM recently. Ancel feels he’s more of an “apprentice” whereas “Miyamoto is a master” – or perhaps an “advanced apprentice”.

He said:

“It’s very kind of you to have me with such talented people, but I really consider myself to be an apprentice, where Miyamoto is a master. Well, maybe an advanced apprentice!”