Line #17 Creator/MichelAncel


1	[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/michel_ancel.jpg]]
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3	Michel Ancel (born March 29, 1972) is a UsefulNotes/{{Fr\|ance}}ench former video game designer who worked at Creator/{{Ubisoft}}. He's probably best known as the creator of VideoGame/{{Rayman}}, but he's also the guy behind the CultClassic ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'', a remarkably well-done game that received high ratings and a dedicated following [[AcclaimedFlop despite being a commercial failure]]. His games are notable for including lots of SceneryPorn and other artistic elements.
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5	Whatever it is he did to make his games so great, he did it ''really well'', as all of the games he's credited with designing have been greatly received by critics and fans alike. Heck, he was even requested ''specifically'' by Creator/PeterJackson to work on a video game adaptation of ''Film/{{King Kong\|2005}}'' because [[JustForFun/OneOfUs Jackson was a fan of]] ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil''. As such, it's not much of a surprise that Ancel gets a lot of CreatorWorship from fans.
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7	When looking at the ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' series as a whole, it's interesting to note that the series seem to have a fluctuation in overall reception from game to game — the more positive ones generally being the titles that Ancel himself worked on. ''VideoGame/Rayman1'' has generally been very well-received as a solid, [[NintendoHard challenging]] platformer, and many fans consider ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'' to be the best game in the entire series. He had only an advisory role in ''VideoGame/Rayman3HoodlumHavoc'', which, while not considered a bad game the slightest, is something of a [[invoked]]ContestedSequel mostly because it doesn't have the same charm as the Ancel-helmed games.
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9	A notable change, though, was the development of ''[[VideoGame/RavingRabbids Rayman: Raving Rabbids]]''. The game at first was supposed to be a free-roaming platformer titled ''Rayman 4'', as seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXeubHm6iA this early trailer.]] After the trailer was released to the public, Ancel was notably absent from the project, and by the time the game was actually released as the bundle of [[MiniGame Mini Games]] known as ''Rayman Raving Rabbids'', the only thing he was credited for was character design. Rayman would up being sidelined by Ubisoft in favor of the Raving Rabbids, until Ancel came back to helm ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' in 2011, to great acclaim.
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11	Ancel was last working on an [[WideOpenSandbox open world]] project called ''Wild'', and on ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil2''. In 2020, he announced that he was [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CFRbPpnqCxu/ leaving the video game industry]] to pursue work at a wildlife sanctuary, though he ensured fans that development on those two games will progress smoothly without him at the helm.
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13	!!Titles designed by Michel Ancel
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15	* The ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' franchise:
16	** ''VideoGame/Rayman1'' (1995)
17	** ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'' (1999)
18	** ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' (2011)
19	** ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' (2013)
20	* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' (2003)
21	* ''VideoGame/PeterJacksonsKingKong'' (2005)
22	* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil2'' (TBA)
23	* ''Wild'' (TBA)

Context Creator / MichelAncel