Michel Ancel decided to stop making video games

[Hunchman801]

Rayman had to team up with him so he was more than just an antagonist. You can read more about it here.

[MortisDoors]

I know, but all im saying is that i don't think he necessarily needs to be there.

[StelzenBomber]

Thb the ending of rayman 3 does kinda build up to andre getting revived

Then again hoodlums revenge exists

[PluMGMK]

The ending of Rayman 3 was officially stated to be a flashback though, explaining how the whole thing came about.

[Elite Piranha]

But im still interested in seeing who Andre's girlfriend might be, maybe it's that one woman from rayman 3 with the sexy voice.

The hostess might have escaped from the Hoodlum Headquarters in her black lum form and survived the explosion, but André's girlfriend could be just another cagoulette, maybe one of these.

About André, it seems kind of pointless to have him and his girlfriend as mere prisioners that need to be freed. However if the idea was that they were supposed to help you to complete certain the stages and provide funny commentary in the process, then that would make more sense to me.

[Hunchman801]

Yeah, and maybe he would have tried to betray Rayman at the end, that would have made for some action.

[Henchman1000]

I heard about Michel Ancel's drama that's been happening these days and found this thread via Twitter.
Seeing people jumping to conclusion without even investigating deeper into the matter is actually sad to see, seen people's tendencies to take distances from everything and everyone deemed "problematic". Effects of "cancel culture".
While it's unknown if these voices are true or not, I'm going to get informed from both parts and see the outcome of this situation - hopefully everything will turn better for Michel and BG&E2 as this may heavily influence the game development.

[Droolie]

Some of Michel's new responses from Instagram, worth a read:

Jade investigation : Libération Article part 1

Jade: Mr Ancel , you said the journalist used informations from jealous people full of rage , this is a serious allegation.

Michel Ancel: There is a group of veterans developpers at Ubi Soft Montpellier and they hate me since years.

J: Can you prove this.

MA: I brought 3 pieces of 10 years old evidences

swipe left to pic #1 - Comics sent to the whole studio. Describing me beeing super powerfull, doing nothing at work , having a big salary and having my own working place. I have nothing against the artist behind the pencil , he just said what some veterans were thinking in my back. I removed the sexual jokes and other bad things against me ( the comics is longer)

swipe left to pic #2 - My response to the whole studio. This was too unfair . Bge prototype just got killed after two intense years or work. We had no money, no coders. We helped the other teams. This was opposed to what was said in the comics and thought by the toxic veterans.

swipe left to pic #3 - The Response from the artist where you realize how much hate and jealousy against me is spreaded by these veterans.

J: What happened after ?

MA: We made a new engine called Ubi Art and 2 fantastic games Rayman origins(87 meta.) and Rayman Legends (92 meta.) . Not bad for lazy developpers ! Some veterans worked on Tintin ( 59 meta.) . This has generated more jealousy and anger...

J : why showing these 10 years old evidences ?

MA: Because it's the same attack from the same people but stronger. They say the same thing : Michel has all powers, he does what he wants, he's not working seriously ... But this time it's not a comics, they have manipulated the journalist to destroy me. They are not trying to make working conditions better or help anybody. They testified for revenge. Once again everything is false.

J: why so much hate ?

MA: Some had their project killed (not by me) . Some quit Ubi for their own creations but came back for money , frustrated. Some didn't appreciate to be challenged during production.

J: Maybe you asked for too much ?

MA: That's a bit more complicated...

J: Ok, good topic for another investigation, thank you.

Meï investigation: Libération article part 2

Mei: Mr Ancel, can you tell us about these famous "fake informations" ?

Ancel: Yes, almost everything in the article is false.

Quick fact checking

#1

Liberation: " Ancel is carrying the project since last week"

False : I never carried the project. There is a project manager and he has the final cut, the final decision . More embarrassing for the journalist, I've not been working on the game for the last 2 years. Instead I worked on the IP and the trailers with Unit image in a team of 4 to 10 people max. I gave very very few art or design feedbacks for the game as a consultant but without any power of decision.

#2

Liberation: "Toxic methods as described by his teams"

False : Again they are not my teams just because I'm not in the game staff since years. There is a clear separation Between IP( Team I'm working for) and game.

#3

Liberation:"The project seems to be in a dead end"

False : "The game is on tracks and the next milesones will be delivered"

#4

Liberation: "The project is organized around Michel Ancel"

Super False : The project is organized around the main game topics (pirate, spaceship, planets, tools, tech, etc...). This is a classic project organization. it's not a "custom organisation " dedicated to me. Proof ? even if I 've not been on the project for years they use that organisation.

#5

Liberation " Yves Guillemot renewed his confidence in Ancel at the end of August, against the advice of the teams"

False : He never renewed anything about me and the game, just because... I am not working on the game...

Next Investigations :

" more fact checking " by Meï

"Toxic seniors changing big things " by Jade

"Why is it far from easy to work with Ancel " by Pey'j

Looks like he plans to make 3 more of these posts in the coming days.


EDIT >

While checking the comments for more information, I found this... :/
https://twitter.com/alexandre_serel/sta ... 5520431105

Yes, I am finishing delivering the items in my possession and I am passing it all on to Libé and the publications who so quickly re-posted it all. There is also a human aspect to all of this. The lynchers don't care. I live alone right now, facing all of this, all this free and blind violence. It takes a certain mental strength to endure all of this. One day, gentlemen of the press, there will be a very serious human accident. Maybe then, you will take more time to write your articles and make them fairer. In the meantime, I find support in my imaginary characters, that makes some people laugh. I'm getting my head out of the water.

[StelzenBomber]

Okay can you summorize a bit for me?

The last one specificly

[Hunchman801]

It's all very confusing to say the least.

[Henchman1000]

"One day, gentlemen of the press, there will be a very serious human accident"
Dunno if is a low key threat or a prediction, can agree that slander (if that's the case) can destroy people's lives in general.

[StelzenBomber]

Slander destroys

That is true

Though i dont think he meant that in a threatening way

[Henchman1000]

Slander destroys

That is true

Though i dont think he meant that in a threatening way

Agreed, he doesn't look like that type of person who would say that to mean that.

[Hunchman801]

His wording is a bit awkward but it's no threat, just a statement that, well, slander destroys, like Stelzen said.

[hjui]

Not to sound cynical but honestly it doesn't surprise me and it doesn't even upset me that much. In my opinion the real Rayman ended after Rayman 2 (therefore exactly 18 years ago if we want to consider the latest release on Game Boy Color) so I could say that he became aware that it was better to retire and follow more consistent choices rather than continue to slaughter his creature, finally!
Better this way, than seeing nonsense of which, beyond my point of view, he himself has repeatedly declared himself dissatisfied.
Whether like to admit it or not, no one title in the series after the original Rayman 2 has been able to come even remotely close to the emotionality and artistry of the first two games, therefore it's better to close rather than flounder. I don't think Ubisoft has any intention to focusing its efforts on Rayman anymore, so Rayman has come to an end after a long 18-year agony.
I wish only the best to this Great Artist and to reconcile himself more and more with himself. A hug.

[Сым]

Libération (French: [li.be.ʁa.sjɔ̃]), popularly known as Libé ([li.be]), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968.

Initially positioned on the extreme-left of France’s political spectrum, the editorial line evolved towards a more centre-left stance at the end of the 1970s. Its editorial stance was centre-left as of 2012.

The publication describes its “DNA” as being “liberal libertarian”. It aims to act as a common platform for the diverse tendencies within the French left, with its “compass” being “the defence of freedoms and of minorities”.

Even their Wikipedia page shows enough red flags for you to tell they shouldn't be taken seriously, but the icing on the cake is a feminist oriented comic promoted on a blog they're hosting regarding "manspreading" among other as idiotic subjects. To get back on the original topic I really doubt any "suffering" of Ubisoft employees originated from Michel Ancel. Not just because of the above, but Liberation's stance is pretty obvious, and I wouldn't be surprised they would just press the trigger in the name of minorities against anyone accused of toxicity, and while remaining hypocrites.

I won't believe in it as long as I don't see evidence. Testimonies can still be false or exaggerated.

[Adsolution]

In my opinion, it's Ubisoft's fault for not micromanaging him more, but that's an odd tradeoff for talent at times. It should not be the case that there's shit going down in their studio and execs don't know about it -- that's Ubisoft's fault for not ensuring the safety of their workers by providing mandatory evaluations with necessary action taken. Of course Ancel isn't going to willingly resign or make huge personal changes to his role, it gives him all the freedom to pursue his art in the world, and I don't blame him for not personally sacrificing himself in that regard until this point... because that's what his superiors are supposed to be looking after. But his superiors are a bunch of rapists, so that's not going to give you honest work of any kind...

I abhor those who now dislike Ancel because of this. I think anyone with that motivation needs a good little torture session.

[Steo]

One of the main issues is that people tend to believe everything they see on the internet these days. So many even go by the logic that they "seen it on social media, so it must be true". I think it was bad enough that everyone decided to start bashing Ubisoft over something that will never affect their own lives anyway, and they were just taking the piss when they started throwing accusations at Ancel.

Here's an example of how ridiculous some people view things: if I buy a game from Ubisoft, apparently it means I support abuse in workplaces. So at this stage, you're going to be viewed as a bad person just for buying a game? Welcome to 2020!

[StelzenBomber]

Compleatly agree steo

[Henchman1000]

And to do not mention that article asking you to pay to read the rest of the content regarding Michel Ancel.
Why paying for some infos, I wonder, if your purpose is to "expose" someone and expect as many people as possible to reach it. It's odd.
Still agree that the site and the article sound too biased to be taken seriously.

EDIT: btw, are there any new news regarding Michel's situation?