NADEO week part #6 : Jean-Philippe Durand - ManiaActu - News for TrackMania, ShootMania, and QuestMania
Welcome on ManiaActu: ManiaPlanet Community & eSport News !

Hi Jean-Philippe Durand, to inform our readers, who are you?
Hello Mania-Actu, i am line Designer in the editorial department at Ubisoft Montreuil. My role is to help the production team., like NADEO, on the content aspecs (Game design, Level design, art direction), I give an external point of view, and i make them meet some experts in order to share experience from our company. I also ensure that the editorial Ubisoft is respected by projects which I am responsible.
 
How does a company like Ubisoft did get interest with a little developement studio like NADEO?
I think Florent will be more able to answer that question. But Ubisoft is always searching for new development teams that have something interresting to bring, and NADEO has it, with their Online experience. We know that Esport will rise next years (we can see it with the huge success of twitch.tv) And to make Esport good, you need something great and smooth to watch. Thats the Maniaplanet goals that pushed Yves Guillemot to get interrested in NADEO.
 
Shootmania is still in developpement, and there are more and more players in the beta. What are you waiting for with SM?
We want a unique game with Shootmania, that does not want to replace other games, with a taste tht is nowhere else, and where everyone will want to play it! We bet on it and it is risky, mainly on the FPS word. Because some communities are just hermetic, and do not search for new stuff. They prefere the games that they already control. The goal of NADEO is the same as Trackmania, try to reach perfection through simplicity, then offer to players some tools that permish to take control of the game. Today everything is green and allright, with a lot of independant competitions, everydays shootcasts that bring a lot of viewers, and the game at ESWC 2012. We hope that it will keep that direction and that the community will be as productive as TM.
 
As we saw during all the events, NADEO give a great importance to Esport people. How does Ubisoft feel and see this Hardcore gamers audience?
Esport is not a Hardcore gamers community, but they have knowledge. Because Video Games are often too complicated to understand for the pub gamers. We are convinced that Esport future depends on Players but mostly on spectators. Without them, no sponsors, no sponsors no prices, no prices no pro gamers. On the contrary, if the game is easy to watch and to understand, and that the skill can be felt, then anyone will be able to have pleasure to watch it and the Esport machine will be on its way. There are many exemples, outside videogames, that makes us confident, and NADEO is on the right way. But all these things must be carried by a great game, thats why SM is still in beta, and is changing quite often, and that's why NADEO is really paying attention to what the community is saying. But we have to keep in mind that SM is not only an Esport game, as Football is not only a League 1 sport. We want that spectators get the need to play at their level, while they watch the best players. The servers ranking make it possible.

While every classic FPS cost 50/60 Euros, Shootmania is released with a price of 20. Does low cost games are here to have more audience, is it a new strategy?
What is a classic FPS? If we take huge games like COD, Battlefield or FarCry, we must know that the cost is high because of the development, the game consoles, marketing around it, the retail (Box selling on videogames shops). So the price have to be high. In the Shootmania case, it is quite different, with a little developping team, that is creating the heart of a gameplay, some tools and a digital version, where NADEO is deciding of the price. With the production that is diminished, and a concept that is available only with a huge community, here are all the reasons to get SM more reachable, isn't it? We can see it on the friends offer (low prices if you buy 3 or 5 games in a row)
 
1 word to describe Shootmania?
Potential. To change the landscape of video games, to be the new concept in the FPS games. But the idea to get users implied on the game expansion, like the script language that permish to do what you want with the game, create your own rules, the map editor, the video editor!
 
Thank you for all these details. Up to you to conclude!
Thanks Mania-Actu Team and your devotion with NADEO games! And I am hurry to see more and more players coming ingame. Feel free to ad me as a buddy ingame "DJWeb"

 

>> News Tools

Related Links


    Share |

    >> News Comments


    #1 by Kryw on 2012-09-01 at 16:31

    Fait un resto avec ce type, super sympa ;)


    >> My Comment


    Please Sign Up or Login in order to post a comment !