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[[Image:Ancel_20.jpg|frame|Michel Ancel]]
[[Image:Ancel_20.jpg|frame|Michel Ancel]]
'''Michel Ancel'''  (born March 29, 1972) is a French video game designer for Ubisoft. He is best known for creating the [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' franchise]], for which he was the lead designer for the first two games, and the recent ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' and ''[[Rayman Legends]]''. He is also known for the cult favourite ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and for the video game adaptation of Peter Jackson's ''King Kong''. He is currently working on a sequel to ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' with a small team of developers, using development tools specially designed to make game development more accessible to a greater audience.
'''Michel Ancel'''  (born March 29, 1972) is a French video game designer for Ubisoft. He is best known for creating the [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' franchise]], for which he was the lead designer for the first two games, and the recent ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' and ''[[Rayman Legends]]''. He is also known for the cult favourite ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and for the video game adaptation of Peter Jackson's ''King Kong''. He is currently working on a sequel to ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' with a small team of developers, using development tools specially designed to make game development more accessible to a greater audience.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Michel Ancel was born in Monaco on the 29th of March, 1972. Ancel is currently married to Alexandra Ancel ''née'' Steible, with whom he has two children. He is the stepfather of Alexandra's four older children, and has two more children of his own from a previous relationship. His eldest child, Claire, was born when he was sixteen years old. Alexandra worked with Ancel on the first two ''Rayman'' games, as well as ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and ''King Kong''.
Michel Ancel was born in Monaco on the 29th of March, 1972. Ancel is currently married to Alexandra Ancel ''née'' Steible, with whom he has two children. He is the stepfather of Alexandra's four older children, and has two more children of his own from a previous relationship. His eldest child, Claire, was born when he was sixteen years old. Alexandra worked with Ancel on the first two ''Rayman'' games, as well as ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and ''King Kong''.


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On April 5, 2006, [[Ubisoft]] announced Ancel was leading the development of the fourth game in the [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' series]], ''[[Rayman Raving Rabbids]]'', for the Nintendo Wii. The game began production in early 2005 and was released on November 15, 2006 for the launch of the Wii. However, Ancel was notably absent from the project after its E3 announcement, and he has made no public appearances regarding the game after the development team switched focus from a free-roaming platformer to the final minigames format shortly after E3. In the final game, Ancel was only credited with storyboarding and character design, while design credits were shared between multiple other people.
On April 5, 2006, [[Ubisoft]] announced Ancel was leading the development of the fourth game in the [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' series]], ''[[Rayman Raving Rabbids]]'', for the Nintendo Wii. The game began production in early 2005 and was released on November 15, 2006 for the launch of the Wii. However, Ancel was notably absent from the project after its E3 announcement, and he has made no public appearances regarding the game after the development team switched focus from a free-roaming platformer to the final minigames format shortly after E3. In the final game, Ancel was only credited with storyboarding and character design, while design credits were shared between multiple other people.
On March 13, 2006, Ancel, along with ''Mario'' creator Shigeru Miyamoto and ''Alone in the Dark'' and ''Little Big Adventure'' creator Frédérick Raynal, was knighted by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, as a knight of arts and literature. It was the first time that video game developers were honoured with this distinction.


In an interview with ''Nintendo Power'', Ancel confirmed that he was working on a new project which meant a lot to him. He also talked about Jade from ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and said that "I really hope that Jade will continue to keep her values and her personality". [[Ubisoft]]'s CEO, Yves Guillemot, confirmed that Michel Ancel was currently working on several unannounced projects, as of March 2008.
In an interview with ''Nintendo Power'', Ancel confirmed that he was working on a new project which meant a lot to him. He also talked about Jade from ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and said that "I really hope that Jade will continue to keep her values and her personality". [[Ubisoft]]'s CEO, Yves Guillemot, confirmed that Michel Ancel was currently working on several unannounced projects, as of March 2008.
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In late May 2010, rumours surfaced from French video game website Wootgaming that ''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' had been cancelled, and Ancel had left [[Ubisoft]] to found his own independent studio. Ubisoft soon issued denials of this rumour. However, friend of Ancel and game developer Nicolas Choukron left a comment on an unofficial Michel Ancel Facebook fanpage<ref>[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michel-Ancel/45707703446 Michel Ancel unofficial fanpage, Facebook.com]</ref> saying that Ancel had formed a new studio which was a subsidiary of Ubisoft, as the Montpellier team was too large. Choukroun also revealed that Ancel and his new studio were working on a new ''Rayman'' game. This rumour has been proven correct, after Ubisoft unveiled a new Rayman project, entitled ''[[Rayman Origins]]''.
In late May 2010, rumours surfaced from French video game website Wootgaming that ''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' had been cancelled, and Ancel had left [[Ubisoft]] to found his own independent studio. Ubisoft soon issued denials of this rumour. However, friend of Ancel and game developer Nicolas Choukron left a comment on an unofficial Michel Ancel Facebook fanpage<ref>[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michel-Ancel/45707703446 Michel Ancel unofficial fanpage, Facebook.com]</ref> saying that Ancel had formed a new studio which was a subsidiary of Ubisoft, as the Montpellier team was too large. Choukroun also revealed that Ancel and his new studio were working on a new ''Rayman'' game. This rumour has been proven correct, after Ubisoft unveiled a new Rayman project, entitled ''[[Rayman Origins]]''.
In 2010, Ubisoft announced ''[[Rayman Origins]]'', first an episodic video game designed by Michel Ancel and developed by a small team of five people, but then it was announced that it transformed into a full game. The title uses the UBIart Framework developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and Ancel. UBIart is a developer platform that allows artists and animators to easily create content and use it in an interactive environment. The engine is optimized for HD resolutions and is capable of running games at 60 frames per second in 1920x1080 resolution. The UBIart tools were set to be released as open-source software in 2011, but at the time of this writing, no such release has occured.
In 2010, Ubisoft announced ''[[Rayman Origins]]'', first an episodic video game designed by Michel Ancel and developed by a small team of five people, but then it was announced that it transformed into a full game. The title uses the UBIart Framework developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and Ancel. UBIart is a developer platform that allows artists and animators to easily create content and use it in an interactive environment. The engine is optimized for HD resolutions and is capable of running games at 60 frames per second in 1920x1080 resolution. The UBIart tools were set to be released as open-source software in 2011, but at the time of this writing, no such release has occurred.


Speaking at Montpellier in Game conference in June 2010, Ancel revealed that he's developing similar tools to create ''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' with a very small team to preserve its "artistic spirit".<ref>[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ancel-using-small-team-to-make-bg-and-e2 Ancel using small team to make BG&E2, Eurogamer.net]</ref> Ancel is experimenting with different development techniques and tools. He claims these tools are getting similar to those used by Weta Digital.
Speaking at Montpellier in Game conference in June 2010, Ancel revealed that he is developing similar tools to create ''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' with a very small team to preserve its "artistic spirit".<ref>[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ancel-using-small-team-to-make-bg-and-e2 Ancel using small team to make BG&E2, Eurogamer.net]</ref> Ancel is experimenting with different development techniques and tools. He claims these tools are getting similar to those used by Weta Digital.


Michel Ancel would later have the same role as he did in ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' in the development of ''[[Rayman Legends]]'', which was announced in 2012, and saw release in 2013.
Michel Ancel would later have the same role as he did in ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' in the development of ''[[Rayman Legends]]'', which was announced in 2012, and saw release in 2013.


Ancel is also recognized as one of the best game designers in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators, ranking 24th out of 100. <ref>[http://games.ign.com/top-100-game-creators/24.html Top 100 game creators, IGN.com]</ref>
Ancel is also recognized as one of the best game designers in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators, ranking 24th out of 100.<ref>[http://games.ign.com/top-100-game-creators/24.html Top 100 game creators, IGN.com]</ref>


Michel would go on to found an independent game studio, named Wild Sheep Studios. However, he is still working with UbiSoft Montpellier.
Michel would go on to found an independent game studio, named Wild Sheep Studios. However, he is still working with UbiSoft Montpellier.
On October 12, 2017, Ancel posted on his Instagram account that he is very interested in making the 'fourth' [[Rayman (series)|''Rayman'' adventure]],<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BaI0eAwAEPb/?taken-by=michelancel Michel Ancel Instagram post</ref> suggesting of a future revival of the prototype or [[Rayman 4 (cancelled prototype)|the then-planned original fourth game that was cancelled]]. Though he does mention that it will most likely happen once both ''Wild'' and ''[[Beyond Good and Evil 2]]'' are done.


==Games==
==Games==
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*''[[Rayman Jungle Run]]'' (2012) - Concept, Design
*''[[Rayman Jungle Run]]'' (2012) - Concept, Design
*''[[Rayman Legends]]'' (2013) - Concept, Design  
*''[[Rayman Legends]]'' (2013) - Concept, Design  
*''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' (TBA)
*''[[Rayman Adventures]]'' (2015)
*''Wild'' (TBA)
*''Beyond Good & Evil 2'' (TBA)
 
==Recognition==
On March 13, 2006, Ancel, along with ''Mario'' creator Shigeru Miyamoto and ''Alone in the Dark'' and ''Little Big Adventure'' creator Frédérick Raynal, was knighted by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, as a knight of arts and literature. It was the first time that video game developers were honored with this distinction.
 
Ancel is also recognized as one of the best game designers in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators, ranking 24th out of 100.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*In an interview of ABC from the GoodGame rubric, Ancel revealed that [[Big Mama]], which appears in the E3 2010 trailer of ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' was voiced by himself.
*In an interview of ABC from the GoodGame rubric, Ancel revealed that [[Big Mama]], which appears in the E3 2010 trailer of ''[[Rayman Origins]]'' was voiced by himself.
*Ancel rejects the often held belief that video games of French origin are more original, claiming the problem lies not in the development process, but in risk-averseness at US publishers.
*Ancel rejects the often held belief that video games of French origin are more original, claiming the problem lies not in the development process, but in risk-averseness at US publishers.
*Ancel worked on, but did not design, ''[[Tonic Trouble]]'' (1999), which features limbless characters in the same mould as [[Rayman]]. He shares credit on his [[Rayman (series)|Rayman games]] with Frédéric Houde, while Jacques Exertier contributed many of the cinematic and story elements of ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and ''King Kong''. He is also credited in [[Rayman (series)|Rayman games]] not designed by him because he was responsible for the creation of the character.
*Ancel worked on, but did not design, ''[[Tonic Trouble]]'' (1999), which features limbless characters in the same mould as [[Rayman]]. He shares credit on his [[Rayman (series)|Rayman games]] with [[Frédéric Houde]], while Jacques Exertier contributed many of the cinematic and story elements of ''[[Beyond Good and Evil|Beyond Good & Evil]]'' and ''King Kong''. He is also credited in [[Rayman (series)|Rayman games]] not designed by him because he was responsible for the creation of the character.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery perrow=7>
<gallery>
File:Michel Ancel Rayman.png
File:Michel Ancel Rayman.png
File:Ancel_01.jpg
File:Ancel_01.jpg
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File:Ancel_30.jpg
File:Ancel_30.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>
== External links ==
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1885707/ Michel Ancel] on IMDb
* [https://rawg.io/creators/michel-ancel/ Michel Ancel] at RAWG.io
* [https://www.instagram.com/michelancel/ Michel Ancel] on Instagram


==References==
==References==
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[[it:Michel Ancel]]
[[it:Michel Ancel]]
[[pl:Michel Ancel]]
[[pl:Michel Ancel]]
[[ru:Мишель Ансель]]


[[Category:People]]
[[Category:People]]

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