Beyond Good & Evil - Development

Development

Beyond Good & Evil was developed by Michel Ancel, the creator of the Rayman video game, at Ubisoft's Montpellier studios in France. The game was developed under the codename "Project BG&E", with production lasting more than three years. A group of 30 employees comprised the development team. Ubisoft's chief executive officer, Yves Guillemot, fully supported the project and frequently met with the team. After years working on Rayman, Ancel wanted to move on to something different. He recalled that the goal of Beyond Good & Evil was to "pack a whole universe onto a single CD—mountains, planets, towns. The idea was to make the player feel like an explorer, with a sense of absolute freedom."

The second goal behind Beyond Good & Evil's design was to create a meaningful story amid player freedom. In an interview, Ancel said that the linear nature of the gameplay was necessary to convey the story; player freedom was an experience between parts of the plot. He also strove to create a rhythm similar to a movie to engage and delight players. The game drew on many influences and inspirations, including the Miyazaki universe, politics and the media, and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In creating the lead character, Ancel's wife reportedly inspired the designer, who wanted to portray a persona that players could identify with.

The game was first shown publicly at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo, where it received negative reception. Originally more "artistically ambitious" and resembling games like Ico, the game was substantially changed in order to make it more commercially appealing. Jade, originally a teenage girl, was redesigned to be more powerful and fitting of her job. The game was also shortened by removing long periods of exploration due to Ancel's dislike of this aspect of gameplay in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The development team was "demoralized" by the changes, with Ancel commenting that the finished game resembled a sequel more than a reworking. Prior to release, playable previews of the game were offered in movie theaters.