Despite being the appointed lord of a powerful European dynasty, Yves Guillemot remains adamant that Ubisoft attain its successes by allowing its workers more creative room than most developers would feel comfortable with. I suspect, in a roundabout sort of way, this is true.
Naturally, all people at the helm of an industry are going to proclaim their fundamental connection with the little people; movie producers sustain they listen to the average cinemagoer, music managers declare artists are in full control of their own voices and game developers insist that creation is left to blossom in the hearts and minds of the common player. None of this is remotely true, of course. It'd be a ridiculous and suicidal way to run a business, and these people know it better than anyone.
Looking at the impressive Ubisoft vista, it does seem plausible that its designers are, at least, free range; allowed to roam unsupervised around the Ubisoft pen. Within the camouflaged structure of the company's mission plan, over a thousand different games have been released with massively varying content, yet certainly the ones I have played appear to be built according to those few fundamental Ubisoft laws of game creation. I'm confident, now, that after my intensive induction into the French developer's fan base, I could look at 10 new games and pick out the Ubisoft among them.
Up to this point, my research into the mystery shrouded world of Ubisoft had provided me with an ironclad opinion of who it is, but I had yet to hear any of my hypotheses echoed from within. All I needed was a brief discussion with the people at the helm to grant solid foundations to my new faith.
Unfortunately, Ubisoft doesn't talk. Even with the considerable journalistic weight of the Themis Group behind my complimentary tribute to the French giant, there is apparently no one at Ubisoft (U.K., France, U.S. or Canada) that can be persuaded to breach the peculiar media blackout that envelops the entire company.
While this may climb up the nose of an investigative writer and kick at the inside of his skull after a month's worth of trying to get answers to apathetic questions such as "We think Ubisoft is great. Do you agree?" in truth, it matters little to the player.
It seems my first attempt to understand the mind of Ubisoft was correct; it really isn't interested in building a media pedestal from which to shout its own name into the abyss. Perhaps it's no bad thing that whatever it is that goes on behind Guillemot's iron curtain, the only result is a protracted catalogue of highly enjoyable games. Certainly it is not whiter-than-white; otherwise it would have answered my phone calls, but in the end, I feel I know - on a very personal level - who Ubisoft is, and that has come solely from sampling its impressive wares.
It seems a little backward, in retrospect, to try and research any company's history without first sampling its products (in the case of many it can easily be done, however), but with Ubisoft, its legacy - past, present and future - begins and ends with the games. It may not sit quietly in the background, but this well-principled noble French house certainly doesn't march to the beat of the industry's drum; it's a company, nay an imperial family, which pursues an ancient principle of colonization, bound by its own code of honor and set free by a love of great games.
Spanner has written articles for several publications, including Retro Gamer. He is a self-proclaimed horror junkie, with a deep appreciation for all things Romero.
