Xbox Addict

AC Producer Wants to Make a Social Focused New IP

[5:00 p.m. update: In a follow-up interview with Raymond, she clarified that the idea she spoke about in her DICE presentation -- reported on below -- is not currently under development as a project at Ubisoft Toronto, but instead is something she hopes to develop in the future. Currently, she noted, Ubisoft Toronto is only focused on two products: Splinter Cell 6, and a second game based on an existing, but unannounced, property. We have adjusted our story to reflect this.]

At this year’s DICE Summit in Las Vegas, Ubisoft Toronto managing director Jade Raymond gave a speech called "Creating Blockbuster IP for Generation C," in the process dropping a few hints about what she hopes to work on in the future.

Her main point was that the current social game trends in Facebook games and others can be applied to an ambitious new franchise, noting that she thinks there is value in making a game aimed at pulling in fan support and fan creations along the lines of something like Star Trek, where the community and franchise becomes bigger than what the original creators make, and where the game provides a place for players to hang out.

When Raymond worked on the Assassin’s Creed franchise at Ubisoft Montreal, she noted, one of the goals was to build a franchise that could be easily handed off to other "professionals" -- presumably other Ubisoft studios as well as film/TV groups, toy companies, etc.

"With the next new IP we create in Toronto, I’m hoping we can create a franchise that’s ready to be handed over to the fans," she said.

"I would hope our next new IP could be the neighborhood bar," she said, and more of a "pastime" than an "entertainment event." Or presumably, both.