Ubisoft Toronto to push mature games: 'It's time to grow up'

Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond's said the new Ontario super-studio will push 'mature' video games, because "it's time for our medium to grow up."
Speaking to CVG in a just-published interview, the ex-Assassin's Creed producer said she believes games have the potential to be more inspirational art forms than any other type of entertainment.
http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideo...mb_wide300.jpgShe said: "I really do feel it's time for our medium to grow up. I think we don't need to make the equivalent to a Michael Bay flick in order to sell five million copies. I think things can be exciting, have meaning and hit important topics, and I'm not the only one that thinks that."There are major franchises trying to have more meaning and be something more interesting," she added. "We obviously tried a bit - and I hope it was obvious - to make a story with more meaning and mature themes in Assassin's Creed."
"It's definitely something that we're pushing for at Ubisoft Toronto. I think every other entertainment medium or art form does manage to have commercial success and have the viewers or audience think or be inspired."
"Games, I think, have even more potential than that given that on top of the narrative side we do have all of the gameplay mechanics and we create rule sets from scratch which can have any kind of meaning embedded in them.
"It's not easy to do that, because it requires breaking our recipe and trying to find new recipes, but I think it's an important thing for us to strive for."
Ubisoft Toronto's first title will be a new instalment in the Splinter Cell franchise. But just because she's passionate about making games more mature, doesn't mean Sam Fisher's going to go all tame on us.
"It will have all of the action flick elements for sure, but we're trying to also explore something a little bit more interesting, which is actually one of the themes that's at the root of the franchise historically," Jade assured.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...me-to-grow-up/