Topic: Academy of Champions Interview with Tuomas Pirinen

[NWR_Neal]

We got to chat with Tuomas Pirinen, creative director at Ubisoft Vancouver, about Academy of Champions, which is an arcade soccer game that features a Hogwarts-like school atmosphere along with Pele, Mia Hamm, and Rabbids as playable characters.

Pirinen talks about the game's origins and influences, how they decided on what soccer stars and Ubisoft characters to include in the game, and how the game is enhanced by supporting both Wii MotionPlus and the Balance Board.

Nintendo World Report (NWR): What are the origins of Academy of Champions?

Tuomas Pirinen (TP): Almost two years ago we sat down and looked at the Wii. We noticed that simply porting games over to Wii is not the way to produce quality Wii games.

We wanted to do something sports-related, but with a twist. Many members of the team here at Ubisoft Vancouver are huge soccer fans, so it seemed natural to do a game based on the "Beautiful Game."

Then we wanted to see what kind of game would suit Wii. We wanted accessible controls, tons of unlockables, a story that everyone can follow, etc. In the end, the game concept came together surprisingly easily. Everyone at Ubisoft liked the idea, and here we are, with a brand new game ready for Wii owners.

Read more...
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/specialArt.cfm?artid=19931

[BeautifulShy]

Haven't seen mention of a release date for the game. Do you know Neal?

[NWR_pap64]

I didn't know the game used MotionPlus and Balance Board! Now consider me interested. Great interview, Neal!

[NWR_Neal]

At E3, I was told September. When I contacted Ubisoft to do this interview, they said November.

Part of me died inside.

I'm dead serious when I say this is my most anticipated game right now.

[Jonnyboy117]

The Balance Board support sounds like a gimmick, but MotionPlus may be more interesting. Ubi is really getting behind MotionPlus, between Academy of Champions and of course Red Steel 2.

[NWR_Neal]

The Balance Board support is just a mini-game, but I'm interested to see how MotionPlus works.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Infernal Monkey says it... doesn't.

[Mop it up]

This game reminds me of Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color because it mixes in RPG elements with a sport.

This looks like it is a lot better than Mario Strikers Charged, I might just get it. Is Motion Plus going to be required?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

It's not.