How did you come up with the idea for the Superpowers?

Benjamin
Up to now, in the Rayman games, the hero received powers as he went along in the story, and he kept them once and for all. At the start of the project, we wanted to retain the same system. It had the advantage of providing novelties for the player throughout the game. At the same time, it was quite risky because certain powers, which were sometimes greatly appreciated by the players, only cropped up at the end of the game.

We decided it would be better to get all the powers early on, but it would become difficult to be able to use all of them at any time. So we worked on the basis of temporary use at certain levels. Then, we used the Pick-up and temporary power system to put the player under pressure and oblige him to act quickly.

Next, we had the idea of creating visual skins for the Superpowers and we adapted the gameplay for certain powers to suit their graphic skins.

And what changes did you make to the Superpowers once you'd seen their graphic appearance?

Benjamin
For the Lock Jaw, Stéphane and Stanislas came up with the idea of using a chain with a metal jaw, like a mantrap. In theory, when the jaw closes it doesn't release its prey. Well, we integrated this idea into the gameplay. When Rayman gets this Superpower, he fights by throwing his mantrap at an enemy, and the enemy gets stuck in it. The trap keeps its grip on the enemy, wounding him every 3 seconds, until the player shoots again. When he does shoot again, the trap frees itself and goes off after another enemy.

How many Superpowers did you integrate into the game?

There are 5 Superpowers that the player can use when he finds the Pick-up.

There's the mantrap Lock Jaw I just told you about, with which you can fight and move along like Tarzan, swinging from one fixed point to another.

With the Throttle Copter, the helicopter can take you up in the air, but it's no longer used to glide down. Rayman wears a yellow costume with a big helmet and a real helicopter propeller comes out of it.

The Heavy Metal Fist is a metal fist which does a lot more damage and can even break objects such as doors.

The Vortex is quite an amusing idea. Basically, you can use this fist to make Meadowscrews whirl round. When you make them turn, the mushrooms sink into the ground and transform into platforms that the player can reach. We then extended this principle to other objects and characters in the game. It's fun, because - when fighting - you can make your opponent twirl round. For a few seconds, he can't attack the player and, when he stops spinning, he may end up with his back to the player, making him even more vulnerable.

Lastly, we exploited Rayman's modularity with the Shock Rocket. This is a torpedo built into Rayman's fist. The player can launch and steer it in first-person view. This enables the player to reach enemies or objects that are a long way away.

Listening to you, I get the feeling that a lot of game elements were designed which, in the end, weren't integrated into the final game.

Yann
It's true that, if we consider everything we designed at the start of the project, only about a third remained at the end. In itself, that's perfectly normal. It's only when you try things out that you see whether they work or not. That's why there's a lot of loss along the way. Sometimes, it's a bit frustrating, but - in the end - only the best of the best gets into the final game. It's the "best of"! And - who knows - perhaps one day we'll create a level to present all those extinct species. ?

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