Strategy Informer  

Ubisoft announced today the launch of a capture studio in Toronto, a facility that will help the publication with the creation of high-quality content for its games.

Utilising experience from the film and game industries, the capture studio will help Ubisoft Toronto create deeper characters, better storytelling and more filmic, actor-driven games.

"We are extremely proud to unveil a performance capture studio in Toronto after just two years of operation in the city," said Yannis Mallat, CEO, Ubisoft Toronto and Montreal. "This is about more than just the creation of a cutting-edge facility - it’s about Ubisoft transforming our approach to storytelling with a focus on acting talent and the delivery of the highest-quality performance output for our cinematics and animation teams. The studio also is a testament to our confidence in the talent in Ontario to deliver some of the best performance capture in the industry for games."

Here's a list of features for the studio:

· A 2000 square foot performance volume to accommodate large, multi-character shoots
· 80 Vicon T160 Motion Capture Cameras to capture performances with high resolution, accuracy and flexibility

· Wireless Helmet Cameras for accurate facial capture that is then synched in real-time with voice and full body capture

· A sound stage featuring “box within a box” design to deliver high-quality performance capture

· High-load stunt and rigging beams to enable capture of dynamic, physical scenes for games

In addition to filming performance capture for projects at Ubisoft Toronto, including Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, the local team will contribute to other Ubisoft projects being created at the company’s 26 studios around the world.

This work will help position the Toronto studio and Ontario at the forefront of what’s next in the video game industry expected to grow to $67 billion worldwide by the end of 2012.

"This is an exciting day for Ubisoft and the video game industry in Ontario, demonstrating what can be accomplished when we collaborate and work together," said the Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation. "Our government is proud of the results we’ve achieved in growing this sector in the province, helping to grow the economy and create jobs."

It seems as if Ubisoft wants to go down the actor-driven route that EA went with a few years ago, but will it add to the experience? What do you think?