Ubisoft 2005 Annual Report Download - page 28

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Creative ideas are born out of passion and to harness that passion, Ubisoft encourages
individual initiative at all levels of the company. But it is also convinced that, in its drive
to become the best, uniting its people’s ideas and talent is what counts the most. The
company constantly seeks to improve its collaborative processes, providing its creative
teams the means they need to give full form to their vision, while optimizing global
production costs. Its knowledge management strategy has led to the construction of a
number of valuable asset databases (sound, textures, graphics, 3D objects etc.) that are
shared by all the company’s studios, increasing productivity and guaranteeing quality
across the board. In addition, a growing number of web-based collaborative work
spaces enable employees to share information and ideas more easily.
Playing a pivotal role in this strategy, Ubisoft’s Academy of Experts is an internal
think-tank with a dual mission of sharing knowledge between the studios and resolving
complex technical questions. Made up of some of the best technical minds in the com-
pany, the Academy last year collaborated on a range of issues from lighting effects
to online gameplay. This internal know-how is complemented by local initiatives that
encourage teams to share their experiences first-hand with external industry experts,
leaders in their field.
TECHNOLOGY IN THE SERVICE
OF CREATIVITY
As game technology continues to rapidly evolve, Ubisoft has built up solid experience
that enables it to anticipate changes and to subsequently drive its teams in mastering and
fully exploiting new tools. With an increase in total development investment of 37% in
fiscal 2006, the company’s in-house engineers are today able to push the limits of the
best middleware on the market, and to create and customize new tools when those avai-
lable no longer fulfill developers’ needs. The recent acquisition of the Far Cry Edition of
CryENGINE in early 2006 is just one example of Ubisoft’s R&D strategy to privilege
autonomy and flexibility at a competitive cost. With an increasing number of proprietary
engines, the company is able to create production pipelines that can be customized inter-
nally for use on different titles, thereby amortizing the initial investment.
By creating its own tools, Ubisoft is less dependent on the capacity of external companies
to keep up with constantly evolving technologies. However, to make sure the technology
A firm believer in strength in numbers, Ubisoft places collaborative working methods at the
top of its list in the battle to stay one step ahead of the competition. The company’s R&D
strategy supports this philosophy, building the appropriate resources.
Sharing creative
and technical know-how