Ubisoft's Patrick Plourde revealing new project Child of Light at GDC Europe 2013

Patrick Plourde is creative director at Ubisoft Montreal working on massive franchises like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. He recently decided he wanted to try something additional to his main role. He wanted to try and make a new game that was entirely opposite to the big budget, huge team projects that he usually works on. That project is Child of Light.

At GDC Europe 2013 in Cologne, Germany, Plourde will present Child of Light during his presentation 'Small Projects in AAA Studios'. Taking place during Gamescom in August, the session will cover the "personal challenges of moving from mega productions to intimate games, and the unique challenges and opportunities of producing a small title within the walls of Ubisoft Montreal," according to the conference website.

Plourde will look at the ups and downs of trying to bring an indie mentality to a big studio. "This talk will interest industry veterans who want to move away from traditional AAA games, but without the financial risk associated with going Indie," according to GDC Europe. "The techniques taught can also be used by any game creator to help them pitch their project, regardless of size and scope."

Other talks scheduled for GDC Europe include Sony engineers Chris Ho and Richard Stenson's talking about shading in PlayStation 4 and former IGDA executive director Jason Della Rocca, speaking about start-up funding. GDC Europe is set for August 19-21.