Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, made a statement today in Nevada, USA, raising concerns over the allegedly trivialised depiction of the Hinduism to be portrayed in Ubisoft's upcoming fantasy adventure, Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Quoting the official press release, "Hindus are urging French video game publisher Ubisoft to depict Hindu deities, temples, traditions, terminology and concepts with respect and accuracy in upcoming video-game Beyond Good and Evil 2."
The statement refers to the many references Michel Ancel's game makes to Hinduism as a clear source of inspiration, including the Ganesha City players will explore. Zed even expects Ubisoft Montpellier to follow ancient scriptures by the book, as he "hoped that the final product of this video-game would showcase the Hinduism concepts, traditions, objects, terminology and deities authentically; matching their characterization as portrayed in ancient Hindu scriptures, instead of giving its own fantasized or re-imagined version".
Their concerns are all about respect and seriousness, as potential misrepresentation could lead to confusion and offence being taken. Ubisoft has yet to comment on the matter, but it is obviously worth noting that we're talking about a space-based fantasy game with an anthropomorphic pig and a monkey among the main characters. Besides, the developers are implementing art and music from fans around the world as part of the Monkey Space Program, via HitRecord.
"With seasoned and skilful professionals at the helm in Ubisoft, we did not expect any problem", Zed added, as they are "just urging for more sensitivity towards faith traditions and careful handling of Hindu concepts and terminology."
What do you think of religious, artistic, and historical references in fantasy games? Leave a comment below.
