Ubisoft's Eric Chahi

That's true - but on the other hand it's still possible to create a game on your own. That game might not have the best graphics or production values, but I wouldn't be surprised if a game made by one person that had a really strong concept could be a landmark.

Yes, it's really small - but it's a good thing too, because it means a less expensive project. When a project is cheaper there's more freedom to create something original - and when it's a game with a team of maybe 200-300 people, it's so huge and costs so much money that publishing an original concept or idea is a big risk. There's a need to make sure there's profit, to recoup that high budget.

It was a long process - the project started just over two years ago at Ubisoft, in terms of when the team started work. But the concept dates back to 2004, when I wanted to create a new game, although it wasn't Project Dust back then. I'd had lots of ideas that were gestating, which gradually became clearer.

Once I had a sharper vision on how the game universe would look I presented the concept to Ubisoft - that was in 2006, but it took time to really convince people. When they were finally on board we then had to find the right time to do it... it took time.

Freedom, freedom and freedom. There's no distribution or retail to worry about - no manufacture or production costs, so it's less risky for a publisher to sign an original game. I think it's the perfect platform for this kind of game that's not really mainstream.

At retail games are more expensive, whereas on XBLA and PSN they're cheaper, so you can reach more people.

Yes - they're already very involved with it a lot. Our producer is already pushing, there's a good synergy.

Yes - and it's a challenge for Ubisoft too, because it's different. Communicating on an original project is always challenging.

I think that my advice would be to create a game that demonstrates your abilities, or production capacity. If you want to make a game alone, you need to focus on the concept - it needn't involve sophisticated graphics. If there's more of you, maybe you could be a bit more ambitious - but no too much, because games always take more energy than you initially expect...

Also - have an open mind to inspiration from other fields, other interests, and not just games. If you try and make a game only by referring to other games, you limit your potential - you're in a closed loop.