UNUSUAL. Two French people are releasing an unclassifiable game on June 13, designed as a stroll through the heart of Périgord. Surprising as well as refreshing.
By Baudouin Eschapasse
© DR
Published on
OForget racing cars at top speed, harrowing wanderings in endless maze haunted by dragons or even life-and-death struggles against bloodthirsty adversaries (monsters or soldiers)… Far from traditional arcade games, which constitute its catalog background, the Focus Entertainment group is now clearing a new territory: the Périgord. A universe far removed from that of its flagship titles: Vampire’s, Aliens or Warhammer.
Entitled Dordogne, the latest addition to the gaming giant invites you to a bucolic exploration of the valley of a thousand and one castles! Created by Cédric Babouche and Aymeric Castaing in full confinement, this program, adapted to all types of consoles, offers players to follow in the footsteps of a thirty-something (nicknamed Mimi) who rediscovers the landscapes of her childhood. Returning to her grandmother’s village at the time of her death, the young woman was not content to give in to the pleasures of tourism. She also dives back into her past by rediscovering objects loaded with memories.
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Taking place on two chronological planes (2002 and 1982), the game is designed as a treasure hunt with the aim of understanding why, from the summer of her 12 years, the young Mimi stopped going to Dordogne. Recalling over the clues found whole sections of this decisive season in her life as a young teenager, the thirty-year-old will gradually grasp that a traumatic episode has upset her life that year.
Entirely drawn in watercolour, this adventure game (for all audiences) develops a delicately poetic universe. If it sometimes looks more like a cartoon than a video game, it’s because Cédric Babouche, 47, comes from the world of television series. Founder of the Un je ne sais quoi studio, he has worked on numerous films for M6. “The idea for this game has been in my head since 2018, explains the Girondin artist. It began to materialize when my path crossed that of Aymeric Castaing. The latter, 45, at the head of another studio, Umanimation, has also worked in the animation sector for television and cinema, in particular the Disney group.Like a cartoon
In May 2020, after having merged their two companies, the forties began to script their project and then entrusted its development to around thirty IT specialists. Three years later, the game is here. “Narrative and non-punitive, i.e. the player cannot lose, Dordogne offers a journey of six to ten hours,” explain its designers. Spotted at CES in Las Vegas in 2020 (“it was just a simple trailer at the time”, note the two authors), their game has since won several international awards even before its release.
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The graphic beauty of Dordogne depends a lot on the technical choices they have made. “We opted for a fairly traditional way of doing things, brought back to 3D, which is very rare in the video game industry,” says Cédric Babouche, who paints a lot on the motif. “With our own technology that allows us to use the sets and drawn characters on a multi-platform basis, our production costs are 30% lower than those of our competitors”, adds Aymeric Castaing. Supported by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the Center national du cinema and the Office public de la langue occitane, their game is now available in 18 languages: from English to Chinese, via Russian and Japanese and even Occitan!
The two men announce the start of production of a series of short films from the summer, for a release in the first quarter of 2024. But also a comic strip to be published in 2025. They are already working, in parallel, on their next game , which should explore an island well known to holidaymakers on the Atlantic coast. The terroir as a new horizon for the video game?
2023-06-14 06:57:53
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