the essentials The young Toulouse studio Rundisc is about to publish its most ambitious project: “Chants of Sennaar”. A puzzle game with shimmering graphics that intrigues the world of video games, from New York to Tokyo.
On September 5, the video game industry will welcome a Toulouse title: “Chants of Sennaar”. Information revealed during the Nintendo Direct organized by the famous Japanese publisher (Pokémon, Zelda, Mario…). The opportunity to discover a sublime puzzle game rewriting the myth of the Tower of Babel. “Besides, the name comes from Shinar, the place in Mesopotamia where the famous tower would have been,” explains Julien Moya, co-founder of Rundisc, the studio behind the project.
The game itself, non-violent, features a mysterious hooded traveler seeking to decipher the language of peoples unable to communicate. “We used a holistic approach to create a rich and cohesive universe. There are five different cultures, with their histories, philosophies, aspirations, spellings and languages!” Connoisseurs will also recognize inspirations from great works of X° art such as Outer Wilds, Heaven’s Vault, Return of the Obra Dinn or The Talos Principle.
And comic book lovers will detect the clear line of Moebius in the colorful and minimalist graphics. A radical choice to stand out from the competition of big budget games. And a little inspired by Toulouse, the decorum of the universe coming from the St-Etienne Cathedral. It was while observing it that the idea of a Romanesque abbey with a sect and hooded people arose.
Behind this lovely project are two associates. Thomas Panuel, the developer, as well as Julien Moya, the Artistic Director and author of the “independent graphic designer profession” guide. They dreamed of creating video games, so they tried it in their free time. First with Varion, a small self-produced and very arcade game that has not met its audience.
But that shouldn’t be the case with the company’s latest addition. Focus Entertainment, a French publisher specializing in indie games (participating in the distribution of the epic A Plague Tale or the adorable Dordogne) convinced the two Toulousains to maintain the pragmatism due to their experience while being more ambitious. “They accompanied us, advised us and allowed us to work with an illustrator (Rachelle Bartel), a composer (Thomas Brunet) and very invested producers!”
Moreover, the game is already finished and will be available on PC, Switch, Playstation and Xbox. A demo was shown in New York at the Tribeca Festival of Original Storytelling in June. Like what, the path to the banks of the Hudson can begin by choosing to come and live in Toulouse for its pretty filter meadow on the banks of the Garonne.
2023-07-18 12:28:00
#Chants #Sennaar #Toulouse #video #game #presented #York
