Microids’ Lucas Lagravette on Syberia and journey video games at the moment

How does a 20 yr outdated adventure sport franchise survive and adapt for the fashionable age? Syberia, a collection that launched in the course of the early 00s journey sport darkish age, managed to hold on and broaden into the fashionable period. Originally launched earlier this yr, Syberia: The World Before launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 15.

Adventure video games developed within the fashionable period, due to the diversifications of builders akin to Telltale. Most journey video games could be break up between those who resemble the unique journey video games of the 80s and 90s, akin to Ron Gilbert’s (literal) Return to Monkey Island; and those who incorporate extra common mechanics akin to built-in selection mechanics from Telltale or Supermassive. In these respects, Syberia, which seems similar to how the primary sport launched in 2002, is a little bit of an outlier.

GamesBeat spoke with Lucas Lagravette, the director of Syberia: The World Before, on the collection’ long-running historical past and survival within the fashionable video video games market. Here is an edited transcript of our interview.

GamesBeat: With regard to The World Before, what was it like adapting that franchise, that story and that gameplay for a contemporary viewers?

Lucas Lagravette: As you already know, once we began engaged on the third episode, it was all the start of the Telltale mania, if I can say so. It was a revival of level and click on, however differently. We wished to be a part of that. On The World Before, with the expertise of what we tried to make on the third episode — there have been different video games that arrived, video games like those from Quantic Dream, and even Supermassive video games. Until Dawn was an amazing reference for us concerning the controls of the sport, truly.

GamesBeat: So that was the type of gameplay that you just labored out for [Syberia: The World Before]? Because it’s not precisely the identical as the unique point-and-click type, however it nonetheless has that point-and-click really feel to it.

Lagravette: Yeah, precisely. It was actually vital for us that the fourth episode was absolutely playable with solely a mouse. But additionally it was an amazing problem additionally to make it fully playable with a controller. For our stage design group, it was like designing each stage twice. It needed to work with a mouse and it needed to work with a controller. We additionally had the puzzle dimension, which isn’t one thing many fashionable journey video games or narrative-driven video games do. That’s our factor.

GamesBeat: How do you suppose Syberia, and likewise the journey sport style usually, has modified for the reason that first Syberia got here out in 2002?

Lagravette: The fashionable components is extra of the story-driven triple-A story immersive sport, like Quantic Dream, and even Supermassive. That’s one course level and click on took. You even have the very old-school type – I say this in a constructive manner – like what they’ve completed with the final Monkey Island, which is actually meant for hardcore followers of the collection. I suppose we’re attempting to be in between these two shores.

GamesBeat: What methods do you suppose journey gaming has stayed the identical since that flip of the millennium period?

Lagravette: The triple-A video games, perhaps they put the puzzles and riddles apart a bit to do extra action-oriented sequences. Even although they’re quite simple to play. Very action-oriented. We tried to maintain the puzzle dimension, which for us is a pillar of the gameplay of Syberia. But as soon as once more, being impressed by extra fashionable video games doing puzzles. The Room [the video game series] is certainly one of our references. It’s not the one one, however it’s certainly one of our references for the puzzle sequences.

GamesBeat: Now that you just’ve completed The World Before, what was it like persevering with Kate’s story?

Lagravette: When I performed the primary two video games, simply earlier than my interview for my internship for Syberia 3, it was 10 years after they have been launched. I used to be amazed by how fashionable the remedy of Kate and her psychological evolution was. I actually wished us to go ahead with that. It matched with Benoit Sokal’s imaginative and prescient of The World Before, which was very a lot about Dana Roze [the deuteragonist of The World Before] and the way in which her story linked together with his personal story and his household’s story. We thought it was actually fascinating to have Kate asking questions on herself, who she is, and why she’s operating. In the third one Benoit discovered that components that I believed was wonderful, to say that Kate was performing like a traveler with no vacation spot. It’s one thing we wished to ask about within the fourth sport, and the way we may join that with the exploration of Dana’s story up to now.

GamesBeat: Was Dana impressed by any actual individuals? I used to be reminded of a number of whereas I used to be enjoying.

Lagravette: Actually, it’s impressed by Benoit’s circle of relatives story. I feel his grandfather was promoting artwork in Vienna when the Second World War and the fascists arose. He needed to run away. That was what Benoit wished to speak about.

GamesBeat: What do you suppose it’s about Kate Walker that has saved her round for so long as she has? What do you suppose it’s about her that resonates with avid gamers?

Lagravette: Kate Walker’s story might be summarized as an emancipation, I suppose. She was alienated inside her job, together with her buddies, together with her household, with New York. Her life was a bit an excessive amount of, I suppose, for her. When she had this chance to set herself free, she didn’t ask permission for it. You can see within the first sport how everybody doesn’t perceive what’s happening together with her. She’s like, okay, however that’s too unhealthy. I’m nonetheless going to do it. I’m nonetheless going to depart. I suppose it’s one thing that also resonates very a lot at the moment. It’s one thing I can admire.

GamesBeat: Do you suppose the gameplay would change in any manner sooner or later? We’re within the post-Telltale period of journey video games now. Do you suppose the gameplay goes to grow to be extra fashionable, or is it going to return to the nostalgia journeys, such as you stated? Or will you be attempting to keep up a stability?

Lagravette: I suppose stability will all the time be — we noticed it with Syberia 3. We tried issues and we’d gone too far, I feel, for the followers in some points. I hope we will establish some factors which can be non-negotiable to the followers, like point-and-click. I feel it is going to be very onerous to have a Syberia with out point-and-click. But you’ll be able to invent extra fashionable methods of doing level and click on. I hope that’s what we’ve achieved with The World Before. If we do a sequel, we’ll proceed this evolution.