The Game Awards are just around the corner, and while this time of year is surely exciting for all the nominees–and those of us eager for new game announcements–this year, there is one studio in particular that has more reason than any to celebrate: Sandfall Interactive.
Earlier this year, the small-scale studio took the world by storm with its debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Despite being Sandfall’s first game, the narrative-driven, turn-based RPG quickly entered the pantheon of all-time greatest RPGs, earning nearly universal critical acclaim for its artistry, story, and espousal of mechanics and themes typically associated with Japanese RPGs.
Now, Sandfall Interactive stands poised to make The Game Awards history. Last month, the studio broke The Game Awards’ record for most award nominations, earning a whopping 13, including Game of the Year. Earlier this year, I spoke with the studio’s creative director, Guillaume Broche, who said the team was in “disbelief” about how the game has been received; it stands to reason that this sentiment has only grown with the game’s tremendous success.
Broche also shared a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at the game’s development, explaining how there were “a lot of arguments” about the game’s ending, why the team opted for minimal user interface, and how many people are still unaware of the game’s biggest inspiration.
GameSpot: Firstly, I’d love to know: What is the atmosphere of the studio following the game’s tremendous success?
Broche: I think a lot of us are still in disbelief with how the game’s launched and how fans have embraced it. Every day we say to each other, “Is this real?” or, “Can you believe that?” when we see another milestone reached or that our favorite game developer or studio reached out and congratulated us. It’s all really overwhelming in a way, and we’re super grateful for everyone for their faith and support.
As I played through Expedition 33, it felt to me like the team took a “less is more” approach to creating the game. There are few UI elements on the screen and oftentimes, the character’s expressions and what they don’t say are just as impactful as what they do. That said, I’d like to hear in your own words about your design philosophies and principles, if you could elaborate on them.
We always wanted to tell a story that felt realistic and grounded. Of course, we have fantasy elements in the story, but at its core it’s a fundamentally human story. And in that story we wanted to have subtle, realistic interactions and emotions–which is why there’s a certain “less is more” feeling, like you say. It just makes the game feel more “real” in our eyes, or at least easier to engage with and relate to. Not every interaction in real life is a perfectly written, theatrical conversation–sometimes it’s just a look, or subtle moments of quietness, that have the most impact.
For the UI, we also wanted to have that same grounded approach to exploration. We trust the player to find their way through our levels, to understand our systems, and to engage with the world in the way we intended. We took some inspirations from games we grew up with in that sense, avoiding bloating our game with systems and designs that ultimately don’t improve the main game experience.
I’ve found that Clair Obscur is phenomenal in working within shades of grey and every character feels deeply human. As such, reflecting on the game’s ethics and big decisions are both interesting and challenging. Do you believe there truly is a true or “good” ending to the game?
That’s something we’ve had a lot of arguments about in the team too! I think your reaction to the endings, and which one is the “good” ending, is super subjective and related to your own personal experiences in real life. And I think that’s a strength of our writing and story–kudos to our Lead Writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, and our amazing mocap and voice actors for their performances–sometimes there is no clear “good” or “bad” choice in life that everyone will be happy with, and living within the grey, and those complex choices, are what makes us real people. Ultimately, what matters is your own interpretation of the ending and of the story.
Many sites have been quick to note Legend of Dragoon, the Final Fantasy series, and even From Software titles as games that Clair Obscur has seemingly drawn inspiration from, but are there any other works that inspired you that you want to talk about?
Actually, I didn’t play Legend of Dragoon before coming up with the QTEs (quick-time events) during skills. I learnt later that a game did something similar! There are also other inspirations like the Persona series, but also action games like Devil May Cry and Nier.
One major inspiration is a French novel called La Horde du Contrevent. It tells the story of a group of explorers–or an expedition–travelling across the world to find the source of the supernatural wind that sweeps across the world. Their tale, and the human stories of the team and their discoveries as they travel the world, were also an inspiration for us as we developed a story of our own expeditioners traveling across the world. I’d recommend that anyone who’s a fan of our story picks up this book, but I don’t think it’s been translated into English fully since it’s so densely written with so much nuance in the French language. So I guess maybe fans should learn French, and then read the novel!
Whether Clair Obscur will break the record currently held by The Last of Us: Part II and take home more than seven awards from The Game Awards remains to be seen. However, with 13 nominations and a Game of the Year award on the line, it’s certainly worth tuning in to see what happens. The Game Awards airs tomorrow, December 11, at 9:30 PM ET / 6:30 PM PT.