Benoît Sokal interview - Czytelnia - gry przygodowe

- In 2003 you, Michel Bams, Oliver Fontenay and Jean-Phillipe Messian left Microids and founded your own company - White Birds Productions. What were the reasons for the departure with Microids?

- But it seems that the idea for the company has been rooting long before that happened...

- Why have you found the White Birds Productions? What are the main goals and plans of the company?

- How would you describe the profile of the company in the field of computer and video games? Are you an adventure games company?

We are known for making adventure games, but our goal is to go further. We have no problem in being perceived as an adventure game company.

- Do you have any projects other than Lost Paradise?

Currently, we are working on another game project called "Aquarica". But also on an action game project, a 3D animated movie...

- What is "Aquarica"?

White Birds Productions' next major project. It is a game, but also a movie. There is another author than myself : my friend François Schuiten.

- Any details about the movie?

No. Sorry. We're working hard on it, but there is still a lot to do. When we'll be ready, we will let people know.

- Is it going to be based on one of your "universes" or will it be something completely new?

It is brand new, as we are two authors to work on the story, François Schuiten and myself.

- Lately we have heard that at Microids they are already thinking about the next game(s) featuring Kate Walker's adventures. Is there any real chance that you and White Birds Productions will be working on those games?

- We've heard that you're planning to publish a collection of comic strips. Any details?.

Yes, there will be adaptations of our games in cartoon books. It starts with "Lost Paradise". The story will take 4 volumes.

- What are the future plans of White Birds Productions?

- Can you tell us a little bit in general about the idea for White Birds Productions' first game - Paradise Lost?

- Who is the main protagonist?

There are two main characters : a young woman called Ann, but also a black leaopard.

- Could you describe Ann's character briefly?

She's in a strange relation with her father. She left the country where she was born (Maurania) at the age of 10, when her mother divorced from her father : King Rodon. Since then, she has not seen him anymore. She knows that he is a dictator, but at the same time she still loves him as a father...

- What is the role of the leopard in Paradise Lost? We've heard this creature is going to be playable.

Yes, the leopard is going to be playable. His role is linked to the overall story line.

- What actions will the leopard perform in Lost Paradise?

Things that a human cannot do... (like jumping high, seeing in the dark, frightening people, running fast...).

- Your main character is a woman again. Is the world seen from the women's perspective more interesting for the artist?

I simply like to show woman who are not just "like man" (ie. Using weapons, fighting)

- Is there any "common denominator" for Sokalian heroins?

Not at all. Ann is very different from my previous heroin in video games I think.

- Will we be able to get into Ann's mind and get to know her personality, her opinions and her thoughts or are you rather planning to put the player in the position of an observer (like you did in Syberia) and not an omniscient puppeteer?

Even if the games are becoming "richer" in terms of content, it is still far way from being a book. In a book, you can take lots of pages to describe a character personality ; in a video game, you cannot bore the player. The time is limited to develop psychology.

- Have you made any changes to the dialogue system compared to Syberia?

- So how will the conversations in Lost Paradise look like?

- Could you lift the curtain on the story of Paradise Lost?

A little bit... It is a story os a father and her daughter on one side. On another side, it is a story of redemption... And finally, a story on colonization's side effects...