In 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Guillaume Broche found himself in much the same situation as millions across the globe.
Tired of their work and eager to try something new.
Working for French gaming giant Ubisoft at the time, he had an idea for his own project - a role-playing game inspired by one of his childhood favourites, the classic Japanese series Final Fantasy.
That would turn into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which, after five years, has turned into a phenomenon.
It reached one million sales in merely three days, dominated Spotify’s viral charts with its music, and also garnered acclaim from French President Emmanuel Macron .
However, one of the standout aspects of this is the story behind its creation — a narrative filled with spontaneous Reddit exchanges, significant serendipity, and an unconventional methodology in game development.
Mission 33 takes place in Lumiere, an imaginary realm dominated by a massive obelisk with a luminous number displayed prominently on its surface.
Every year, an entity referred to as The Paintress appears and reduces the count by one, leading all individuals of that particular age to disappear without a trace. This narrative revolves around a team on a mission to eliminate this enigmatic figure.
This presents an enticing premise for a grand story; however, the game distinguishes itself through its visuals, which draw inspiration from 19th-century France, along with its traditional turn-based combat system.
However, the prevailing belief when Guillaume started out was that players did not desire anything of this sort.
Five years back, he began enlisting individuals for his pet project, sending out appeals on Reddit and various online forums aimed at prospective collaborators.
One of those who responded was Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, who was under lockdown in Australia at the time.
She mentions seeing a post on Reddit from Guillaume who was looking for volunteer voice actors to record some content for free as part of a demo.
I thought to myself: 'This seems pretty interesting since I haven’t tried it before,' so I submitted my auditions.
Jennifer initially had a prominent role as a character in an earlier iteration of the game, but she later transitioned into becoming the team’s head writer.
Eventually, Guillaume departed from Ubisoft and established Sandfall Interactive with the aim of focusing entirely on Clair Obscur at their headquarters in Montpellier, France.
Following the acquisition of funding from publisher Kepler Interactive, the main team expanded to around 30 individuals.
A number of them were discovered through a similarly uncommon method as Jennifer.
Composer Lorien Testard -- who had not previously composed for video games -- was found through her uploads on the audio-sharing platform Soundcloud.
Jennifer refers to this phenomenon as the "Guillaume Effect." She explains that he excels at discovering incredibly interesting individuals.
Guillaume humbly credits his success rate to the pandemic - individuals seeking a creative outlet - as well as "sheer fortune."
"It's always the same story," he says.
I've got a list of 15 individuals to reach out to, and I’m thinking: ‘Alright, I might not hear back from anyone.’
“And each time, the initial response is always: ‘Sure, let’s go for it.’”
However, Guillaume acknowledges that he focused on individuals who appeared to align with the direction he wished to steer the project towards.
"When Lorien and I initially talked about the game, we shared identical influences," he remarks.
They adored the same interests. They followed the identical shows. The conversation flowed effortlessly.
Expedition 33 has also been widely praised for its production values - rivalling those of games worked on by hundreds, even thousands of staff.
Guillaume credits part of this achievement to the recent advancements in game development tools, enabling the team to operate with greater efficiency.
With Kepler’s support, the studio managed to draw in talent such as Charlie Cox from "Daredevil," renowned actor Andy Serkis known for his role in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, along with video game performers Jennifer English and Ben Starr.
Although Sandfall sought additional contributions from support studios, musicians, and various experts, Jennifer and Guillaume mention that the core team ultimately found themselves taking on multiple roles.
"So everyone contributes and takes on various tasks, often ones that fall outside their usual responsibilities," explains Jennifer, who was additionally tasked with translating the game into multiple languages.
"I believe we have an extraordinary team, primarily consisting of junior members who are remarkably dedicated to the project and highly skilled," states Guillaume.
For some reason, it succeeded, even though it still doesn’t make sense to me after all these years.
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