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INTERVIEW WITH DIDIER CHANFRAY, PART 1 : LITTLE BIG ADVENTURE | By Twinsen Threepwood |
In the shadow of his illustrious partner Frédérick Raynal, Didier Chanfray is nonetheless an esteemed veteran of the French Touch, having worked on the design of legendary games such as Alone in the Dark and Little Big Adventure (LBA) / Relentless: Twinsen’s Adventure (US).
Graphic and Game Designer, consultant, teacher, CEO, Didier Chanfray wear many different hats, in a rich and varied career allowing him to know and understand all facets of the industry. From the glory associated with the success of a game to the devastating closure of studios in a highly competitive market, Didier Chanfray has known everything, and today, opens his mind to us, with no subject off limits.
A pragmatic man of strong character and conviction, Didier Chanfray got back the exclusive rights of the LBA’s license making him once again the Guardian of the Sendell’s Temple. This acquisition had allowed the return of the two first adventures on modern stores such as GOG or Steam, thanks to a partnership with the publisher DotEmu.
Can you guess what our subject of today is? Yes, it’s Little Big Adventure!
In a worldwide exclusive, Gameforever has the huge privilege to present to you A Little Big Interview with the master himself, which is the result of more than two hours of a warm and joyful no holes barred discussion. We are going to have the opportunity to chat with Didier about his career, as well as more specifically to talk about the LBA saga and its’ future, because the world of Twinsun has not said its last word!
Our interview will cover the license and will be divided into 3 parts, starting with the story of LBA 1 & 2, their return on our actual platforms, and culminating with the project so-awaited and hoped for by all of the community of fans for more than 20 years: LBA 3.
[GF]: After 30 years in the video game industry and having worked in various roles, how do you feel about your work? Are you still enthusiastic, or perhaps tired of the industry? In simple terms, what is your overall mood about your work?
Didier Chanfray : That's a great question! I'm still very enthusiastic! Currently, I am working part-time for the Research division within the LabEx IMU - University of Lyon, which brings together around thirty laboratories focused on the theme of the City of Tomorrow, with approximately 600 researchers.
My role involves creating prototypes of hybrid playful devices, such as physical models, board games, apps, VR, AR, etc., that generate data which is then used for research purposes. I utilize game mechanics, user experience, and design to evoke a desire in people to engage with these devices, much like a video game. We strive to maximize player engagement. These hybrid games essentially serve as measuring instruments, albeit with a disguised appearance, allowing us to measure a wide range of phenomena. This can include aspects such as contamination, usage of the VeloV bike-sharing network in Lyon, France, or even tramways. We can also examine people's speech patterns, for example, with our company's game, Robospectif, which revolves around the theme of autonomous vehicles.
In fact, I'm still driven by the same desire that has always motivated me: to explore, to invent new things to do with games. It's related to the question about the game industry. The industry, you know, it's always a tough battle... It's still complicated to secure funding and recoup your investment... And it can be quite exhausting. At the moment, I'm busy and satisfied with my work with researchers, which helps me not think too much about it. I'm also the "External Relations Manager" at the Gamagora training program (ICOM - Lyon2 University), where my goal is to connect students with the game industry ecosystem. I also give workshops on game design at some schools, which I do through my company DC EURL! So, you see, I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket (laughs)! Apart from the sales of LBA 1&2 and Time Commando handled by the excellent publishers DotEmu and GOG, and a few sporadic consulting missions, I'm not currently involved in the world of entertainment game production. But that could change in the future...
In 2004, in Lyon, my partner David Chomard and I, along with some former colleagues from No Cliché/Adeline Software, founded the independent studio called "Little Worlds" using our own funds. Our initial ambition was to create original games with significant cultural and technological value. However, in order to sustain ourselves, we soon found ourselves caught in a cycle of service agreements, leading us to develop numerous licensed products.
Despite our efforts to develop our own games, we were unable to bring them to a successful point. One game I recall is "Little World," an ecological and activist-themed action/adventure game, which unfortunately did not receive the level of attention I had hoped for. Another game we worked on was "Cosmicrew" a unique and exciting competitive multiplayer game. Bad luck !
Throughout our service-oriented projects, our team became highly successful and gained recognition for our efficiency. Despite working with limited resources, we managed to provide honest and reliable solutions to our customers. However, under the prevailing economic rules in France and facing a globalized market, we had little chance of surviving for very long.
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As the poor financial results continued to accumulate, a fortunate turn of events occurred in 2015 when the German publisher BIGPOINT expressed interest in the team's skills and made a takeover offer. This allowed the story of Little Worlds Studio to come to a close without any major losses or complications, which was already a positive outcome. On a personal note, I had already left the company in 2011. After working on numerous productions, I felt the need to take a break.
[GF] : Let's get to the point: Little Big Adventure! If today you had to explain to a young player what Little Big Adventure is, what would you say to them?
For example, there is an RPG influence in the character's progression and in the quest items, but it also gives a sense of experiencing a story with twists and turns. So, yes, it's not a classic role-playing game, but what I mean is that LBA drew inspiration from many different influences to come together.
LBA has something that we wouldn't do at all today: choosing your behavior. If you think about it, nowadays, "choosing your behavior" is something completely contextual. But back then, depending on your mood, you could do things differently, and it would impact the progression of the game. That kind of mechanic wouldn't be done like that today; we wouldn't understand that kind of gameplay, but it remains a fundamental aspect of LBA.
So what is about LBA, in one sentence? (pensive)
I would say : to have the feeling of freedom and also, from my point of view, it’s considering that the player is going to experience something that will make him grow, and will make him reveal to himself... For me, anyway! (laughs)
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[GF] : LBA was indeed developed in 1994 under unique circumstances. The team behind LBA had departed from Infogrames following their work on the first Alone in the Dark game. This marked Adeline Software's inaugural project, and initially, they consisted of only four team members. It is true that the decision to leave Infogrames after Alone in the Dark was influenced by a challenging internal situation within the company.
What were the primary obstacles you encountered in terms of project management, organization, logistics, and other aspects? Was there, perhaps, a sense of seeking revenge?
There are so many questions, right there! (laughs)
Regarding that, well, I actually left Infogrames in a normal way. I simply resigned, plain and simple, so that's crystal clear. Well, what I regret is that I didn't join in the big parties that happened at Infogrames in the following years. I missed out on that (laughs)! I have very fond memories of those years and had great colleagues. What I mean is that personally, there was no sense of revenge. We had accumulated several years of experience at Infogrames and a strong desire to move forward, plain and simple.
How did we go about it? Through the work on technology first, which may not be evident in the game, but was revolutionary. The technology behind LBA was a gem at the time.
We also needed to have the right tools... Our tools were quickly operational. Fred had invented everything!
[GF] : The game was still a small conglomerate of various technologies!
Indeed! As I mentioned before, LBA is above all a technological gem. Technology often plays a crucial role in setting a video game apart, and this remains true even in modern productions. Our production process followed a relatively straightforward approach: a portion of the code was written in assembly language, accompanied by proprietary file formats. We employed a "world builder" and developed our own homemade 3D modeling and real-time animation tools. Additionally, we supplemented our toolkit with popular software such as 3DS Max, Softimage, Photoshop, and others available in the market. Today, there are highly convenient engines that seamlessly integrate all the necessary modifications. However, the risk lies in the potential loss of differentiation from other games. While these engines offer great convenience, there is a danger of blending in rather than standing out among the crowd.
[GF] : Furthermore, you were a very small team !
Yes. During LBA1’s time, we were four in the beginning! Yael Barroz, Laurent Salmeron, Frédérick Raynal and myself. Then we upped to 6, 10, and then, 12.
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[GF] : When we examine the elements that make up the game, we come to realize that it features a vast array of meticulously crafted landscapes, intricately modeled and animated characters. In addition to that, there's the utilization of proprietary technology, the management of physics, the intricacies of game design, and the production of numerous and highly complex cutscenes. Considering the scope of these tasks and the constraints of time and resources, one might wonder: Did you develop the entire game under crunch conditions?
(Note : “Crunch” designates a contemporary practice of development in video games, where teams work for long periods with extremely large hours to finish their project
I reminisce (thoughtful)... Actually, no, we didn't experience what you could call extreme hardships. Of course, there were some tough moments, but nothing extravagant. In terms of delivery, we didn't have any delays. It was crucial for the team to feel satisfied regarding that. The production lasted, I believe, for 16 months. The tasks were well distributed among us. There was a gradual increase in momentum. We made important decisions early in production to avoid getting into trouble later on. I remember we had a great coding tool. It was really important because we needed flexibility to assemble the game. That way, we could code and test the game without recompiling, and thus without annoying the programmers! (laughs)
On a more serious note, it was something we had noticed in our previous productions: it was annoying, we had to stop everyone to integrate the latest assets. But this time, we had the tools developed to simulate the game. It was quite an achievement. This way, we could start coding the scenes, do the level design, without having to stop everything to test.
[GF] : If my information is correct, you single-handedly created all the character modeling and their animations, is that right?
Yes, that was the case for the first LBA! (laughs) Well... except for "Joe" the Elf! Jean-Jacques was the one who modeled and animated it. He had come up with this character to represent a bug in the game, and it made recurring appearances in the storyline. (editor's note: Jean-Jacques Poncet is credited as the screenwriter for LBA1). For LBA2, I had the valuable support of two talented reinforcements: Polo (Paul-Henri Michaud) and Nono (Arnaud Lhomme).
Yaël (editor's note: Yaël Barroz, in charge of 2D sets and graphics) took on the responsibility of creating nearly all the isometric sets. She utilized a process involving 3DS MAX and Photoshop to craft the "tiles." Additionally, she employed a tool that facilitated the assembly of the level design, somewhat resembling Minecraft, but using our own unique blocks. Towards the end of production, Jean-Marc Torroella provided assistance specifically for the sets of the polar island.
In LBA1, all the CGI scenes were modeled and animated by Frédérick Taquet. It seems that I did a large part of the storyboards.
As for the story, it was written collectively, following a well-established ritual! Through regular brainstorming sessions, we would define the player's actions and encounters in a location. We would take notes, create a map of the place, determine its dimensions, list the characters encountered, and outline the key moments of the game... Jean-Jacques was responsible for structuring the ideas, connecting them to the previous ones, suggesting side quests, and writing the dialogues.
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[GF] : Precisely, I wanted to talk about the scenario and the lore of the game! (laughs)
In its screenplay and lore, LBA extensively explores themes of oppression, dictatorship, and fascism. Was this creative choice solely intended as a gameplay gimmick, or did the team also aim to convey political messages?
(Note: The design of the antagonist, Dr. Funfrock, directly references Jean-Marie Le Pen, the chairman of the far-right party in France known as "Front National" during that period.)
Both of them. It did require a credible opponent in a story denouncing all forms of totalitarianism and personality cult. However, it turns out that Twinsen was primarily an anti-hero from the start. He is a "maker" who remains unaware of his true nature in the story. Do you see what I mean? That was one of the key foundations that were laid out in the game concept, so it wasn't about being a superhero. He was just an ordinary guy, like you and me, who had to go beyond his limits to fight and restore freedom and justice, plain and simple.
The dictatorship was indeed embodied by a stereotypical character, which may seem somewhat simplistic. However, the clever twist was the inclusion of clones. We could hit them endlessly. There was no limit to violence as if they were humans. They were clones, we could exterminate them without compassion, there were no concerns (laughs)! It somewhat justified the action you had on the screen, actually. Also, the dreamlike aspect (talking animals, cartoonish design) went against the grain of most action games of that time, which were mostly combat, pseudo-realistic war, or zombie games, and Frédérick wanted to do the opposite. The core principles of game design were starting to become clear. Then, the lore developed on its own.
For example, Fred explained to us that there would be 2 suns because there was no day and night cycle in the game. So, from there: how do you justify that the planet is caught between two suns at its poles? (laughs) Physically, it's stabilized, still rotating on itself, but there's never a night and a permanent sunset at the equator. And why two hemispheres? That's level design: you start dividing the world to create a desire to explore a previously inaccessible world for a while in the game. But it also fits well with the story of a small planetoid: there are 2 poles, 2 hemispheres, islands, mountains, seas... It resembles Earth, but it's not Earth.
From there, I also decided to do the opposite of everything: meaning there's no ice at the poles (since there are the suns), so I thought it would be cold at the equator (laughs)! Additionally, we have this mountain range in the center that marks the border between the two major regions. And from there, the idea was not to create a typical migration from South to North, but to tell a story where people from the North would be forced to migrate to the South (laughs)!
There is no consciously crafted political message in LBA, but we address totalitarianism and the harm it causes, drawing from our own cultural Western references, particularly from Western Europe, and our recent past filled with dumb examples of this kind. There is an important scene for me: when you are alone facing the tank on the Citadel Island at the beginning of the game. I belong to the generation that witnessed “Tiananmen”, you see. If you want, you can choose to fight against the soldiers at that moment, but it's a futile effort.
So, yes, there is a world that may seem childish, for sure: you can talk to animals, for example, that kind of stuff, but even if it is not strictly politicized, there is still indeed a message. We are talking about a theme: that talks about freedom, of regaining your freedom.
[GF] : The original Little Big Adventure featured an isometric projection with a prominent use of perspective lines. Was there any influence from your training as a surveyor in the level design?
What I really enjoy doing in a game is level design, organizing the game world. Is there a connection with my training? Yes and no. In reality, isometric projection doesn't have perspective or angles; the lines are parallel to each other. It works well in video games, as we've known since the 1980s. When I worked as a land surveyor, I conducted topographic surveys in the mountains for ski resorts, so perhaps that experience helped me with drawing plans and spatial layout, among other things.
[GF] : Speaking of that, isn't Twinsen's little snowboarding scene a nod to your experience of planning in a mountainous area?
Yes, absolutely, but there is also Fred who loves surfing (laughs)! We had some great outings!
[GF] : Indeed, it's true that we see the 4 founding members in the mountains on your first group picture!
Yes, it was during the first week at Adeline, it started well (laughs)! We had just signed the contracts ... (Pensive) Besides, we were not unhappy. Because it was not us who took the financial risk, it was the Delphine group. These were not yet the constraints that I experienced afterwards, like when I created my box. There, we were pampered.
[GF] : So you were employees?
We were employees, and we practically only managed the creation. I have rarely known that. We were relieved of everything else by other people whose job it was. It was a great comfort for us. We still managed recruitments, supervision... That is normal. We were also well aware of the overall budget not to be exceeded, but what I mean is that we didn't have to worry about end-of-month payrolls and all the administrative hassle of a company.
[GF] : Let's go back to the port of LBA on mobile and tablet that you co-developed in 2014. At that time, you witnessed the evolution of players and the codes of modern video games, which had to be taken into account to adapt LBA on tablet and mobile… With hindsight, what conclusions do you draw from this experience?
So, about the mobile version... First, for me, there is one essential thing at the beginning, when you start to make a game : it's the format. So then, you have a lot of differences in approach, especially with the interface, depending on whether you are on a PC, on a console, on a mobile, but also in the ways of doing things.
On mobile, it's very different. In addition, there is an evolution of young people and their use of games, which is different. So we tried to do something else. Personally, I hate mobile games that have a transcribed stick: if you use it, it means it's not the right format, because in this case, you don't really use its specificity.
In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sébastien Viannay very much, who contributed a lot to re-programming all of this for this new version!
(Note: Sébastien Viannay was a programmer in the original Little Big Adventure team. He developed a patch on his own during the 2000s, making the game compatible with Windows 98 and Windows XP operating systems, and reworked on the code of the tablet and mobile version of LBA)
With Fred, we really looked at the interface and added some stuff. Overall, we have simplified the game: by showing in particular where to search, by indicating the trajectory of Twinsen's ball… We even lowered the level of enemies, finally (laughs)! We also worked on finding the way and controlling Twinsen…
[GF] : The Famous control tank!
That's it ! Today, people don't understand how you can control a guy like a car (laughs)! With reverse gear, you go backwards : only the "beep" is missing (laughs).
That dates from Alone, you see: when you back up, when you make this movement (he mimics the movement) : you are actually afraid.
I didn't think it would be possible to play on a mobile. I'm not talking about the tablet version, but about playing on a mobile phone. On tablet, I think it's pretty good, as a system. But on mobile, I think it's still difficult. I tried on an old iPhone: I had a hard time, but I managed to finish the game. I wanted to see if it was possible, there you go! (laughs)
[GF] : To end this first part of the interview on the first Little Big Adventure… This game, alone, captures a large community of fans, and we can be amazed to see some of them write new scripts (like the past of the Dino-Fly), attempts remakes with current engines, to perform speedruns of the game... As a co-creator of this game, how do you feel when you see that this game, created 26 years ago, still generates as many creations and content?
We don't understand, with Fred... It wasn't calculated, honestly. In the beginning, we tried to put everything we had in us, but after that... You know, about the process of creation: I've met it a lot of times in my career. There have been good products, and not so good products. Some good experiences, and some, not so good... The creative process is rarely the same for every project. It depends on the people, on the context. I am not superstitious, but I just think the alignment of the planets has been good. And I really thank the Delphine Group, which left us free and took care of the rest on the side. We were a small team too, we were close. I don't know what it's like to work in a team of 150 people, I never had to. But when I see all these fans doing remakes, I think it's great, even crazy! There's a guy named Greg who's doing a really cool thing... but also a lot of other guys who can't be thanked enough.
After that, each of us has done a lot of other things since this time, with, sometimes, some good products. But personally, I haven't done a game that touched people's hearts so much since then. You know, the question has often been asked about the reasons for the game's success… Also, i think that what was another determining point, was the location. It made the game travel a lot. And I really find that the French, English, German voices, in short, all the voice acting in fact, is really successful until the point of being part of the aesthetics of the game in the same way as the music or the artistic direction. LBA has been translated into Portuguese too. From there, the game traveled to Brazil and all of South America. It’s a universal story, in fact. The quest for freedom and justice speaks to all countries.
Also, LBA was also made to run on Mr. Nobody's computer. It's not like the big stuff that comes out today, where if you don't have the last machine, you cry because nothing's going on. (laughs) Anyway, at the start, with Fred, we had that reasoning, because we didn't have any big machines ourselves… So it had to run really well on ours! (laughs)
All this to say that, ten years later, the game has had a second life. The emergence of computing on other continents meant that we suddenly had lots of new fans in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, the Middle East, India… The game was also released in Japan! (laughs)
We sold 500,000 “full price” units of LBA 1, I don't count the “small prices” because I don't have the numbers (classic EA collection, + Bundle of any kind even sold in gas station, box cornflakes…) : in fact, it's not quite bad! (laughs)
[GF] : Last question : If we refer to Frédérick Raynal, who gave the anecdote about it during a Live Twitch (the Freeman's Speedrun of the game), LBA1 was, originally, planned for the Super Nintendo. Are there traces or visuals of this version?
I vaguely remember the idea of a porting, but I don't think we have been done much on the study of this project. I don't remember any assets in a SNES’s format.
We let you rest, before attacking the second part of the interview, devoted to Little Big Adventure 2!
