Benoît Sokal’s iconic adventure game, Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy, is about to return with an ambitious remake that’s more immersive than ever. Here, you can learn more about the designers behind the game...
“We work well together as a team”
This remake of Amerzone – a faithful update that promises some new features – is in the hands of Microids Studio Paris. Formed in October 2021, the team has been built around former developers from the studio Koalabs, maker of Syberia 3 and Syberia: The World Before. Today, it includes more than 60 members, working at the headquarters of Microids in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. “Being on the same premises as our publisher is a plus point,” Antoine Babary, Audio Director, told us. “It helps us communicate more smoothly and make decisions faster.”
According to the team members, the human size of Microids Studio Paris creates a close and supportive environment. “When we have an idea to improve the game, we can talk about it and reach a decision pretty fast, without having to deal with layers of hierarchy,” Édouard Bourgeat, Principal Sound Designer, stated. “We work well together as a team; most of the members have already delivered at least one game together,” added Grégory Chicoine, Level Designer. “Delivery is a high-pressure stage in development, which proves the ability to work together.”
Experts in Sokal-esque adventure games
Through its work on the Syberia series over the years, Microids Studio Paris has developed expertise in the adventure game genre. “Working on Syberia allowed me to level up my skills, particularly with camera angles: what do we want to show, and how to show it?”, Grégory explained. “This experience with Syberia helped me a lot with Amerzone; we started out on a solid basis.”
The studio's background with Syberia means that it masters the world of Benoît Sokal better than anyone. “From the music to the visuals and the mechanics, there are many similarities between Syberia and Amerzone. By understanding one, we can enhance the other,” Antoine pointed out. “What’s more, our creative leads have a long history of collaboration with Benoît; they know his work inside out,” added Édouard. “This means we can produce a remake of Amerzone that’s as close as possible to what Benoît would have wanted.”
Furthermore, Microids Studio Paris has been honing its skills with its tool of choice, the Unity engine, achieving ever greater performance. “Syberia and Amerzone share a lot of technologies,” Grégory explained. “The foundations were already there, allowing us to focus on improvements and new features, like the point-of-view and sequence shots.”
Creating a remake that lives up to the cult game
Thanks to its expertise in adventure games, its solid development processes and its deep knowledge of Benoît Sokal’s work, the studio firmly believes that it can deliver the remake of Amerzone that players deserve. “With our background, we’re confident that we’re well positioned to meet the expectations,” stated Édouard. “The team has risen to all the challenges, and has strived to push the experience as far as possible,” added Antoine. “I really believe we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Grégory concluded.
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