25 years ago, Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy blew away audiences and laid the foundations of the adventure genre, with its singular atmosphere and groundbreaking visuals. This year, the remake designed by Microids Studio Paris is on track to pull off a similar feat! We took a closer look at the huge effort the team is putting into the graphics.
Fresh visuals that enhance the game experience
From the outset of development, the ambition was clear: virtually all of Amerzone’s visual elements needed to be redesigned for the remake arriving this autumn. From the textured 3D models to the lighting effects, almost everything was recreated from scratch using modern techniques. “Much of our focus was on the vegetation and water, which feature heavily in the scenery,” explained Xavier Tual and Frédéric Gesquière, the pair in charge of artistic direction at Microids Studio Paris. “We worked on making the foliage varied and luxuriant, and bringing realism to the various rivers, lakes and swamps that the players will discover over the course of their adventure.”
In addition to the environments, the characters were given special attention in this ambitious remake. Each one was remodeled and based on the original drawings of the creator Benoît Sokal, in order to bring out all their splendor and surpass the technical limits of 1999. Then, for the first time, they were animated using motion capture. “This allows us to reproduce the subtleties of an actor's performance, and achieve a result that’s as human as possible,” told us Xavier. “The characters in Amerzone have been marked by life; their faces are windows into their personalities.”
Another new visual and technological feature: all the environments and characters are now displayed in real time, in contrast with the fixed images that were used in the original game. “Real-time 3D brings things to life; we can feel the wind in the trees, see the birds take off and the water move,” commented Frédéric. “It also creates depth; it makes it possible to observe the surroundings and objects from different angles.” To create this lush world, Microids Studio Paris has pushed the engine Unity to the limits, building on the expertise it demonstrated in 2022 with Syberia: The World Before.
Redesigned graphics that stay true to the original
While transforming Amerzone’s graphics to bring them up to today’s standards, the team set itself the goal of remaining faithful to the original release. “One thing that hasn’t changed a bit is the atmosphere and overall feel,” Xavier assured us. “Our aim is to enhance all of the content of the original game, […] to fully realize Benoît Sokal’s vision, without the technical limits that constrained his creativity at the time,” added Frédéric. A few things have been left as they were though, like the sketches in Valembois’ notebook, which have simply been put in high definition to enjoy them as never before.
To strike the fine balance between innovation and respect for the source, the teams at Microids Studio Paris spent a lot of time replaying the original title and returned to Benoît Sokal working files. “We asked ourselves what the essential elements were that needed to be kept, and what we could add to the game without straying too far from the original,” told us Xavier. “Take the iconic temple for example, with its Mayan-style architecture, surrounded by rock and lava. We kept all of that, while polishing it to make it even more brilliant!” To achieve its goal, the team has been able to rely on the vast experience gained working alongside Benoît Sokal over nearly a decade; as well as on his family, who have been looking after his legacy since he left us.
The result? A visual overhaul that should both live up to the expectations of the original fans, and wow new audiences.
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