Syberia interview

Written by Marek Bronstring — May 21, 2002 at 14:34

Adventure-Treff has an interview with comic book author Benoît Sokal and international product manager of Syberia, Frederic Pons. Sokal is known in the gaming industry for his work on Amerzone.

Here is an excerpt:

A-T: When reading about the nature of the four worlds in Syberia, for example the communistic Komkolzgrad, you can find some aspects very close to our real world beneath all the fiction. Did you intend to have some deeper civilization criticism in Syberia or is it just to have four game worlds very rich in contrast?

B.S.: Both in fact! I wanted to create a very credible story. That is why the roots of the game come from European history in the 20th century. And there were many errors at this stage. For example, see Aralbad which is a criticism of what Russian industry made: Pollution with a dramatic consequence; the Aral sea has nearly disappeared!

But Syberia is not politic game. Just a personal reflect of what happened...

A-T: Many game developers think that only 3D adventures can be successful (e.g. Broken Sword). Why did you choose to make a 2D game anyway?

Fred: Who cares but for specialized gaming press? Sincerely, if the 3D is awful, where is the benefits? It is like the choice of the 1st or 3rd person views. I made the 3rd person view because it makes a sense in the story and the emotion of the game. Not because it is fashionable! Same thing about graphics.