How does a 20-year-old journey recreation franchise survive and adapt for the trendy age? Syberia, a collection that launched throughout the early 2000s journey recreation darkish age, managed to hold on and increase into the trendy period. Initially launched earlier this 12 months, Syberia: The World Earlier than launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X/S on November 15.

Journey video games developed within the fashionable period due to the variations of builders reminiscent of Telltale. Most journey video games will be break up between those who resemble the unique journey video games of the ’80s and ’90s, reminiscent of Ron Gilbert’s Return to Monkey Island, and those who incorporate built-in selection mechanics like titles from Telltale or Supermassive. In these respects, Syberia, which seems similar to how the primary recreation launched in 2002, is a little bit of an outlier.

GamesBeat spoke with Lucas Lagravette, the director of Syberia: The World Earlier than, on the collection’ long-running historical past and survival within the fashionable video video games market. Right here is an edited transcript of our interview.

GamesBeat: With regard to The World Earlier than, what was it like adapting that franchise, that story and that gameplay for a contemporary viewers?

Lucas Lagravette: As you understand, after we began engaged on the third episode, it was all the start of the Telltale mania, if I can say so. It was a revival of level and click on, however another way. We needed to be a part of that. On The World Earlier than, with the expertise of what we tried to make on the third episode — there have been different video games that arrived, video games like those from Quantic Dream, and even Supermassive video games. Till Daybreak was a terrific reference for us relating to the controls of the sport, truly.

GamesBeat: In order that was the type of gameplay that you simply labored out for [Syberia: The World Before]? As a result of it’s not precisely the identical as the unique point-and-click type, however it nonetheless has that point-and-click really feel to it.

Lagravette: Yeah, precisely. It was actually essential for us that the fourth episode was absolutely playable with solely a mouse. But additionally it was a terrific problem additionally to make it completely playable with a controller. For our degree design group, it was like designing each degree twice. It needed to work with a mouse and it needed to work with a controller. We additionally had the puzzle dimension, which isn’t one thing many fashionable journey video games or narrative-driven video games do. That’s our factor.

GamesBeat: How do you assume Syberia, and in addition the journey recreation style usually, has modified because the first Syberia got here out in 2002?

Lagravette: The trendy formulation is extra of the story-driven triple-A story immersive recreation, like Quantic Dream, and even Supermassive. That’s one course level and click on took. You even have the very old-school type – I say this in a constructive method – like what they’ve finished with the final Monkey Island, which is de facto supposed for hardcore followers of the collection. I assume we’re making an attempt to be in between these two shores.

GamesBeat: What methods do you assume journey gaming has stayed the identical since that flip of the millennium period?

Lagravette: The triple-A video games, perhaps they put the puzzles and riddles apart a bit to do extra action-oriented sequences. Despite the fact that they’re quite simple to play. Very action-oriented. We tried to maintain the puzzle dimension, which for us is a pillar of the gameplay of Syberia. However as soon as once more, being impressed by extra fashionable video games doing puzzles. The Room [the video game series] is considered one of our references. It’s not the one one, however it’s considered one of our references for the puzzle sequences.

GamesBeat: Now that you simply’ve finished The World Earlier than, what was it like persevering with Kate’s story?

Lagravette: Once I performed the primary two video games, simply earlier than my interview for my internship for Syberia 3, it was 10 years after they have been launched. I used to be amazed by how fashionable the remedy of Kate and her psychological evolution was. I actually needed us to go ahead with that. It matched with Benoit Sokal’s imaginative and prescient of The World Earlier than, which was very a lot about Dana Roze [the deuteragonist of The World Before] and the way in which her story related together with his personal story and his household’s story. We thought it was actually attention-grabbing to have Kate asking questions on herself, who she is, and why she’s working. Within the third one Benoit discovered that formulation that I assumed was superb, to say that Kate was appearing like a traveler with no vacation spot. It’s one thing we needed to ask about within the fourth recreation, and the way we might join that with the exploration of Dana’s story previously.

GamesBeat: Was Dana impressed by any actual individuals? I used to be reminded of a number of whereas I used to be enjoying.

Lagravette: Really, it’s impressed by Benoit’s family story. I feel his grandfather was promoting artwork in Vienna when the Second World Struggle and the fascists arose. He needed to run away. That was what Benoit needed to speak about.

GamesBeat: What do you assume it’s about Kate Walker that has saved her round for so long as she has? What do you assume it’s about her that resonates with players?

Lagravette: Kate Walker’s story might be summarized as an emancipation, I assume. She was alienated inside her job, along with her mates, along with her household, with New York. Her life was a bit an excessive amount of, I assume, for her. When she had this chance to set herself free, she didn’t ask permission for it. You possibly can see within the first recreation how everybody doesn’t perceive what’s occurring along with her. She’s like, okay, however that’s too dangerous. I’m nonetheless going to do it. I’m nonetheless going to go away. I assume it’s one thing that also resonates very a lot right this moment. It’s one thing I can admire.

GamesBeat: Do you assume the gameplay would change in any method sooner or later? We’re within the post-Telltale period of journey video games now. Do you assume the gameplay goes to turn out to be extra fashionable, or is it going to return to the nostalgia journeys, such as you stated? Or will you be making an attempt to keep up a stability?

Lagravette: I assume stability will at all times be — we noticed it with Syberia 3. We tried issues and we’d gone too far, I feel, for the followers in some facets. I hope we will establish some factors which might be non-negotiable to the followers, like point-and-click. I feel will probably be very exhausting to have a Syberia with out point-and-click. However you possibly can invent extra fashionable methods of doing level and click on. I hope that’s what we’ve completed with The World Earlier than. If we do a sequel, we’ll proceed this evolution.