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Benoît Sokal's Sinking Island Interview

Benoît Sokal's Sinking Island Interview

Does the idea of a sinking island has anything to do with this so present climate alert we read about almost every day? Was that a source of inspiration?

Benoît Sokal: Of course, yes. I read some years ago already the Maldives islands were very worried about the climatic changes as they could simply disappear. However, my game is not an ecological message. In video games, you deliver princesses, not messages :)

What can you tell us about the puzzles? Will they be "realistic" (in terms of using the physics or so) or will they be more in the way of mental challenges? Will there be action sequences?

Benoît Sokal: No action this time ! The puzzles will be logical, and based on a new system that we created for Sinking Island: a puzzle solving interface allowing the player to combine elements to see if they match. There is also a very original dialog engine.

Why did you decide to develop also a Nintendo DS version of the game? What do you think is the potential for adventures on handheld consoles? Are you planning console versions of the game (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)? If not, which is my guess, why?

Benoît Sokal: Good guess again... NDS is very well adapted to our game. Because of the story, but also because this specific interface is very well fitting the touch screen of the console. We believe in NDS for adventure a lot. And also on the development of casual games, playable directly online.

Consoles are not adapted to adventure games. They are made for action / sports / platformers... We are working on a 3D real time project for the consoles.

How will the DS version of the game be different from the PCs?

Benoît Sokal: Same story, same characters, but not the same view/perspective. We are putting all the interface + clue engine + dialog engine on the bottom screen. All settings are going on the upper screen, but are in first person view.

I understand that the game will be shorter than the usual adventures, maybe nine hours. Which for me is not a problem, considering that I personally prefer six/eight hours of "quality" time rather than 30 hours of pointless wandering around the same areas trying to figure out what to do (or shooting to the same enemies in the same levels). Problem is, many people judge a game by its (estimated) length: how do you answer to them? And again: will the shorter completion time impact on the price, for example?

Benoît Sokal: In fact, the game is not going to be shorter in terms of length. I even believe that it will be longer than Syberia or Paradise as it is much harder. There are less locations though, but more things to do...

But, in the end, I do share your analysis: duration is not key. I have been asked this question about the lengths ("How many hours ?") many many times and usually, I make the following answer, which is a short story: In the 60s, when Rolls Royce was presenting a new model to the press, some journalists were asking "how many horse power the engine was" ? And the company's answer was always the same: "sufficient"!

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