Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Team Achieves Major Milestone with Remarkable Effort to Launch Hit French RPG

Sandfall Interactive brought on a surprising number of junior and first-time developers, especially considering they just released a game that swept the awards for game of the year. This decision required the studio to put in “twice the work” to make it all come together.

Creative director Guillaume Broche noted that one reason for the influx of younger talent is that “Montpellier is a super-young city.” He also pointed out that “senior people tend to go for safer options,” and at that time, the French studio didn’t have a track record to attract experienced developers.

Lead designer Michel Nora emphasized that the younger team members came in without preconceived notions about studio operations or game development, which allowed them to contribute fresh ideas that proved invaluable to the project. “It turned out to be a good decision, but it was also somewhat forced, as hiring senior talent was nearly impossible without the budget, which we lacked initially.”

Producer Francois Meurisse echoed this sentiment, highlighting the benefits of a younger team, such as the absence of “bad habits” from previous gaming experiences. They were all learning together.

“We were trying to create something new, even developing new skills from scratch,” Meurisse explained. “I’d say we effectively did twice the work because we were tackling things for the first time at this scale. However, we had the chance to research and implement best practices. I also collaborated extensively with other teams in France, particularly in Montpellier, where many indie studios are located. The industry is fantastic; it’s much more collaborative than competitive, and we gained a lot from sharing experiences.”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director attributes the ability to overpower the final boss in Final Fantasy 10 to its design, admitting it might have been “a little bit too easy to get overpowered.”