In a recent BBC article, Guillaume Broche, the director of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shares his experience from feeling bored of working in a renowned gaming company, to creating his own game in the last five years.

From Boredom To A Dream

In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Guillaume Broche was working at French based company, Ubisoft. Around this time in his job, he grew bored from the routine and desired to create something for himself. He came up with the idea for a role-playing game inspired by his favorite childhood game, Final Fantasy. Five years later, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 came to be, selling a million copies within three days, topping Spotify charts with its soundtrack and earning praise from French President Emmanuel Macron.

The game’s story takes place in a fictional world called Lumiere, where a giant monolith lowers a glowing number each year, causing all people of that age to disappear. The game follows a group trying to defeat a mysterious being called The Paintress. Its unique aesthetic is inspired by 19th-century France, and it features traditional turn-based battles, which set it apart from more contemporary games.

Gathering A Team

When Guillaume started his project, many believed players did not want this kind of game. In order to gather a team, he posted messages on Reddit and online forums. Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, who was in lockdown in Australia, responded to one of his posts about needing voice actors for a demo. She auditioned and was cast as a major character but later became the lead writer.

Eventually, Guillaume left Ubisoft and established Sandfall Interactive to focus on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, gathering a team of around 30 people with help from funding provided by publisher Kepler Interactive.

He often reached out to individuals who shared similar interests and values for the game.

Public Praise And Support

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received praise for its high production quality, rivaling games developed by larger teams. Advances in game development tools allowed the team to be more efficient. Kepler’s support helped attract famous actors like Charlie Cox (Daredevil) and Andy Serkis (The Lord of The Rings Franchise).

While Sandfall worked with extra studios, Jennifer and Guillaume noted the core team took on multiple roles, contributing to various parts of the game. They praised the dedication and talent of their mostly junior team, which contributed to the project’s success, leaving Guillaume amazed by the outcome.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Check out the official website to learn more.

To learn more about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, read our thoroughly written review here, as well as our video review linked below.