In the first installment of our “meet the team” series, we introduced Yolène, our Marketing & Community Manager. This week, we are happy to introduce Stéphane, the Creative Director of Project Kea.
Can you tell us what’s your role on the team?
I am the Creative Director of Project Kea. In reality, I mainly work as game designer and programmer. I keep referring to myself as Creative Director because what’s the point of starting a new project if you cannot be the Director of something? While my code compiles, I usually daydream about the time when Project Kea will have a large enough team. I will finally be able to embrace the responsibilities bestowed upon me by my title. At that time, I will just spend my days bossing people around while I play video games keep a watchful eye on the strategic trends of the gaming industry.
How did you get into the gaming industry?
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to create video games. Well actually that is not completely true: when I was ten years old, I wanted to be a pastry chef. That being said, when you think about it, making pastries and video games are basically the same thing. Flour is the engine, sugar is gameplay, and eggs are… uh… the animation, maybe? This metaphor actually does not make any sense… Anyway, I started working on video games right after I graduated in computer science, and I have kept doing that ever since.
What are your favorite games?
There are so many great games that I cannot in good conscience answer this question! But to give you some frame of reference, here is a somewhat random list of ten games that I love: Unreal Tournament, Nier, Dark Souls, Earthbound, Return of the Obra Dinn, Thief, Ace Attorney, Left 4 Dead, Enter the Gungeon.
Where do you position yourself on the ludonarrative spectrum?
What, there is a ludonarrative spectrum? Well, I guess there is one now, since I am the one who’s just made that up for this question. And the answer is of course both nowhere and everywhere! I am able to enjoy games with very little gameplay that entirely rely on their story, as well as games with no plot whatsoever if their gameplay is great. However, my favorite games tend to be the ones that artfully combine the two, as I believe the medium is at its best when gameplay and story work together in harmony.