Denis Maltsev, a producer at 1C, spoke about why the Russian company took up the publication of the noir Czech Renoir project from Soulbound Games, which failed to start using Kickstarter.
Renoir does not have the easiest fate. The game raised money on Kickstarter in 2015 and did not get the amount needed to launch. Why did 1C believe in the project?
Denis Maltsev
We saw a stylish noir picture, and we liked it.
In addition, a developer (BWF) with good experience in developing narrative puzzle games turned out to be nearby. There are not so many noir games, but they have quite a large audience. We decided to make a high-quality game for this audience: sad, unhurried, smart, with an interesting story inside.
How did it happen that 1C took up the publication of the Czech project? Is there any story behind this that you can tell?
There is no particularly interesting story here. The Czech team, for a number of internal reasons, could not continue development, we managed to agree on mutually beneficial terms and start implementing the project.
Did you take the groundwork, but refused to support the Czech team, handed over the game to BWF? What was the reason for this?
The Czech team was not going to continue development, so the development was given to BWF.
The Czechs themselves are not offended by this?
No, I think our offer was just perfect for them.
As far as can be understood from the information published the other day, the game has been very seriously reworked. You assumed from the very beginning that it would have to be sawn so significantly (wouldn’t it have been better just to create a similar project from scratch yourself)?
The game was not reworked, but logically developed. You can recycle something completely or almost completely ready, Renoir at that time was rather a concept with a certain number of graphic assets and history.
We added gameplay mechanics that logically fit into the concept, diversified the types of puzzles, introduced indoor locations – in my opinion, continuous development, no overwork. The plot has been reworked quite a lot, the narrative has been changed in a way that seems more interesting to us (and not only to us, BWF is working with American professional screenwriters who unanimously approved these changes).
If it were possible to go back in time, what decisions would you make/not make regarding the project?
So far, we are completely satisfied with everything. Then the market will put everything in its place.
By the way, what exactly was changed in the game and why?
This is described in some detail in our very first publication on the game’s website.
If we go to the specifics, initially the picture was quite flat with a very remote camera, which made it difficult to detail the environment. The camera in the game now moves depending on the requirements of the location (complex complex puzzles are better to see in their entirety, while in places where there is little gameplay and a lot of plot, you can zoom in on the camera and show a more detailed environment and the hero.
Instead of CG cinematics, we decided to make comics – from our point of view, this is more suitable for a noir game.
The main development of the gameplay component is that Renoir is no longer a passive observer in puzzles, he also has a role. The phantom can be trapped between two fires, and without James’ help it cannot be released. Some puzzles require a gradual advancement of Renoir on the level, they are not solved immediately. This turned out to be much more interesting and allowed us to create more complex combinations.
After the trailer, I was, to be honest, a little surprised. I thought that the game would be more similar in graphics to This War of Mine (that is, there will be silhouettes, and not full-fledged detailed three-dimensional models). Has this been discussed, and if so, why did they abandon this approach to graphics?
Detailed, and then not very much, only the Renoir itself. The phantoms, although they became 3d models, remained phantoms, they look to Renoir (and the player) like creatures from another world.
Why did you decide to make three-dimensional shapes instead of flat shadows?
It’s beautiful!
And the last question: when to wait and what are the expectations for the project (for example, how many copies are you planning to sell on Steam)?
The expectations are simple – we are a commercial organization, we all need to feed families, pay bills. So we are going to make a profitable project. If you manage to make a cool game, then the fans will vote in rubles, dollars or euros. If the first figures are positive, we plan to work on the mobile and console versions of the game and, hopefully, we will continue to develop this brand.
Thanks for the interview!