[2.21] A message from Didier Chanfray

[MBN Bot]

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By Didier Chanfray

Hello everyone,

My name is Didier Chanfray, and I am one of the co-founders of Adeline Software International in 1993 along with Frédérick Raynal and Yaël Barroz.

After releasing Little Big Adventure, Time Commando and Little Big Adventure 2, the team at Adeline Software launched a new studio - No Cliché - financed by Sega. At No Cliché, the focus was to work only on new IPs for the Dreamcast. The rights of LBA remained the property of Delphine Software, the holding company behind Adeline.

When Dreamcast ended, we had to close the studio. I decided to launch my own studio - Little Worlds - that was active for the following 10 years. After this experience I wanted to try to make a comeback for LBA and I managed to buy back the IP from Delphine Software.

In 2012 I published the LBA1 and LBA2 on GoG and worked with DotEmu to release LBA1 on iOS and Android. Sadly, this mobile port was not the success we hoped for, and so we didn't do the second one.

It appeared very fast that no major publisher would be interested in LBA. The sad truth is that the community - while active and loyal - is too small to build a game release on. The financial risk is simply too big.

Over the years LBA slowly began to fade to the background. When Playstation exclusive Little Big Planet arrived - a much bigger IP with a larger audience and fame - "Little Big" became more and more associated with this IP instead of LBA. The latest release in this universe dates from November 2020 and is called Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which is one "Little" away from Little Big Adventure. This makes marketing and publicity around LBA all the more challenging.





At this point, I had only one dream: find the best opportunity to make a winning comeback with LBA.

In the beginning of 2021, a true fan (that would be Ben) came knocking at the door -virtually-. His vision as a LBA fan, his business strategy as an entrepreneur and his genuine interest in doing what's best for the IP, convinced me that we could do something great together. I took the leap of faith and we created the studio with Ben and Gwen for this new adventure, with Fred’s support.

As a new studio, the objective is to build a strong IP around LBA and not just make LBA3.

When we started the discussion with Fred, Samantha (our new writer) and Ben about the new game, we quickly realized that the third game we initially wanted to make - the Genesis of the Stellar Entity - would be strange to make. The script was a first draft written to end the series. With the new studio, we do not want to end the series. We want to attract a wider audience and share the wonderful world, iconic characters and story with as many players as possible, so that more Twinsunian adventures can be created.

We decided to reboot Twinsen’s story.

I know some of you may be very sad to hear that we won't be creating the Genesis of the Stellar Entity. We strongly believe in a bright future LBA and think this is the best choice to ensure this future. Our goal is that our children and grandchildren will be able to continue playing new LBA adventures in the years to come.

If you wish to create something around the original games yourselves, we've open-sourced the code for the original games and will support any fan project/mod to the maximum of our capabilities.

While much is still unknown, we hope to release Twinsen's Little Big Adventure in 2024 for the 30th Anniversary of the series. We will be as transparent as we can and involve the community with the development, to make the best game possible, together.

We're currently building up our team (more info on that later!) and plan to create the first reboot with a core production team of around 12 people. Even though the team and budget will be smaller than what was used to create the original LBA2, we're confident that through hiring the right people, making smart decisions and utilising new technologies we can create an amazing experience for both newcomers as existing LBA-fans.

We hope that you understand our decisions and will support us in our development. Together we will make Twinsen big again and create wonderful adventures. Thanks for all your passion and support, it means the world to us.

Did

[Neko]

smart decision. and all the good luck.
Hopefully the game will feel a little bit control wise as the originals

[Zerath^]

I loved the indoor environments in LBA2 where it sometimes was warm and cozy and other times dark and mystic. Hope they can pull that off on 3D!

[XXStranger]

I don't like the idea of it being a reboot. I wanted a sequel that featured Arthur, Twinsen's son. The LBA3 script was quite interesting.

Regarding the name change, it is LBP who should change its name. LBA predates this game.

[elmuerte]

I thought about this a while ago. A reboot in in the style of those top-down Tomb Raider games (i.e. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light) would be quite fitting.

The most important things for be in the reboot is the sense of adventure and mystery. Exploring an unknown world. Especially in the first one, a world of which you have no idea how big it is. Interacting with the different characters.

[Hin]

I think a reboot makes sense for a new studio. LBA3 would be the end of the franchise, and then... what to do next?
For those of us who can wait a few more years, I hope there will be enough success for a remake of LBA2 and maybe, then, LBA3? Well that's a very long road, one I hope to see the end of, one day.

Good luck everyone!

[ChaosFish]

Well, shoot. This sucks some major Iguana's ass, I'd say. They're probably gonna make it appeal to the Z generation. Twinsen will be transgender, instead of classical music there'll be fast paced noise, and there will be absolutely nothing that anyone can possibly find offensive. It wil be impossible to hurt "good" characters because it's not educational, FunFrock won't be as evil so not to scare fragile kids as much. The Sendels, which I'm sure were originally meant to be revealed as a very dark and disturbing force, will remain friendly cute angels forever.

:[[[[

[Quetch]

In the beginning of 2021, a true fan (that would be Ben) came knocking at the door

Does anyone know who Ben is? Since he's such a true fan, I'm thinking there's no way he is not a part of the MBN. It wouldn't make sense

[rob_c]

I had a feeling they'd go in that direction. And while I'd much rather play LBA3 than a reboot, I understand their decision.
2.21 - Good luck! I wish you all the best!

[elmuerte]

Originally Posted by Quetch

Does anyone know who Ben is? Since he's such a true fan, I'm thinking there's no way he is not a part of the MBN. It wouldn't make sense

Benoît Limare, the CEO of 2.21

[Hin]

Originally Posted by elmuerte

Benoît Limare, the CEO of 2.21

I think he meant: "does anyone know his alias on this forum?"

[Neko]

Obras clone

[Quetch]

yep, I was asking if anyone knows his MBN username, as I guess it's pretty much impossible for him not to have one.

[Polaris]

We should ask him on the Discord server

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by ChaosFish

Well, shoot. This sucks some major Iguana's ass, I'd say. They're probably gonna make it appeal to the Z generation. Twinsen will be transgender, instead of classical music there'll be fast paced noise, and there will be absolutely nothing that anyone can possibly find offensive. It wil be impossible to hurt "good" characters because it's not educational, FunFrock won't be as evil so not to scare fragile kids as much. The Sendels, which I'm sure were originally meant to be revealed as a very dark and disturbing force, will remain friendly cute angels forever.

:[[[[

yep.

very sad.

big... big dissapointment.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Hin

LBA3 would be the end of the franchise, and then... what to do next?

And that's it! It would be a huge BRAVO to make LBA3, a massive accomplishment, it's no small thing. And then make new things!

Why everybody who owns franchises can't realise it's much better to have a good ending and preserving fans love forever than sucking dry those tittys until there's nothing you can squirt out of it anymore and people become tired of it all...

Reboots... meh.

I don't even like calling LBA a "franchise".

[Reek]

Originally Posted by SpaceGuitarist

And that's it! It would be a huge BRAVO to make LBA3, a massive accomplishment, it's no small thing. And then make new things!

Why everybody who owns franchises can't realise it's much better to have a good ending and preserving fans love forever than sucking dry those tittys until there's nothing you can squirt out of it anymore and people become tired of it all...

Reboots... meh.

I don't even like calling LBA a "franchise".

It's nice that we agree on something for a change. Very disappointing move by studio 2.21.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Reek

It's nice that we agree on something for a change.

Yes it is. *shakes hands*