Chat with Frédérick Raynal - 12/March/2006

[ChaosFish]

Transcript summarize of the 12/March/2006 chat with Frédérick Raynal on Adventure Europe Forum!

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Dimitris Manos: Welcome everybody. This is the thread where you can discuss with Frederick Raynal about his past games, his future projects and anything else you could think of! I would like to thank first of all Frederick for coming by the Adventure Europe forum, Ahmad Ghourab for all his help to make this week possible and all the LBA fans for the support they've shown during this week.

david-wilson: Who own the copyright to Little Big Adventure at the moment and will that be a problem with making LBA3?

Frederick Raynal: Hi everybody,

Adeline Software still have some parts of rights, that is not a problem at all.

david-wilson: Do you get annoyed at illegal abandonware sites that allow people to download your games for free?

Frederick Raynal: Abandonware is not a problem as long as players buy next games

Thomas S Wrobel: As a major figure in the adventure genre, I am curious where you see the genre going in the future.
For that mater, what do you think games will be like a few years from now?

Frederick Raynal: What an easy question ! i think gaming will radicaly change in a few years...

Jasiek: What are your feelings towards fan-made LBA games ? Are you aware of them, or have you played some of them. Do you think that they are a good thing ? Or do you dislike them ?

Frederick Raynal: I downloaded almost all tools fans made around LBA, but I don't remember games, I need to know more about that.

Jasiek: Is there a chance for a lot of fans to somehow get involved in the acutal production of LBA3 ?

Frederick Raynal: Yes I defintely want to involve fans at some point in the dev.

JesseGorter: What you think of the idea to maybe once rework the old lba with current graphics?
Allthough I don't know if that's commercially interesting for publishers...

Frederick Raynal: Yes I would like to have LBA1 and 2 remastered with the LBA3 engine, but as you say it might be not a priority, let's say after LBA3 will be a huge success

Atresica: Would it be possible for us (The MBN) to publish the ISO'd copies of the game?

Frederick Raynal: About iso's for MBN, i would say yes, but this is a decision i can't make alone. Contact me later about that.

Bot13: I remember you once said that there are some unseen LBA3 sketches.
Is there any chance you can get hold of those for us?

Frederick Raynal: other LBA3 sketches may tell too much, but that can happen

alexfont: What you think about all the work fans did by making programs to modificate the game in every aspect?

Frederick Raynal: I love modifier tools

alexfont: What you think about fans making a new LBA using the previous LBA1/2 engine?

Frederick Raynal: Fans can make their own LBA, if there are good ideas (like important story facts), we may try to stick with it if it is not too far from what will be anyway the official story in LBA3.

alexfont: Did you already did the LBA3 engine? It will be based in the previous engines?

Frederick Raynal: No LBA3 engine done yet

ChaosFish: I would like to know if you read the Little Big Adventure Contest thread, and what do you think about posts posted there?

Frederick Raynal: Yes i give a first read to all the entries, I will try to give a global answer on this thread. Some points are so closed !

Streg: do you think it's going to be eaesier to make LBA3, now that you are Knighted?

Frederick Raynal: I hope my knight sword (oups medal) will help a lot my projects

Twinsen: Fred , PLEASE , first of all , give us an e-mail adress , so people can contact you .

Frederick Raynal: Yes, I'll give you an email later today

alexfont: It is a chance to release tools like Visu3D or only parts of then the way we could done our own LBA games? Or only help fans (giving ideias/code helps) to improving the tools they have?

Frederick Raynal: Visu3D was done to work in a dedicate environment, like network paths and disks and DOS4GW...

Thomas S Wrobel: On regards to tools being released, I am curious if the ones used to make Alone in the Dark are still around?
It would be interesting to have them available for 'historic' purposes, seeing as it was a major step in 3D gaming.

Frederick Raynal: Alone in the dark tools belongs to Infogrames.

elmuerte: Are there any plans to make LBA3 mod friendly?
And with that I mean the ability to add new areas and be able to add new (sub)story-lines and tasks. Bascially extending the game world.

Frederick Raynal: User Areas in an LBA world is something that exists as an option in some possible versions...

Streg: why did you choose the name "Relentless" for LBA1? And why "Twinsen"?

Frederick Raynal: Relentless was a name choosen by Electronic arts because they thought LBA was too cute to atract real gamers
Twinsen is like names like Andersen which means the son of Ander, Twinsen Family is the son of Twinsun

Dan2552: What size universe should we expect for LBA3 - Will there just be Twinsun and Zeelich or have you planned additional planets?

Frederick Raynal: Twinsun should be complete

Dan2552: How long is the story of LBA3? About the same as LBA1 or LBA2, longer, or shorter?

Frederick Raynal: Too soon to know the lenght of LBA3, several (often compatible) stories exist

Lightwing: whose idea was it to include black Quetches at the Construction Site in Relentless?

Frederick Raynal: lightwing: Funfrock is a real bad guy

Atresica: I'm curious, what are the "Important Story Facts" to you?

Frederick Raynal: Important facts: for instance, I was very touched with the Dinofly story, this ancient island full of them which was destroy by Funfrock, how could it be different than that now.

Axx: i called Didier Chanfray. He makes it clear that he has no plans in the forseeable future to work on any PC or Console game, yet many of the core developers at Adeline are now working as part of Little World studio.

Frederick Raynal: Yes some core people like Didier Chanfray or Sebastien Viannay work with LWS, as nothing exists yet about LBA3 it's a good thing (they are not very far we live in the same town). There is many ways to make us work together, when time comes we will see...

Assassin: I was also wondering what you think of the Relentless Movie Project (the LBA movie).

Frederick Raynal: I saw LBA movies some ... years (?) ago, I don't know its state now

elmuerte: What games, made by other companies, did you enjoy? Or rather, what were your favorite games from the past couple of years?

Frederick Raynal: I have special feelings for BGE

Twinsen: Did you ever played LBA 1 & 2 from scratch and then finish them ? If you did , how does it feel to play the game that YOU gave birth to ?

Frederick Raynal: I played LBA1&2, I can't have the same fresh feelings then players, i usually only see what i would have done better.

ChaosFish: Do you intend to make LBA3 a more easy games that an average audience would like? Or maybe a more difficult game that other audience will like better?

Frederick Raynal: LBA3 easy or challenging is still a big question. I would say both, is it possible ?

Assassin: a couple of years ago there were plans of porting LBA1 (and 2?) to the GBA. Have you been thinking about maybe porting them to one of the new systems?

Frederick Raynal: Didier did a good work on LBA GBA, it's a shame it's never released. I would love to see ports on portable consoles, if LBA3 starts there are good chances...

Axx: How was your skiing vacation last week?

Frederick Raynal: Yes Axx good ski, but i won a (kind of) broken finger (slow at typing )

alexfont: What you think about the TwinEngine (twin-e) project by Yaz0r (Vincent Hamm) and about the release of the code?

Frederick Raynal: I hope Vincent Hamm could finish the TwinEngine. (LBA3 will not use it)

Atresica: Would you(r team) consider another cheat like Rosa (thought we forgot that one, eh?) when there was so much controversy over the Hot Coffee mod? Witnessing LBA getting a mature certificate would be a very confusing thing indeed.

Frederick Raynal: Rosa ?

CrazyBee: Would there bit the slightest possiblity, that it would run under other operating systems that Microsoft Windows? Mac OS X? *nix? And what about other platforms in general, like gaming consoles?

Frederick Raynal: LBA3 must exist first on PC

Assassin: I remember a lot of fans (including me) once discussing how it would be great to just be able to walk around the islands after finishing LBA2 (at the party, etc.) Have you ever thought about doing something like this in LBA3, so when you have completed the game you are still able to walk around, etc. ?

Frederick Raynal: It's difficult to have a free roaming world after the end of the game, i would not do this if all the backgrounds don't fit the story and NPCs don't speak accuratly, which means much work, but i like the idea.

Assassin: will the catamaran return in LBA3?

Frederick Raynal: Catamaran: Yes it should be back and usefull

ChaosFish: Will you make an official forum as the LBA3 development will be in progress, so fans will be able to give the team direct feedback?

Frederick Raynal: of course LBA3 will have a forum, i want fans involved

Thomas S Wrobel: Would it be possible for Philippe Vachey to still do the music?

Frederick Raynal: Obviously, I want Phillipe Vachey for the music, the game and I need him.

Streg: with Rosa She meant Rose-Marie, the cow.

Frederick Raynal: Rose-Marie the cow , was Rosa its english name ? (I don't remember other languages names well, sorry) I want more hidden thing like this (i don't mean all of them sexual), A lot of details, like the monster in the aquarium from the picture, came from internal private jokes, I remember some of them which can't be tell.

Atresica: will we get to know more information about Twinsun? For example, a bit of the history (we know there were pirates, yaaargh!) or the rise of Funfrock?

Frederick Raynal: LBA3 should tell more about the past of Funfrocks and some other quickly mentionned past stories

----------
I already sent this answer twice ?

insane_cobra: will there be sections where players will take control of other characters, apart from Twinsen?

Frederick Raynal: Be able to control Twinsen, Zoe and Arthur and may be others characters can be good isn't it ?

Twinsen: will you make LBA 3 more "realistic" ?

Frederick Raynal: LBA3 will be more realistic, yes it will but don't panic it's just a question of the meaning of realistic, LBA will keep its style.

Streg: what happened to FunFrock in LBA1/Relentless?

Frederick Raynal: You mean what happened to the Funfrock's clone you killed in the first one ?

Thomas S Wrobel: As a developer, I am curious about what you think of online distribution for games.

Frederick Raynal: Online distribution is a real good alternative for developpers. but stores exposure still is the best promotion for a new game.

Atresica: Now another thing we weren't too sure about, is it Sendell or Sendells? Because in LBA1, she says she is Sendell, and that all around her are Sendells while in LBA2, there is only a reference to one of them. Is she like a creature that is one, but also many at the same time?

OBrasilo: there are screenshots, which come from some magazine, and come from a version of LBA 2, which seems very different from the one we all have. On those screenshots, you can see, for example, the whole Citadel Island woodbridge, different yellow franco guards, franco guards with black helmets and guns, blue sky on the moon... What was that version of LBA 2?

Frederick Raynal: oups, where is my answer about Sendell(s) ?

I have to leave, I'll post here an email adress and may be more answers.

Thank you very much to everybody, special thanks to Dimitris, Ahmad, MBN, and contributors to the contest who will ear from me

Bye,
Frederick.

PS: I'll check those LBA2 screenshots with modified guards, there isn't two LBA2 versions (except publishers versions EA,Activision).

Guitar_87: Would the LBA 3 exist somekind of "hidden things"? I mean if you want to play it 100 % through you have to find these hidden things.

Lightwing: He already asnwered that question, as far as I know.

Frederick Raynal: thanks Lightwing, for the help.
Sendell is one entity with many "bodys", she can't exist in Twinsen's "reality", only in the stellar entity dimension

Dimitris Manos: Thank you Frederick and all the best with your current and future endeavours.


(later)

Frederick Raynal: Here's my email for this thread: little.big.adventure @ wanadoo.fr
see you

[ChaosFish]

Fixed a little mistake I made. (unnecessary line in the beggining of the summarize, that's all)

Please, any mistake you find please tell me and I'll fix!

[Homeless]

Very nicely done ChaosFish, this surely deserves to be stickified.

I made a small 'Fred talks about LBA' logo that you might be interested in putting at the top of the thread, I hope it serves it purpose ^^, here goes:

This surely was a nice day. Wuhuuw!

[Lightwing]

Very good job, Ido!

A nice, clean transcript~

[ChaosFish]

I posted the wrong question for Fred's "You mean what happened to the Funfrock's clone you killed in the first one ?" answer.

Fixed it!

[Axx]

Very Nice stuff Great work Ido

[Joasia]

Excellent

[ChaosFish]

Thanks people

Originally Posted by ChaosFish

Guitar_87: Would the LBA 3 exist somekind of "hidden things"? I mean if you want to play it 100 % through you have to find these hidden things.

Lightwing: He already asnwered that question, as far as I know.

Where did he answer that? Did I miss something or am I being stupid?

[Lightwing]

I could have swore he said something about easter eggs.

[Homeless]

Did anybody else notice that he complete forgot and/or ignored the most important questions of all, videlicet, Axx's first question question:

"My main question is how has the negotiations progressed regarding LBA3. You mentioned in one of your emails to me that you believed the time for LBA3 has come, is that still the case?"

I wonder how come.

[Joasia]

Originally Posted by Frederick Raynal

Rose-Marie the cow , was Rosa its english name ? (I don't remember other languages names well, sorry) I want more hidden thing like this (i don't mean all of them sexual), A lot of details, like the monster in the aquarium from the picture, came from internal private jokes, I remember some of them which can't be tell.

CF They probably meant this answer.

[ChaosFish]

Oh right, that's probably correct Jasiek.

[Joasia]

You know, I haven't asked, how's your sight ?You still need glasses ? My eyes are getting crappier every year .

[Darkflame]

nice and neat

[ChaosFish]

Originally Posted by Jasiek

You know, I haven't asked, how's your sight ?You still need glasses ? My eyes are getting crappier every year .

>>>

no one's gonna make this thread sticky? ;-)

[Purple Sheep]

I read through the whole of the thread on Adventure Europe forum only to come to the end and find out there was a much cleaner version... ah well. Nice one CF.

[schitzn]

DAMN!

I was at work, I couldnt make the interview.

Did anyone get an answer for the most important question?

"Where is LBA3 Development at? Is it your next project, when will it commence, whats slowing it done and how do you think we can help you get it rolling?"

Fred - if you read this, please give me an answer! We know you view these forums

[ChaosFish]

Originally Posted by Frederick Raynal

Here's my email for this thread: little.big.adventure @ wanadoo.fr
see you

He made an email address for us fans!!

[Joasia]

He posted his eMail, so you can ask him personally .

EDIT:
Of, CF you were first .

[schitzn]

ChaosFish, can you make that email a gif so its not picked up by a spider for spam.

I dont want Fred to get frustrated with spam

[ChaosFish]

Originally Posted by schitzn

ChaosFish, can you make that email a gif so its not picked up by a spider for spam.

I dont want Fred to get frustrated with spam

I quoted the same text he posted on the Adventure Europe forum. That is the purpose of the spaces between the address and the @.

[ChaosFish]

Last fix I think: deleted "I know I already asked a lot of stuff, but I really want to know this:" from Streg's question.

Thanks El for adding the article

(btw, can you update the article with that last fix? not really important but you know..)

[Gustav Sweden]

Sticked!

[ChaosFish]

I just realized something amazing (for me at least):
Post #2 on MBN, 09-10-2000:

Originally Posted by ChaosFish

(...) I hope NoCliche will do a forum where they giving away a little information about LBA3 one for a while, something like Fallout Tactics forum (http://webboard.interplay.com:8080/~fallout)

Frédérick Raynal, 12-03-2006:

of course LBA3 will have a forum, i want fans involved

[xesf]

Thanks ChaosFish, nice work you did

I'm now with the feeling that I need to play the game again
Oh... that Sendells answer :week: