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ÆTHERIS : A FRENCH VIDEO GAME ON KICKSTARTER !
After the interview of the artistic director of the project, Gax, in our pages, we had the pleasure to ask questions to the two brains behind the Ætheris project, founders of the Wild Wits Games: Corto Laly (creative director) and François de la Taste (technical director). They tell us everything about the origin of this unusual project in the video-game landscape, and why it is absolutely necessary that it sees the day! By the way, the Kickstarter is not over, go here to back it.
1/ François, Corto hello ! Could you tell us about WILD WITS and the origins of the studio ?
Corto : Hello, it’s quite simple : since I was a kid, I’m a dreamer who was transported by games like Final Fantasy IX, Baldur’s gate or Heroes of Might & Magic.
I have been creating video game concepts in my corner for several years, and during the first confinement an idea appeared to me as an evidence. Since I knew François for a few years and I knew that with him the production of the game would be in good hands, I contacted him again to propose him to join me in this crazy project.
François : Hello ! it’s quite simple, one day I was quietly confined and there is a former colleague who calls me and tells me about a great idea he had in the middle of the night to make video games. He held my leg for 1 HOUR and I wasn’t really listening to what he was saying. I answered “yes yes” from time to time and at the end he said “too cool! see you tomorrow partner” and then I understood that I had condemned myself to many sleepless nights!
2/ Could you introduce yourself, and develop your role within the studio?
Corto : As Creative Director, I give the general vision of the game (and of the FUTURE games…) : its universe, its codes, the gameplay and its stakes. On a daily basis, I have to make sure that we don’t stray from this initial vision that we want to achieve.
François: As Technical Director, my main role is to organize teamwork, to ensure that production runs smoothly and that everyone understands their place and that of others. Making a game is a real cooperative effort, which requires constant attention to the interactions between the different professions. And I obviously make all the major technical decisions (engine, middleware, architecture, etc.). If Wild Wits was a boat, we could say that Corto is the explorer with the spyglass, while François is the captain who holds the rudder (and yells at the crew).
3/ What is your background ?
Corto : For my part I had several lives, at the beginning of my active life I was a nurse while being a streamer and creator of game modes on several games (mainly Darkest Dungeon) then I passed a degree in computer science. Fun fact : François was my tutor during my studies.
François : I have a more classical background, engineering degree at Mines de Paris, then different jobs around software integration first, then “functional” jobs (product owner, tester, etc.)
4/ What is the origin of Ætheris?
Corto : The idea of Ætheris came to me quite naturally, following several gaming experiences. A little bit of Kingdom Death (the board game) where I was fascinated by the mystery that surrounds the game lore. Then I added some gameplay bricks that I love, from games like Banner Saga, For The King (for the cooperation) & Final fantasy tactics.
François : The idea of Ætheris is from Corto. After that, I had proposed some funny names for the game (including Zemblanity), but nobody wanted it. So I insisted that the name be super hard to write on the keyboard, and it passed. P.S.: To do Æ it’s Alt+146 on Windows. You’re welcome.
5/ How did this project become concrete, at what point did you say to yourself “go, we are ready, we can Kickstarter”?
Corto : I think that if we had waited to be ready, we would never have launched! Since the beginning our project is a “passion” project on which the credo is “day by day”. We wanted to launch the Kickstarter to start creating a community around our project, to see if there is a receptive public to our game.
François: Clearly Kickstarter for us was the test of fire, to submit to an “evaluation” from the general public. So we said to ourselves that the sooner the better!
6/ Tell us about the meeting with Gax !
Corto : Haha, it’s really simple, I’ve always liked particular graphic worlds, those that stir the imagination without revealing too much. I saw on Twitter some illustrations for the future JDR of Gax and it immediately echoed in me.
François : We were spamming random artists on the web and he was the only one who responded.
7/ Gax’s graphic universe is really unique, and we love it. Was it part of the Aetheris universe from the beginning of the project, or did it come later?
Corto : At the very beginning we didn’t have a specific graphic universe, we knew we wanted something “dreamlike” but when we came across Gax it was obvious.
8/ Tell us a little bit about Aetheris: history of the game, mechanics?
Corto : In Ætheris, the player(s) is (are) in charge of a people of lizard-men called Vazards who live on an island, the Wildlands. They are at constant war with their neighbors, and do not realize that there are greater threats to their existence. They will be led to understand the world around them following an event that I prefer not to spoiler, but that will definitely change their relationship with their people and their island…
The gameplay alternates between two phases:
Exploration: during their adventure, the Vazards will have encounters (“events”). They have the choice between 4 reactions based on 4 personality traits: brutality, empathy, rationality and mysticism. According to the chosen reaction, the outcomes will obviously be different, and you will have to assume the consequences…
Combat: the island is full of dangers and when our dear little lizardmen have to fight, it happens on a hexagonal map, turn by turn, during which each character can perform several actions according to his abilities and statistics (action points, movement points, etc.)
To know more about the gameplay, it is very well explained on the Kickstarter page that you can discover by clicking here.
Aetheris by Gax / Wild Wits Studios7/ Gax’s graphic universe is really unique, and we love it. Was it part of the Aetheris universe from the beginning of the project, or did it come later?
Corto : At the very beginning we didn’t have a specific graphic universe, we knew we wanted something “dreamlike” but when we came across Gax it was obvious.
8/ Tell us a little bit about Aetheris: history of the game, mechanics?
Corto : In Ætheris, the player(s) is (are) in charge of a people of lizard-men called Vazards who live on an island, the Wildlands. They are at constant war with their neighbors, and do not realize that there are greater threats to their existence. They will be led to understand the world around them following an event that I prefer not to spoiler, but that will definitely change their relationship with their people and their island…
The gameplay alternates between two phases:
Exploration: during their adventure, the Vazards will have encounters (“events”). They have the choice between 4 reactions based on 4 personality traits: brutality, empathy, rationality and mysticism. According to the chosen reaction, the outcomes will obviously be different, and you will have to assume the consequences…
Combat: the island is full of dangers and when our dear little lizardmen have to fight, it happens on a hexagonal map, turn by turn, during which each character can perform several actions according to his abilities and statistics (action points, movement points, etc.)
To know more about the gameplay, it is very well explained on the Kickstarter page that you can discover by clicking here.
9/ What are your ambitions with the game?
Corto : With Aetheris we want to offer a game mixing a demanding tactical gameplay, a narrative plot full of surprises, and especially something that changes from what we are used to see graphically in a video game. And all this with an essential feature in our eyes: cooperation!
10/ How would you pitch Aetheris to the players?
François: Ætheris is a roguelite tactical adventure RPG with a unique art direction, in which you have to save the Vazard people from the threats they are facing, by going in search of a great power… Which implies great responsibilities! You can play alone or up to 4 players in cooperation, for a real role-playing experience.
11/ Is the game aimed at a certain category of gamers?
François: We really wanted the game to be playable by as many people as possible, and we think we did a good job of simplifying the interfaces so that even very casual gamers can have a captivating game experience. Nevertheless, the game is primarily aimed at those who are used to role-playing games, tactical games, and adventure games. The content itself is quite adapted to young people (from 10 years old), but the “turn-based” and “textual interactive narrative” gameplay will rather please a more mature age group (16 years old and more)
12/ We really want the game to see the light of day, we would like each of you to send a message to the backers, about the game and its challenges!
François: I would like to address all those who hesitate or do not dare to support Ætheris, because they think it is useless or risky. Please know that your contribution is vital for us, because it has a very important leverage effect. Each euro and each additional contributor allows us to convince other people (investors, banks, public partners, publishers, etc.) that our game has a real catch with the public and will be a success. So tell yourself that when you give us 10€, in reality it’s 50 or even 100 euros that are unlocked behind. So don’t hesitate anymore!
