Kepler Interactive already boasts one of the more eclectic portfolio of games, from the New Caledonia inspired blue seas of Tchia to the survival horror adventure game lauded for its nightmare fuel visuals, and maintains a creative studio that allows the company to collaborate with different mediums in art and culture.As we interview CEO Alexis Garavaryan, the company is still celebrating becoming a majority investor in French indie video game studio Tactical Adventures.
He talks more about that new partnership, how Kepler Interactive finds, evaluates and works with new game developers, and what the biggest challenges facing the games industry are right now. Kepler Interactive has a varied portfolio, and it can be hard to see what aligns a game like Tchia with one like Scorn - can you explain what makes a project a Kepler Interactive game? As a baseline, Kepler games champion bold art direction and innovative game design.
We always start there, but also we particularly cherish games that look outward, beyond games, drawing influence from every form of art, culture and experience.
A lot of games are very inward looking, referring mainly to other games and a small group of totemic IPs from other media. We see an opportunity to create an identity by working with developers who look elsewhere for inspiration, and I think you can see that in our portfolio alreadyTchia draws from Awaceb’s New Caledonian heritage.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 does a similar thing by looking at the JRPG through a distinctly French lens. Pacific Drive was influenced by Jeff VanDerMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy, but also Cassie Dracott’s lived experience of driving a station wagon through the Pacific Northwest of America and the feelings of attachment and dependency that inspired.It’s a connection that gives us a lot of freedom to sign varied projects, because it’s not too prescriptive.