Carrying on the vision of Benoît Sokal in Syberia: The World Before
The best-selling Syberia game series is inseparable from its creator, cartoonist Benoît Sokal. Though Sokal did not become a full-time game developer himself, his vision and distinctive style fueled one of the most beloved entries in the point-and-click adventure game genre.
Sokal returned to the series with the release of 2017's Syberia 3, and was deeply involved with the design of this year's Syberia: The World Before before his passing in 2021. Sokal's vision didn't just include an alternative-universe Europe fueled by intricate automatons—he was also deeply invested in protagonist Kate Walker, and how her journeys through Europe picked through a continent shaped by a century of painful conflict.
The famed cartoonist's passing left the team at Microids with the unenviable task of finishing The World Before without his guidance. Fortunately, game director Lucas Lagravette had worked closely with Sokal for some time, and had already gotten his sign-off on many of the game's puzzles, themes, and story beats. Lagravette and his colleagues also worked to make the mouse-and-keyboard designed series more controller friendly, so that The World Before could be released on consoles.
As a quasi-successor to Sokal, Lagravette knows more about what the cartoonist's vision can still offer the video game world. In a conversation with Game Developer, he discussed how the point-and-click adventure series can still thrive in our modern world, and why Sokal's alternative vision of Europe is more relevant than ever.
There were plenty of PC point-and-click adventure games in the '90s that found commercial success, but Syberia is one of the few that's successfully transitioned to the 21st century. Lagravette explained that while Syberia's
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