Tale of Tales about to release Bientot l'ete
On 12 December, 3 years after their previous title, Tale of Tales release a new videogame for PC and Mac
Ghent, Belgium, 7 December 2012
Much like its legendary predecessors The Path and The Graveyard, Bientôt l'été is a game that will raise eyebrows, if not provoke heated discussions. It is the fruit of the designers' "notgames" philosophy that seeks to employ the medium of videogames for the creation of interactive art and entertainment not restricted by formal structures of rules, goals, challenges or competition. But that is not the only thing interesting about this release.
"Bientôt l'été is designed the way it is because we felt it was the best way to address the themes we wanted to explore," explain designers Michaël Samyn and Auriea Harvey. "The work is inspired by the novels and films of French author Marguerite Duras. It deals with love and loneliness, desire and despair, coyness and cruelty. We feel videogames provide an excellent medium to address such intricate and ambiguous subject matter."
Bientôt l'été is not necessarily a difficult or depressing piece. You take walks on a beautiful peaceful beach among some lively gulls. And you meet another player in a café to exchange amorous thoughts via a playful game of chess. Then you discover another layer to the reality you inhabit and it becomes clear that you are interacting with a simulation. Indeed, when you walk far enough, you will find the sky torn apart to offer a view of the stars and the planets of a solar system you seem to be in orbit of.
"The sea is where Earth's connection to the galaxy becomes most apparent," Auriea and Michaël continue, "with the waves being pulled by the moon. But we also see the location of a remote space station as a metaphor for the situation of the player: alone in front of a computer, connected to the internet. We ourselves met each other in cyberspace 13 years ago and we fell in love without ever seeing each other. We felt an acute sensation of virtual bodies touching each other with words."
Video clips:
Description of Bientôt l'été, attempt #6: Vimeo | YouTube
Description of Bientôt l'été, attempt #5: Vimeo | YouTube
Read the dev blog
The main website for Bientôt l'été is conte-des-contes.com/bientotlete.
There everyone can find information and screenshots and purchase the game.
The official website will go live on 12 December 2012.
Tale of Tales is a small independent studio run out of Belgium by Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn.
Bientôt l'été will available for download from http://conte-des-contes.com/bientotlete
The music was composed by Walter Hus.
The characters were animated by Laura Raines Smith. The text is spoken in French but subtitled in many languages.
Production of Bientôt l'été was supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund.
