Game Atelier Press Kit

Description

Action-adventure video game developer.
Address: 23 rue du Buisson Saint Louis, 75010 Paris, France.
Platforms: Consoles and PC.

Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / X / YouTube / TikTok

History

Why Game Atelier ?

In 2009, a lead artist and a developer discussed the games that had an emotional impact on their childhoods and which lasted into adulthood.
One felt that Metroidvanias were no longer in tune with the times and he missed them, especially since the only official Castlevanias released were in 2D pixel on portable consoles. He imagined modern 2D gaming on a big HD television.
As for the other, he had listened to an interview with Koji Igarashi saying that he was not ready to make 2D games on modern machines. He decided that if Iga wouldn't make a new Castlevania, then he would do it himself.
As a result, Fabien Demeulenaere and David Bellanco left Konami and Gameloft respectively to found Game Atelier on June 29, 2010, with the great and carefree ambition of remaking a 2D HD Castlevania.
An objective which they, of course, did not achieve.

The 2D Era, Childhood Revival

Driven by the desire to recreate the adrenaline that '80s and '90s games produced, the two friends developed a shooting game in homage to Parodius. A year later, Flying Hamster was born, developed entirely in David's small apartment. The first success; Game Atelier proudly entered the field of indie game developers.
The two partners went on to develop increasingly complex games, refining their style in colorful 2D universes with an offbeat tone, exploring new directions such as publishing. Then came the famous Kickstarter which transformed the indie studio into a Triple-i studio, and this, not at all in expected circumstances.
Indeed, after four years of trial and error without benefit, Fabien noticed that Wonder Boy was no longer in tune with the times and he missed it. However, he sensed a demand among nostalgic players.
Taking advantage of the small success of Flying Hamster and riding the wave of Kickstarters, they launched a campaign to finance the new project, Flying Hamster II, inspired by Wonder Boy III - The Dragon's Trap.

Friends, professional relations and an intern lent a helping hand. Musicians Motoi Sakuraba and Michiru Yamane agreed to support the project, as well as the famous Ryuichi Nishizawa, the creator of Wonder Boy himself. A community of fans enthusiastically came together and personalized press kits were sent by post.
It's a fail.
The project was not taking off; very few journalists relayed the information. Whatever the reason, this felt like a rookie mistake for Game Atelier.
A week after financing which did not take off, Fabien and David considered abandoning the campaign when, against all expectations, two publishers contacted them to finance the project: Atlus and FDG Entertainment. It was the latter who was able to convince them to continue the adventure, this time together with Nishizawa-san, and with an even crazier intention: that of making THE official sequel to the legendary Wonder Boy saga.

Game Atelier then became a Triple-i studio.
So, four years later, punctuated by a series of emotional roller coasters, supported by an increasingly complete and specialized team, adding ever more renowned musicians (Yuzo Koshiro, Tee Lopes, etc.), Monster Boy was released in 2018. It was acclaimed by the public, complimented by the press, but above all, it received unexpected recognition: one day the team received a drawing of a 7-year-old girl, Camille, playing on her console with her dad, with a message saying thank you and that she loved the game.
Fabien and David then knew that they had achieved their goal: to transmit wonder to a child, just as they felt at the same age.
Of course it wasn't Castlevania, but it exceeded all the expectations of the two partners.

The 3D Era, the Age of Reason

It was with FDG Entertainment that Game Atelier continued its exploration outside its comfort zone with a new challenge. Otherskin was a game turned towards the future both in its narrative and in the tools to develop it, and which now fits perfectly in its time.
Indeed, the transition to 3D laid the last stone in the building, thus solidifying the base of the team's skills in order to offer the player an even more fun experience. Otherskin opened up new avenues to explore, and is now firmly established in the identity of Game Atelier.