RELIEFS TIME OF THE LEMURES (INTERVIEW)

1. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GAME THAT YOU'VE PLAYED THAT MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH GAMING?

I don't think it's a game in particular, it would rather be the first Nintendo consoles.
From 1996 or 1997 the NES console with games like Ninja Turtles, Double Dragons or Chip'n Dale.
And then in 1998 or 1999 the Nintendo 64 console with games like Mario 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie or even Golden eyes.
The transition from 2D to 3D really impressed me at the time, but I especially had my sister and my brother to play with me and I think that's what made me appreciate and love video games.

2. HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAME DEVELOPMENT?

I started creating my first mini games and mods as soon as I got my first PC at the age of 11.
And as soon as I played The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion at the time, it became obvious to me that I wanted to become a video game developer.
This game marked me deeply with its immensity, its realism for the time, its freedom of action, and also its map editor the TESCS. (The elder scrolls construction set).
So I continued to make mods for this game for years, but also developed video games more or less important (for me) under the Blender game engine (BGE) in parallel with my studies.
Subsequently, I, unfortunately, did not have the financial means to enter a large school like Bellecour or ARIES in Lyon in France in order to become a video game developer. But did not give up and so I continued to learn on my own.
I then had the chance to integrate the CNAM (Conservatoire National des arts et Métiers) of the city of Saint Etienne where I was learning and obtained my qualification as a web developer.
A few months later I created my company Calepin Studio as an independent video game developer at the age of 24 in 2016.

3. ARE YOU A CURRENT SOLO DEV OR DO YOU HAVE A TEAM PUT TOGETHER? IS SO HOW DID YOUR
TEAM COME TOGETHER?

I'm a solo video game developer.

4.WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME RELIEFS THE TIME OF THE LEMURES?

The name RELIEFS is due to the word high reliefs which is three-dimensional sculptures with a strong relief but which does not detach from its background.
Its history at the base had to be understood through the recovery of stones in reliefs. But that changed with the development of the game.
And THE TIME OF THE LEMURES came later due to the profound change that the game underwent during its development.
The LEMURES are wraith/ghosts in Roman times.

5. GIVE US THE BACK STORY BEHIND THE SETTING FOR THE RELIEFS TIME OF THE LEMURES?

The game is based on the festival of Lemures and around the god Pluto, guardian of the underworld.

6. WHO IS THE PROTAGONIST OF THIS GAME?

You play as someone who wishes to ask the old gods, or more specifically Pluto, for a favor.
I will not say more!

7. TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND DECIDING TO MAKE THIS GAME?

My inspirations are multiple like the Myst, Tomb Raiders, The Elders Scrolls, Dark Messiah of might and Magic and Shadow of Collossus.
They are very different genres of video game, but which inspired me.

I wanted to create a huge ruin exploration game in a beautiful and very steep environment.
For the surroundings I chose to recreate the atmosphere of the Calanques which is a national park near Marseille in France.
With huge white cliffs (useful for the platform) with lush green vegetation and the dark blue of the Mediterranean sea.
For the ruins I chose the Roman ruins. The Romans built very diverse, extraordinary and magnificent buildings.
The Romans had a level of technology that allows me to create complex puzzles, not only based on "it's magic!"

8. WHAT TYPE OF GAMEPLAY MECHANICS CAN WE EXPECT IN THE GAME?

Reliefs The time of the Lemures is an exploration game with a certain freedom of action in first person, with puzzles and 3D platforming, with the most realistic graphics as possible.
The player must understand out and solve puzzles in a vast ruined environment filled with vegetation.
To do this, the player must be able to move as he wishes without major gameplay limitations.
Use a rope to climb higher, light a torch to see in the dark, use your horse to explore the environment,

9. THERE SEEMS TO BE ALOT OF EXPLORATION AND PUZZLES HOW DID YOU PUT IT ALTOGETHER?

Each puzzle is logical and I don't want the player to be stuck for hours on each puzzle in order to progress a little.
To solve the puzzles, you have to observe your environment and explore it in order to understand the mechanism behind it.

10. WHAT ENGINE ARE YOU USING FOR THIS GAME AND WHY?

I'm using Unity version 2020 in HDRP.
In 8 years of development, the Reliefs project has changed game engines several times.
8 years ago I developed the first version (0.1) with Blender Game Engine (BGE).
Its development has unfortunately been stopped by Blender and too many players had launch, crashing, non-visible textures and performance issues.
So I changed with the UPBGE (Uchronia Project Blender Game Engine) updated and more efficient, I started to develop version 0.2 under this engine.
But there too, I had problems with crashes, performance and many others.
So I decided to switch to a more professional engine and I first trained in Unreal engine and then in Unity engine and my choice is to port under Unity.
Less demanding than Unreal and just as beautiful graphically, operating under old configurations at the most powerful, Unity was a logical choice.
The version 0.3 of Reliefs and the version 0.4 uses Unity and I don't regret it!

11. ARE THERE PLANS FOR DLC FOR THIS GAME IN THE FUTURE?

No DLC planned for the moment, but a free demo is in preparation and also a walk version. Just puzzle-free exploration and platforming, just wandering around
in the Calanques with Roman ruins.

12. WHY SHOULD THE GAMERS WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME DAY 1?

If you want to immerse yourself in a universe filled with lost Roman ruins in a unique environment waiting to be explored, Reliefs The time of the Lemures is for you.
Also I recommend the use of headphones to fully immerse yourself!