Game’n Breakfast : Blibloop & Doot
Welcome to the second episode of Game’n’Breakfast. Today we’re sitting down with Dorian (who also acts as Doriane’s spokesperson), a young independent developer with an atypical background. He certainly has a certain sensibility, which is reflected in his love of cosy games. I discovered him through his game Minami Lane, which he provided free of charge. The chat took place shortly after the game’s release, with Doot (Dorian’s pseudonym) in the rush of the launch and surprised by its unexpected success. This was only his second game as an indie dev and already he was thinking about setting up a studio. Blibloop (Dorian) has even reached saturation point with requests, and it’s time for her to concentrate on the important things, so she’s not present, and we can’t blame her. So here’s my exchange with Dorian, who together with Doriane – if that’s not a sign – designed a game that’s way too cute.
Big Bro’
Welcome to the second episode of Game’n’Breakfast. Today we’re sitting down with Dorian (who also acts as Doriane’s spokesperson), a young independent developer with an atypical background. He certainly has a certain sensibility, which is reflected in his love of cosy games. I discovered him through his game Minami Lane, which he provided free of charge. The chat took place shortly after the game’s release, with Doot (Dorian’s pseudonym) in the rush of the launch and surprised by its unexpected success. This was only his second game as an indie dev and already he was thinking about setting up a studio. Blibloop (Dorian) has even reached saturation point with requests, and it’s time for her to concentrate on the important things, so she’s not present, and we can’t blame her. So here’s my exchange with Dorian, who together with Doriane – if that’s not a sign – designed a game that’s way too cute.
He found another job in the same field, but this time in the mass retail sector. And there, the credo is not the same: it doesn’t matter what the product is, as long as the money comes in. But at the end of the day, the function is the same: to retrieve customer data, in this case via the shopping basket. The expert also advises: “Never have a loyalty card because, overall, it serves to pump out personal data”. The aim is to offer the right promotion at the right time, a 10% discount or €10 free for every €50 spent. This time, it’s carte blanche, and anything can be tried as long as the balance sheet is in surplus. The job tickles Dorian’s ethics, but from a pure analysis point of view, it’s very interesting. One more field that’s not his, resign again! Back to the video game industry at a small French company, Ubisoft. For three years, it’s still data science, but this time to understand what interests gamers. Here, the analysis is used more to guide the creative teams. The raw material comes from social networks, questionnaires and the games themselves to see what people like and don’t like, right from the start of a new project.
Ever since he was at secondary school, he’s wanted to make video games, but the old adage is still the same: JV isn’t a real profession. On top of that, until recently, it wasn’t as easy to get into. The arrival of tutorials and open source software has revolutionised the field. Dorian is satisfied with his career, because you need to have a strong back to start out on your own, especially in JV. I don’t need to tell you again about the catastrophic state of employment in the sector. So Doot has gone from a very buoyant professional environment, where there’s work around every corner, to development where you have to fight to make a place for yourself. And let’s face it, it’s always more comfortable to embark on a new project with cash in your pocket. The ideal thing is to prepare well before jumping into the lion’s den. It doesn’t guarantee success, but the stuff is much better.
This blue dream
After three years at Ubisoft, the idea really started to grow on him. It wasn’t the ideal company, but he still gained knowledge, both human and technical, and refined what he wanted to do. The Covid period came and went, and like many people, Dorian took a step back and said to himself that he didn’t want to go on like this. Dorian didn’t want to leave without a new string to his bow. Back to his studies for a year and a half, it’s the course resulting from the partnership between Gobelins and ENJMIN. This specialised master’s degree in ‘immersive, interactive and playful experience design’ is not focused on video games, the theme is really games in the broadest sense: board games, interactive experiences, etc. Dorian had a choice of several courses, but it was this one that really attracted him, because it was shorter and less specialised, as explained above. The aim is to open up as many possibilities as possible for this new career.
Call to the waiter : VG School
Video game schools have been proliferating in France for several years now, and the list is as long as your arm, offering a wide variety of courses both in terms of content and quality. Most are private, and therefore expensive, if not highly selective. I don’t pretend to be able to give you a list of them, but I can tell you which are the good ones and which are the worst, and which have the best contacts in the industry. Before taking the plunge, it’s important to find out as much as you can, research your final year projects and even get in touch with former students. Nevertheless, I’m going to talk in broad terms about the two mentioned here.
Gobelins Paris is a public consular school founded in 1963 and part of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offering courses in the visual arts in the broadest sense. Photography, cinema, animation, design, communication and, of course, video games. So you’re not at a school dedicated to JV, but a multidisciplinary one, which can be both a strength and a constraint. Prerequisites range from baccalaureate to master’s degree, so it’s a good idea to think carefully before choosing one of their courses.
Gobelins Paris is a public consular school founded in 1963 and part of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offering courses in the visual arts in the broadest sense. Photography, cinema, animation, design, communication and, of course, video games. So you’re not at a school dedicated to JV, but a multidisciplinary one, which can be both a strength and a constraint. Prerequisites range from baccalaureate to master’s degree, so it’s a good idea to think carefully before choosing one of their courses.
From this big year, he came away with contacts in the field of entertainment in the broadest sense. He focused more on programming and others on the artistic side. He’s still in contact with quite a few members of his class, who are always ready to help each other out. As an indie, especially in such a small team, any helping hand is welcome. The course is short and the programme vast, so most of the material is skimmed over, but there was a fair amount of practical application, for example, the end-of-year project was to produce a CNC file. The Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée is a public institution under the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture, whose aims include supporting the creative stages (writing, development, production, distribution, exhibition and export). To complete this dossier, you’ll need a prototype, a projected balance sheet, a marketing outline, a production schedule, etc. But the most important thing is the work experience, because yes, on top of that you have to work. Dorian did his work placement at Homoludens on the game Blooming Business: Casino. On the programme, casino management and cute animals, the project didn’t find its audience, proof that it’s hard to stand out from the rest. Once he had his diploma, it was time for the indie adventure to begin!
The other one
The other member of the studio is Blibloop, also known as Doriane. Yes, Dorian and Doriane, born two weeks apart, partners in life and in creation. She used to work in marketing analysis, but got fed up. She’s looking for a job where customers benefit directly from what she produces, ideally coupled with her creative urge. She is a self-taught amateur designer. For the record, going back to the famous Covid era, one more time, Blibloop was looking for a Zelda (Wind Waker) pin, but couldn’t find anything. As you’re never better served than by yourself, she started to find out how the pins were produced. The result: producing a single copy was a bit of a mess. No matter, she decided to order several and give them away. Once she had a hundred or so pins in her pocket, she realised that there were a lot to give away, so she opened an unpretentious online shop. And it worked! She designed a second model, then a third, a fourth, a fifth and the shop grew. Eventually, she decided that it was time to seize the opportunity and quit her job at Ubisoft. She managed to negotiate a contractual severance. And it was a success: she managed to make a living from her creations. I know you’re impatient, so here’s the shop: blibloop.com.
Dorian begins his adventure as an independent dev. Dorian’s shop is getting so big that the creative side is being supplanted by the administrative side, fuck! And since she really wanted to devote herself to drawing. They have game jams together (I say more about the jams in the IndieKlem interview). Being a graphic designer on a game means doing nothing but drawing, so logically the idea of launching a project together began to germinate. Zakku, a former engineer, was also involved in the game that was to become Minami Lane. He and Doot met during the famous Gobelins training course, and he is now a musician, composer and sound designer in the JV world. He’s a freelance musician, composer and sound designer in the JV world, and did the sound on Doot’s first game (more on that later).
The big bath
Let’s go back a bit. Dorian’s first game was Froggy’s battle, his solo title (well, you’re rarely really solo in a project). Here too, Blibloop helped him, particularly in learning how to draw on a graphics tablet, and she also made two or three assets for the game. The music comes from a royalty-free library. In fact, he thought the game would be a flop, but what the heck, he sold several thousand copies, which enabled him to make a donation to the composer. The aim was to make a more substantial game than the many jam productions he had done and, above all, to release a title on Steam so that he could feel legitimate in presenting himself as an independent developer. He really wanted to understand what it’s like to make a game from start to finish. Dorian considers himself lucky not to dream of greatness, far from wanting to create a triple AAA or a 250-hour RPG, what he wants is to produce lots of small games. It can’t be said often enough that when you want to get into dev, you have to start small, very small. The first games break down, take four times as long as expected and have no visibility, so you might as well make ten titles quickly to get the hang of it and show what you can offer. It’s fun at the beginning, cool at the end, but there are often difficult moments in between. Dorian is more into design by subtraction. Basically, the more the project progresses, the more he tends to remove mechanics and content to offer a purer gaming experience. And then there are the moments of doubt, when you’re sitting in front of your screen thinking that you’re working on something rotten, and it’s easier to hang on for a month to finish than to tell yourself that there’s still a year to go. The day you really want to launch yourself into something more substantial, you have the experience and contacts you gained on your first projects that you didn’t have before.
Dorian probably wouldn’t be where he is today if it hadn’t been for all the people who have supported him in the gamedev project, and especially Doriane, who has always been there to provide unfailing moral support and invaluable help. She made the trailer for Froggy’s battle, which ended up selling over 7,000 copies, well above expectations. That’s a good figure for a first game, but it doesn’t mean it’s profitable at the moment. If you want more info, there’s a Froggy’s battle post mortem (available here) in which Dorian shares his feelings about the project and lots of other things.
Call to waiter: money
Let’s talk a bit about money, because you might think that 7,000 copies sold is wealth, but it’s not! Here I’m going to talk quickly about the figures I’ve been able to find for independents (if you want to talk about financing more widely, here’s a great podcast here!)
Let’s get back to our coins. First of all, you need to know that most sales take place during sales periods. Don’t look at me like that, I know you’re buying when you get the Steam email. And since sales are international, 1 Bath isn’t worth 1 Euro (0.025 if you want the figure) and each country has its own tax. After that, any dissatisfied customers (around 10%) get their money back. Now it’s Steam’s turn to take 30%. The developer is paid in dollars, so the bank is happy to take an exchange tax to convert them into Euros. Finally, it’s the government’s turn to take its tax, a little over 20% (depending on the status of the company), which goes into the developer’s pocket. So the €10 (to make the calculations easier) comes to around €4. Finally, you have to give your share to the publishers, service providers and collaborators. In the end, out of the €10 for the game, you end up with around €2 or €3, not counting materials, invoices, etc.
Just below is a video of Doc Géraud (PnT interview here), who gave a comprehensive review of one of his first games.
Making a game, at least when you want to make a living out of it, isn’t easy. There’s no money coming in while you’re developing, but above all there are a lot of things to do. Behind the job there’s a whole range of things to do, some of which you’ll love, others of which you’ll have to do reluctantly – communication on the networks, for example. In any case, that’s what Dorian likes least, but if he has to, fine, it represents about 25% of a project. Especially because you have no control over social networking; God’s algorithm decides your future and, unfortunately, it’s the main way of getting the word out about your game. One day it’s working, the next you’re in a total vacuum and you don’t know why, because you haven’t changed a thing.
Another thing that Dorian sometimes finds difficult is playtesting. He doesn’t deny that it’s extremely important and helpful, but despite himself, it’s a bit depressing. Having people try out their game during the development phase helps to ensure that everything is moving in the right direction and to rectify any problems. We ask people to point out what’s going wrong, but they’re still criticising a job they’ve put a lot of effort into. Clearly, when you’re under pressure, when the realisation of a life project depends on this game, you’re a bit on edge. And Doot shows this in a little post-playtest depression. But the overall experience is really positive, it’s really cool to make games. Froggy’s Battle is really the rough end of the stick, but above all it’s a blast. Draw ‘potatoes’, make them do anything and create fun! It’s a bit like the kid who gathers branches to build a hut in the woods – it looks like nothing, it barely stands up, but it’s your hut. Well, you have to admit that Dorian and Doriane are pretty good at what they do. And that feeling of having achieved something, of having learnt something, of having gained in know-how, isn’t that one of the best feelings?
You have to realise that making a game means doing a lot of things and that you clearly can’t master everything. The aim is to do a bit of everything, to make it all fit together and be coherent: to be good at everything and leave nothing undone. You have to know your limits, for example, if doing 3D is a nightmare, then do 2D. And there are always ways of achieving what you want. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a good idea to plan your working hours, save your weekends and, when it’s really hard, take a holiday. Watch out for the rush at the end of the project. And once you’ve reached the end, you need to take a big break to recharge your batteries and come up with fresh ideas for the rest of the project.
And of course, making a real living from video games is very rare, so clearly unemployment is the number 1 source of funding for indie developers in France. So, if you want to be able to play lots of nuggets, vote left. Dorian has given himself two years to devote 100% of his time to his projects, bearing in mind that eventually he may have to go back to a more traditional job. But at least it’s not money that’s driving him for these two years, so he can really do what he wants. The plan is as follows: a little game, a break to learn other things, a game, a break, etc., and so on.
Ramen and Osen
So we come to the second project: Minami Lane, which follows on from several game jams that Dorian and Doriane have done together. In particular, they took part in Ludum Dare in October 2022 with Zakku, which resulted in a light management game in isometric view. They came 11th out of 1,700 (and 4th in art). Blibloop thought it might be time to take on a bigger game with Doot. But he’s just come off Froggy’s battle, so it’s time for a rest. And then, in September 2023, the decision was made. Doriane wanted to take a break from her shop and Dorian wanted to start a new game, so they gave themselves three months to come up with something. The game has to be finished in December, as Christmas is an important time for pin sales. In itself, they just wanted to see what working together could achieve. Dorian is in a bit of a creative slump, which is just as well, because that’s Doriane’s area of expertise, even though decisions are made by both of them. We’ll say that she gives the impetus and they finalise together. Blibloop launched the idea of a management game and the duo chose a cozy atmosphere (chill games are their thing). Doriane wanted to practise on isometrics, so this will be the game’s AD.
It’s hard to remember exactly what happened, but there was a lot of discussion and exchange of ideas. The pattern was as follows: Doriane would come up with an idea and Dorian would think about how to streamline and streamline again, getting smaller and smaller. Then it all clicked, and after two hours of thinking about how to reduce the management of a village, he decided on street management. It works perfectly with isometric 2D, you don’t necessarily have to turn into a street. And if you add in the Japanese atmosphere, the image comes straight to mind. The cozy little street in Japan speaks to a lot of people. So, let’s go! And as for the music, it’s obvious, Zakku will be on board, he’s doing two pieces of music for the game. The music budget was tight, so it will start at €500, then end up at €700 (with last-minute changes), so some concessions have been made. One of the two tracks is a reworking of music composed for the jam. Same music, same team, when I said that this jam was announcing something. The second track was offered to another studio, but they didn’t take it on, so it was completely reworked for Minami Lane. Doing something new with something old, hence the more than reasonable prices. Music in the JV is also a field in which quite a few people want to break into, to the extent that Doot has received offers of unpaid work. But clearly he doesn’t want to make people work without paying them. Besides, Zakku’s a mate, so it’s always good to get mates to work, especially when they’re doing so well. There are also some really cool variations in the music, depending on what’s happening on screen.
Once the concept has been defined and development has progressed, it’s time for the playtests. And as we saw above, Dorian doesn’t necessarily take it well at the time, but he still appreciates getting feedback to improve the game. Game design is a bit like the art of making assumptions, and then the playtesters can tell you whether you’re going in the right direction and making a good game. Of course, you have to take the time to analyse all this, because of course, opinions depend on the person and not all the changes put forward are always good ones to take. What they’ve done is a month of pre-production, playtesting, a month and a half of production, playtesting, another month of production, Steam Next Fest (full-scale playtesting), then 2 weeks of finalisation and release of the game. Dorian finds that this rhythm works well, as the playtests allow them to decide what to do next with the project. He’ll no doubt be doing the same for future games. The tests are a bit like checkpoints to take stock and not dwell on things that don’t work. For example, at the beginning there was a roguelike mechanism for selecting buildings without a mission, and it was the playtests that led to the current game.
At the time, they were working on an estimate of a thousand sales. They were doing their utmost, but they knew very well that it wasn’t going to be that easy to reach a large number of people. By December 2023, a bit of hype was building around the project, and content creators were starting to talk about the game. Network posts began to accumulate likes, thanks to Doriane’s artistic direction. The first gameplay videos were released, the Japanese and Thai press boosted the Steam page and wishlists began to grow. Then Gamergirlgale, a cosy gaming influencer, re-shared a video of Minami Lane, and there were more wish lists.
And to top it all off, a few days later, Wholesome Games contacted them. They’re something of a benchmark in the world of cosy games. Matthew, the founder, told them he’d love to share a video of the game on their website. So Dorian prepares a trailer to publicise the game. Matthew offered them more help, especially with marketing. Dorian and Doriane had already been contacted by publishers, but they weren’t always very clean and, above all, they were keen to remain independent. They were therefore wary, but after lengthy discussions, an agreement was reached. The deal? In exchange for a small percentage of revenues (small, because it’s not a publisher) Wholesome manages marketing, contacts content creators and advises on the Steam page. And then came the boom in wishlists (around 48,000), the lifeblood of the business! At that point, it wasn’t long after release, so it was too early to get a full feedback. But some time later, Dorian, true to form, released a post-mortem, which you can find here for the full story. But to spoiler, they’re more than satisfied with the adventure and it’s time for a break before starting a new project (not true!). At the time of writing Doot is working on the localisation of the game).
Connecting…
As usual, to conclude the meeting, I ask the question: if you had to name one game that has made an impression on you, which would it be? And there’s no hesitation, it’s Kind Words. The second opus is currently being developed. It’s more of an experiment than a game, according to Dorian. The concept is based on sending and receiving letters, against a backdrop of Lo-Fi music and a cosy aesthetic. The content of these letters is comforting and benevolent, quite simply, good vibes. These are the feelings that Doot tries to convey in his creations, and Minani Lane is an unqualified success. He loves all these positive notions like helping others. A good example of this is Journey, in which all interaction between players can only be positive and you experience an incredible journey with strangers in a sublime environment. What’s more, it’s impossible to communicate, it’s impossible to be mean, the game pushes you to be kind in order to create a ‘bond’. In Kind Words, it’s just the opposite – you have total freedom of expression, but the atmosphere puts you in a mood where you don’t want to be unpleasant. Dorian even met the game’s developer, Popcannibal, who told him that his inspiration was the Lo-Fi girl on YouTube (incidentally, the initial design came from the city of Lyon). In the community of this channel, the comments are all benevolent, serious issues are addressed, but people are in constant support. The developer has successfully tried to reproduce this atmosphere and it’s a lesson in game design for Dorian. There’s also Spirit Farer, whose main theme is death, but the atmosphere is so safe that it’s captured in a completely different way.
This is the End
We’ve come to the end of the interview and we’ve explored a whole range of emotions with Dorian. And I think that’s why we love video games, because it’s a medium that can make us feel a whole range of things in many different ways: the gameplay, the narrative, the atmosphere. A lot of gamers are fond of these feelings, of this 2.0 immersion, beyond moving your character, it’s a real sharing of emotions. I hope you’ve enjoyed this new episode, and that discovering Dorian and Doriane and their vision of independent gaming has taught you more about this little-known world. As for us, we’ll be back soon for issue 3, which will look at another aspect of JV, again on Point’n Think.
Play well, play fun, play Indie.
Doot : https://twitter.com/doot_dodo
Blibloop : https://twitter.com/blibloop
Minami Lane : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2678990/Minami_Lane/