[Interview] ‘A Plague Tale: Innocence’ Game Director Kevin Choteau on the Journey From ‘Ratatouille’ to Plague Rats

A Plague Tale: Innocence releases next week and it’s shaping up to be a rather bleak, bloody, and unsettling look (unsurprisingly) at the Black Plague’s decimation of humanity through the eyes of two French children. Fusing grim historical fact with the intriguing mystery of its fiction, it could be the surprise hit of the year. Ahead of the game’s launch, Bloody Disgusting sat down with Asobo Studio’s Kevin Choteau, the Game Director for A Plague Tale, to talk about the creative vision for the game, the media that inspired it, and how the studio’s time making game adaptations of Pixar films taught humility and creativity.

Bloody Disgusting: For those who don’t know what A Plague Tale: Innocence is, describe what makes it different from other games we’ve seen recently.

Kevin Choteau: I think we’ve made something that everyone can understand, whether you have siblings, sons, or daughters, someone you are deeply connected to. Everyone has grown up, experienced the difficulties of being a teenager, and living in a world they do not understand or accept. The story will echo in everyone’s mind because we wanted it to be universal. We hope it is so.

BD: Asobo Studio’s history is full of projects on which you’ve lent a developmental hand, like The Crew and ReCore. How does it feel to be more in control this time?

KC: Both are very different. You learn a lot from both experiences, you learn from working with others, and you learn from your own mistakes. Creating something from scratch is exhilarating but also very frightening. You are fully responsible for the whole thing. If it’s not working you can not blame anyone but yourself. So you have to be honest, humble and face your own demons.

BD: The studio also has a long history of movie tie-in games. What’s it been like moving out of the Pixar adaptation space and into something as dark as A Plague Tale?

KC: Working with Pixar was a lesson of humility and of creativity. It taught us how to innovate while sticking to the initial guidelines of worldwide brands. It also helped us to deliver something quickly, then iterate and iterate and iterate to finally find the best solution and obtain quality. It prepared us to face our own creation and any unexpected issues. In fact, it was the best mentor we ever could work with.

BD: What inspired the story of A Plague Tale? Was it an appreciation for that period of history, certain movies or books, or maybe a combination of several things? What about gameplay inspirations? Personally I got some The Last of Us vibes in the crafting and stealth mechanics, and of course, there are the deuteragonists at the center of it all too. What else lent Asobo inspiration in crafting the gameplay elements of A Plague Tale?

KC: It is certainly a combination of many things. Our mood and our experience, the topics we wanted to explore. Definitely movies and books, such as MacBeth or The Name of The Rose. And all of Studio Ghibli’s very moving stories, such as Grave of the Fireflies. A great part of their adventures are about kids trying to find resources – sometimes alone – in tough situations. And of course video games, like the cult game Ico back in the day, or the incredible narrative experiences in Naughty Dog productions.

BD: Recent gameplay videos for A Plague Tale reveal a strong sense of atmosphere. Can you talk about what kind of work, both in terms of historical research and in-studio development, went toward setting the scene and tone for the game?

KC: Our Art Director Olivier Ponsonnet and the whole team did a lot of research in order to depict the world as we imagined it was at that time. We are based in Bordeaux and surrounded by medieval architecture in the town and the region. We also got a great source of inspiration in the paintings of genius great masters such as Claude Lorrain or Brueghel. Their work is full of interesting information about landscapes and everyday life or typical sceneries. What the villages looked like, how the people lit their houses, the occupations, the clothes, the faces, the attitudes, the brutality etc.

BD: The game’s original music is composed by Olivier Deriviere. I was very excited to see this as he’s been at the helm for some of my favorite recent soundtracks like Vampyr, Get Even, and 11-11: Memories Retold. What has the process been like between game developers and composer in trying to capture the essence of A Plague Tale?

KC: Olivier is definitely part of the Asobo family now. He embraced our game with as much passion as us, and it was not just a partnership but a true friendship I think. He did not simply meet our vision, but magnified it. Together we found a way to give the feeling that the music is connected to the player’s actions despite the fact that the music system is static. It taught us many things about how to build a credible and tense atmosphere with the sound design, OST, the ambient noises, and the dialogues.

BD: How much did the game change over the years in the studio? I recall its name changed at one point from “The Plague,” which definitely sounds more like a horror game. Did the vision get reimagined or is the game releasing in a few days largely the same as when you first pitched it?

KC: In fact, the game is exactly what we wanted to create right from the beginning. Few things changed. We had the two siblings, the medieval 14th-century context, the rats, the adversity coming from the adult world. Even the orphans.

We’ve iterated a lot, made some tests, slightly changed some of the gameplay elements, but the basics were there in the very early concept.

BD: Thematically, what is A Plague Tale trying to say? What do you hope players take away from their journey with A Plague Tale?

KC: We hope they feel empathy and care for Amicia and Hugo, that they live their journey as if they were there with them, close and caring. We hope they will love Hugo, find him smart and cute and reminiscent of the kids they know, make them smile and feel invested. We hope they will feel the evolution of his sister Amicia, her state of mind, the way she grows up.

Perhaps they will be curious to know more about this very dark period of history that is very intense and thrilling. Ultimately, we want them to find a meaning in all this dark story, their own moral of the tale.

BD: Before A Plague Tale, Asobo had worked on several games for Microsoft, like Zoo Tycoon and some early generation Disney Kinect games. I don’t expect you to confirm or deny any attempt was made on Microsoft’s behalf to buy the studio, but whether or not they did, is that something you all would consider or do you prefer your independence?

KC: Independence is part of our story and DNA. So yes, that’s what we are!

BD: You’ve teamed up with Focus Home again for your next game, an unannounced title with a teaser image of what looks like a pirate ship. What’s next for Asobo?

KC: Intriguing isn’t it…?! Yes, we are already working on something new and we are very happy to team up with Focus Home again. Our teams are very close and we enjoyed working with them a lot.

But now is the time for vacations for a great part of the team. We promise we will keep you posted when we have something to show! See you May 14th in the meanwhile!