Most game studios follow the traditional path when hiring talent, but that wasn’t the case for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Guillaume Broche, the founder of Sandfall Interactive and a former Ubisoft developer, took a different approach. After growing tired of his job, he began searching the internet for passionate people to join his dream project.
A great article by the BBC recently covered this unique story. But here’s a simple breakdown of how it all came together!
From Voice Actor to Lead Writer
One of the most unexpected hires was lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen. She first discovered Guillaume’s Reddit post, where he was looking for someone to record demo voice lines for free. Although she had never done voice acting before, she decided to give it a try.
Not long after, she was officially cast in a voice role. But Guillaume quickly noticed her writing talent and eventually brought her on as the lead writer of the project. Their creative chemistry became the foundation of Sandfall Interactive.
From Ubisoft to Sandfall Interactive
After forming this first connection, Guillaume left his job at Ubisoft and officially founded Sandfall Interactive. The studio later secured funding from Kepler Interactive, a network that supports independent studios. This gave him the freedom to build his team exactly the way he wanted.
A Composer Found on Soundcloud
Another key member, composer Lorien Testard, was discovered on SoundCloud. He had never worked on a video game before, but Guillaume was impressed by his emotional and powerful music.
Lorien ended up creating the soundtrack for Clair Obscur, which we all love. Guillaume believes the pandemic played a big role in helping him discover such creative people: many were stuck at home and looking for artistic opportunities.
Building a Team With Shared Passions
Guillaume didn’t just look at resumes. He focused on finding people who shared his vision, inspirations, and references. This made conversations easy and creative decisions more natural.
Thanks to support from Kepler Interactive, the team was also able to attract well-known voice actors such as Adeline Chetail, Ben Starr, and Jennifer English.
Even though each person joined with a specific role in mind, many ended up helping in other areas too. For example, Jennifer Svedberg-Yen not only wrote the story, she also helped translate the game into different languages!
The majority of the team is made up of juniors, but their passion and dedication helped turn Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 into a game with remarkable quality, both in its visuals and storytelling.
In the end, the story of Sandfall Interactive is one of creative freedom, risk-taking, and trust in new talent. It’s a reminder that sometimes, breaking away from traditional paths can lead to something truly special!
