[Oscar]

What are the people behind the Microids games up to? I know Microids was absorbed by Anuman in 2009, but are they still making games or have they retired? They are a very creative and unique team and even if we can't have another Amerzone, Syberia 3 or Paradise it would be nice to know they are doing something with their talent.

[Ascovel]

Paradise was made already by Benoit Sokal's White Bird Studios I seem to remember. Some of the Amerzone/Syberia team moved there with him probably.

[TopCat]

Microids stopped making games after they finished Still Life. They were bought by Ubisoft. The company was revived a few years ago (2007 ?!?!), but as a publisher, not a developer.

P.S - White Birds Productions went bankrupt earlier this year.

[kate me]

"P.S - White Birds Productions went bankrupt earlier this year. "
Ouchhhhhhhh!

I am tired of this ...
Kind of like when you have a favorite place in the city that you know for a long, long time. You go there one day and it's turned into something else...
I'll guess will see Syberia 3 when pigs fly then....Ah well...

[jhetfield21]

I'm with you on the favorite place thing but....
Syberia 3 is being developed by Anuman and there have been negotiations with Sokal so that he can participate.but i haven't heard anything about the negotiations concluding and also i haven't heard anything about a release date.there is a facebook page about syberia 3 that microids/anuman post news and answer to questions from fans.

[kate me]

Negotiations? I didn't knew that!
Well, I guess a little hope is better then nothing...

[CKSqua]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

Paradise was made already by Benoit Sokal's White Bird Studios I seem to remember. Some of the Amerzone/Syberia team moved there with him probably.

Microids had offices in Paris and Montreal. By the time they developed Syberia and Still Life, the bulk of development actually occurred in Montreal, which was unfortunate in some ways.

Sokal (based in France) and some of his colleagues formed White Birds, but they didn't retain the Montreal-based programmers and designers who actually implemented the games (they were eventually absorbed into Ubisoft Montreal, I think). From a technical standpoint, I suspect this really hurt White Birds, which gained a reputation for creating pretty but poorly designed adventures.

[aimless]

Back in 2007, I think it was, Sokal said that he would only do Syberia 3 if it was in 3D. (He spoke admiringly of Assassin's Creed.) According to him, the technology used for Syberia 1 & 2 would satisfy hard core adventure gamers but it would lead to a commercial flop. Anuman, however, either won't or can't come up with the bucks to do a third installment in 3D. So nobody's happy, not Sokal, not Anuman and not the adventure gamers who really wanted to see another installment of Syberia.

Personally, I can live without a Syberia 3. Those two games, one really, were beautiful and I loved them but as far as I'm concerned, the adventure is complete and my imagination can fill in what little might remain to be said. So, if he wants to be a prima donna, it's fine by me. Sorry if that sounds harsh but that's the way I feel about it.

[dr.styles]

This is from wikipedia:
"Syberia III is expected to be released in 2011 for PC, and possibly PlayStation 3. It follows the protagonist Kate Walker as she starts out on the mammoths' trail, where strange white birds indicate the presence of extinct mammals."
That should be good news but in the same article they also say:
"In an interview given in February 2011, Benoît Sokal revealed that work on the game had not even started due to a lack of funding"
So dont't expect Syberia III before 2012 or 2013.

[aimless]

Originally Posted by dr.styles

strange white birds indicate the presence of extinct mammals."

Too bad birds aren't mammals. That could be prophetic. White Birds is sure enough extinct.

[sierramindy]

Hmm, for me, the Syberia (1 & 2) adventure ended when Hans found the mammals! However, I would be interested in a Kate Walker adventure and finding out how she gets back home, or goes off on a quest of her own, or whatever. That would be Kate Walker without the train, or Oscar, or Hans, but with the phone and her mother, maybe?

[aimless]

Originally Posted by sierramindy

...Kate Walker without the train, or Oscar, or Hans, but with the phone and her mother, maybe?

Rotfl!

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by aimless

Too bad birds aren't mammals. That could be prophetic. White Birds is sure enough extinct.

So is Syberia, which didn't proceed while White Birds was present.

[jhetfield21]

i think that's because Microids was still active and they had the copyrights.

[Irongiant909]

Must admit that a 3D implementation of Syberia 3, without Sokal's guiding hand, doesn't really interest me.

Having said that, I'd rather that they stuck to 2D (WITH Sokal's involvement, of course).

[jhetfield21]

i don't think this has anything to do with Sokal.......Sokal was the one that said about doing a Syberia installment in 3D after he saw Assassin's Creed.So if anything Sokal would be on board if it was decided to have a 3D implementation of the third sequel.

[rtrooney]

3D! Are you kidding? How many of us have 3D-capable PC monitors? As for porting to 3D in any other platform...it connects to a 3D-capable TV right? What is the slowest growing consumer electronics category? Hmm. That would be 3D TV.

So...if Sokol is only going to produce a Syberia3 if it can only be done in 3D, what do you think the chances are of that happening any time soon?

[Irongiant909]

Ah, now this is where '3D' becomes confusing - I THINK that in this case the 3D referred to is the 3D perspective (as seen in Broken Sword 3 for example), as opposed to the usual 2D view. In other words, I don't believe that it's trying to emulate streoscopic 3D and so require polarising glasses, etc.

[jhetfield21]

what the above said.after all i mentioned Assassins Creed.it's not a 3D as in need-glasses-3D.

[cbman]

75% of the wonder of Syberia was the beautiful and imagintive locations. In 3D, unless they had a massive budget, you can kiss that bye bye. Sokal is a graphic novelist; he should know how important the aesthetic of a work is.

Some people criticized the simple or bland gameplay of Syberia - but that was exactly the right thing to do because its appeal was in the worlds of wonder it portrayed and the emotional journeys the respective characters went through as they traversed them. Complicated or over involved gameplay would have gotten in the way of that simple but devastatingly effective formula.

3D is somethign you add for gameplay reasons, not aesthetic reasons. It would add nothing and take away too much.