Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s writer doesn’t want to follow audience expectations despite being “a bit of a people pleaser”

When a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 rocks up, rakes in a bunch of success and critical acclaim, alongside the top game of the year prize at Geoffie’s Lil Night of Ads, there will be certain expectations of what’s next. It’s always what’s next! Because there has to be more. But whatever more ends up being for developer Sandfall Interactive, the team is trying to make sure they don’t just bow down to what people want from them.

Speaking to Edge magazine (via GamesRadar) in a recent interview, chief operating officer and production director François Meurisse shared that he feels “a bit of pressure” from both lovers and critics of the game for the studio’s follow-up, but ultimately “it’s not so important to us.” He went on to say that they’ll have “time to get really focused into the next game. We have some great ideas we’re so excited to explore, and we don’t start from the same point. The team already has five more years of experience. So maybe we can do some great stuff.”

Lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, who apparently had never played a game before writing this one, echoed these thoughts, even if she did note that she’s “a bit of a people pleaser.” With that in mind, she says it’s “always in the back of my mind that we have a lot of fans now, and they have certain expectations and certain feelings towards the game.”

Svedberg-Yen does admit to thinking about these expectations from time to time, but when it comes to creative decisions, they always make sure to be guided by their own personal taste as opposed to what people want from them. “I’ve seen too many TV shows and books be swayed trying to please a lot of people, and in the process you end up losing the heart of what’s there,” she said. “So [we] feel like we need to trust our instincts and continue to trust the vision behind the studio.”

Let’s just cross our fingers that whatever’s next causes just a bit less discourse about RPGs. Please. I’ve had enough.