An ambitious project entirely developed in Canada

An ambitious project entirely
developed in Canada

(Montréal, Tuesday June 18, 2002) –
Microïds and Benot Sokal are proud to announce the North-American launch of
Syberia, an adventure game that continues the brilliantly original
genre conceived by the author of Amerzone and is an impressive showcase
of Quebec talent in the multimedia domain.An
ambitious project entirely developed in Canada

Development

Syberia was developed
entirely in Montreal under the direction of Benoit Sokal and Olivier Fontenay,
Vice President, Development, of Microïds, and is the most ambitious venture
that the Paris-based company has undertaken in the city.

"When
we set up in Montreal, three years ago, we committed ourselves to developing
high-quality titles using local creativity," Fontenay said. With Syberia,
we are now making good on that promise, thanks largely to the talent of
quebecois artists, organizers, programmers and coders.”

In total, Syberia took over two
years to design and, at the most critical points of its development, required
the involvement of 35 people. An idea of the amount of work entailed can be
had by calculating that it would have taken one person working alone over
twenty-eight years to create this game.

Syberia
required an investment of over than $2 million, the largest sum Microïds has
ever devoted to one title.

A whole new
genre

“What we are aiming at with Syberia
is to thrust the player into a fantastic, yet at the same time, realistic
universe that will guarantee him a unique entertainment experience,” author
Benot Sokal explained. In order to achieve this, the members of the
development team chose to integrate concepts and techniques taken a varied
range of artistic forms, including comic strips, cinema and – obviously –
video games.

“The exceptional visual artistry of
the pre-rendered backgrounds, the depth and richness of the plot and the
variety of characters encountered throughout the quest make this game truly
one of a kind," Sokal added.

The plot

Syberia
features Kate Walker, a young lawyer from New York who, through a series of
remarkable events, finds that her destiny is inextricably linked with that of
Hans Voralberg, a scientific genius who designs and manufactures automatons.

To succeed in her quest, which is
conducted through a particularly rich story-line and cast of characters, the
solitary heroine depends on the decisions and reasoning power of the player,
whose task is to guide her through the maze of events – on what turns out to
be a voyage of no return.

About Microïds Distribution inc.

Microïds Distribution inc. is the
North-American distribution subsidiary of Microïds. The parent company was
founded in France in 1985, and develops, publishes and distributes PC- and
console-based interactive entertainment software all over the world. Microïds
has development studios in Paris and Montreal, and subsidiary distribution
companies in France, Canada, Italy, and England; it employs over 200 people,
including a hundred in Montreal. (www.microids.com)