Visiting during the Paris Games Week 2024 show, the Franco-German channel ARTE was kind enough to answer some of our questions about its activities as a publisher and co-producer of video games.
The ARTE channel regularly supports French creations, particularly video game productions. Three independent studios supported by ARTE were present during Paris Games Week 2024 to present their new productions. The ideal opportunity to discover extraordinary games, but also to speak with ARTE France on the subject of publishing and co-production of French video games.
We were able to speak on the official ARTE stand with Diana Stoïca, publishing project manager for ARTE France and responsible for presenting several games co-produced and published by the channel.
What is ARTE’s role in video games in France?
At ARTE France, we have been co-producing and publishing video games from independent studios on a European scale for 11 years now.
It is important for us, as members of the public service, to support creation in all its forms. We have opened up to video games and immersive experiences globally, on a national and European scale, because it is part of the culture today. It is not an obligation for us to carry out video game projects in France, but this falls within our missions dedicated to culture.
“It’s important for us to support creation in all its forms”
What are ARTE France’s actions at the Paris Games Week show?
We are present as a publisher to represent the projects we are currently working on. We present three games “30 Birds”, “Looking for Fael” And “Gloomy Eyes”. It is not always possible for studios, particularly independent ones, to travel to trade fairs and events. Some were able to come at the start of the show, but it is part of our mission to be present at this type of very public event. This allows us to provide very good exposure for the games we are working on and to reveal some playable demos to visitors.
By involving visitors, we already allow them to discover the games presented through the demos and ensure that more people are interested in these projects.
It is often said that ARTE is the channel which offers original programs, is this something that we find in the production of video games?
Yes ! It is very important for us to make this activity of the channel and video games known as a cultural object in its own right. This also allows us to highlight projects that could not be as visible without our support. We use ARTE’s stature and notoriety to promote lots of original projects that deserve attention and play. Memorable projects that we rather call “author’s games” and which need visibility as much as the big AAA games.
The games co-produced and published by ARTE actually seem far from big productions like “Call of Duty” Or “Assassin’s Creed“Is this something you care about?
We really care a lot about it. Most of the time, these are small studios and teams that we want to support in their projects. We generally support games that have a certain artistic touch, whether in design or gameplay. These games convey original ideas.
It’s essential for us to have memorable and different games. Our catalog of independent games grows every year, but there’s no real secret to standing out. For us, it is important that our projects have heart. Not necessarily that they carry a message or are committed, but rather that they reflect our personality.
“We use Arte’s stature and notoriety to promote lots of original projects”
For our readers who have never played a game produced by ARTE, which one would you recommend?
One of the most successful is “Vectronom” (released in 2019). It works very well because it is accessible and really gripping. It’s a rhythm game where platforms appear and disappear depending on the music playing. It is therefore very easy to learn and the music is very pleasant and original as well.
I can also only recommend the next game we are working on. It’s called “30 BIRDS” and it is an adventure game that takes place on lanterns that rotate on themselves, creating a mix of 2D and 3D. This game has a sublime artistic direction inspired by Persian miniatures. A really funny game, but also very addictive.
How does the channel go about selecting the games it will support?
We do a lot of events like Paris Games Week. At trade shows or to the general public, we often receive project requests directly at these shows. We then meet as a team to study the projects and work on those we have selected.
We then make decisions internally and especially as a team. At ARTE France, there is not a single person who is the decision-maker, but it is a group of professionals who will work together on the project presented.
So if tomorrow, if I have a video game to propose to ARTE, how exactly can I go about it?
You can submit projects to us at trade shows with presentations and books in a completely traditional way, and then go through our online platform on the site arte.tv which hosts numerous initiatives, whether in video games or other areas.
We rather like to receive emerging projects and therefore evaluate prototypes and game ideas rather than productions that are already almost finished.