Eric Chahi
Encyclopedia
Éric Chahi is a French
computer game designer best known as the creator of Another World
(known as Out of This World in the United States
).
during 1983 for the company Loriciels
. He then utilized his talents on platforms such as Atari ST
and Amiga
with games such as Jeanne d'Arc and Voyage au centre de la Terre published by Chip
. In 1989 Éric Chahi quit Chip to join Delphine Software International
to work on the graphics for Future Wars
, a game designed by Paul Cuisset
. Chahi then developed Another World
(released in 1991) almost entirely on his own, from the story to the box cover; later it received much critical acclaim for its atmosphere and minimalism.
Flashback: The Quest for Identity, another game made at Delphine Software, is often mistaken to be a sequel to Another World. Although there are some similarities, Chahi had no involvement in its production and there is no relation between the games.
After leaving Delphine, Chahi founded Amazing Studio and became one of several designers that were working there on Heart of Darkness
, which is an initially ambitious side-scrolling game. It suffered numerous delays, being in development for anywhere from five to seven years. When Infogrames finally published it in 1998, it was moderately received by critics due to short length and by-then dated graphical resolution, though the graphics of the PlayStation
port were praised.
Chahi disappeared from the game industry for some years, but has recently regained interest in making games. In April 2005 he released a free GameBoy Advance version of Another World. It was created in collaboration with a programmer named Cyril Cogordan, who originally started it as a fan project. It can be played by using a GBA flash cartridge.
A version of Another World for mobile phones was made with the help of developer Magic Productions and commercially released in 2005. On April 14, 2006, Chahi and Magic Productions released an updated PC version of Another World. It features higher resolution graphics and runs on modern versions of Windows.
Chahi attended the Game Developer's Conference in 2005, and has shown interest in working on an entirely new game, though he has criticized the industry for not sufficiently supporting creativity. This new game will apparently be a type of strategy game.
On June 14, 2010, a trailer for Chahi's new game, named From Dust
was shown at E3 2010. The game was released on July 27 2011 on Xbox Live Arcade
as part of the 2011 Summer of Arcade, is described as a mix between Populous
and Black and White. It was also released on the PC later on August 17 2011. The game received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic
score of 80 on the Xbox 360.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
computer game designer best known as the creator of Another World
Another World (video game)
Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
(known as Out of This World in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
Career
Éric Chahi started programming on Oric Atmos and AmstradAmstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
during 1983 for the company Loriciels
Loriciels
Loriciels was a French video game developing company that was active from 1983 to the early 1990s.During the 1980s, they developed games for various systems . The first game that Loriciels developed was Hubert for the Commodore 64. They managed to publish 150 different games within their short...
. He then utilized his talents on platforms such as Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
with games such as Jeanne d'Arc and Voyage au centre de la Terre published by Chip
Chip
- Food :* Potato chips , a snack food made from potatoes, also known as crisps in the UK and some other English-speaking countries...
. In 1989 Éric Chahi quit Chip to join Delphine Software International
Delphine Software International
Delphine Software was a French video game developer company. They were famous for their games Another World and Flashback, which bore a similarity to Prince of Persia, both in gameplay and in utilizing rotoscoped animation...
to work on the graphics for Future Wars
Future Wars
Future Wars, subtitled in Europe as Time Travellers and in North America as Adventures in Time and known in France as Time Travelers: The Menace is an adventure game from Delphine Software International, released in 1989...
, a game designed by Paul Cuisset
Paul Cuisset
Paul Cuisset is a French programmer and designer of several popular video games.-Career:Paul Cuisset was the lead designer of Delphine Software International and the creator of the computer game smash hit...
. Chahi then developed Another World
Another World (video game)
Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
(released in 1991) almost entirely on his own, from the story to the box cover; later it received much critical acclaim for its atmosphere and minimalism.
Flashback: The Quest for Identity, another game made at Delphine Software, is often mistaken to be a sequel to Another World. Although there are some similarities, Chahi had no involvement in its production and there is no relation between the games.
After leaving Delphine, Chahi founded Amazing Studio and became one of several designers that were working there on Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness (game)
Heart of Darkness is a 1998 video game by Amazing Studio and released by Interplay for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and the PlayStation. A Game Boy Advance port was announced in 2001 but never released. It is the first game to have its score recorded by an orchestra though because of delays, it was...
, which is an initially ambitious side-scrolling game. It suffered numerous delays, being in development for anywhere from five to seven years. When Infogrames finally published it in 1998, it was moderately received by critics due to short length and by-then dated graphical resolution, though the graphics of the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
port were praised.
Chahi disappeared from the game industry for some years, but has recently regained interest in making games. In April 2005 he released a free GameBoy Advance version of Another World. It was created in collaboration with a programmer named Cyril Cogordan, who originally started it as a fan project. It can be played by using a GBA flash cartridge.
A version of Another World for mobile phones was made with the help of developer Magic Productions and commercially released in 2005. On April 14, 2006, Chahi and Magic Productions released an updated PC version of Another World. It features higher resolution graphics and runs on modern versions of Windows.
Chahi attended the Game Developer's Conference in 2005, and has shown interest in working on an entirely new game, though he has criticized the industry for not sufficiently supporting creativity. This new game will apparently be a type of strategy game.
On June 14, 2010, a trailer for Chahi's new game, named From Dust
From Dust
From Dust is a video game, designed by Eric Chahi and developed by Ubisoft Montpellier. Ubisoft described it as a 'spiritual heir' to Populous, a British game developed by Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog Productions in 1989. Announced on 14 June 2010 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo , Ubisoft...
was shown at E3 2010. The game was released on July 27 2011 on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
as part of the 2011 Summer of Arcade, is described as a mix between Populous
Populous
-External links:*...
and Black and White. It was also released on the PC later on August 17 2011. The game received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 80 on the Xbox 360.
Games
- 1983 Frog (Oric 1; ASN diffusion)
- 1983 Carnaval (Oric 1; ASN diffusion)
- 1984 Le Sceptre d’Anubis (Oric 1; Micro Programmes 5)
- 1984 Doggy (Oric 1; LoricielsLoricielsLoriciels was a French video game developing company that was active from 1983 to the early 1990s.During the 1980s, they developed games for various systems . The first game that Loriciels developed was Hubert for the Commodore 64. They managed to publish 150 different games within their short...
) - 1985 Infernal RunnerInfernal RunnerInfernal Runner was a survival horror computer game similar to Lode Runner published by Loriciel in 1985. The game was originally created for the Commodore 64 and later adapted to the Amstrad CPC...
(Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPCThe Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, C64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
; Loriciels) - Chahi was not credited in the C64 version. - 1986 Le Pacte (Loriciels)
- 1988 Journey to the Center of the Earth
- 1989 Joan of Arc: Siege and the Sword
- 1990 Future WarsFuture WarsFuture Wars, subtitled in Europe as Time Travellers and in North America as Adventures in Time and known in France as Time Travelers: The Menace is an adventure game from Delphine Software International, released in 1989...
(original French title: Les voyageurs du temps, InterplayInterplay EntertainmentInterplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
) - 1991 Another WorldAnother World (video game)Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
(title in the United States: Out of this World, Interplay), rereleased on April 14, 2006 - 1998 Heart of DarknessHeart of Darkness (game)Heart of Darkness is a 1998 video game by Amazing Studio and released by Interplay for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and the PlayStation. A Game Boy Advance port was announced in 2001 but never released. It is the first game to have its score recorded by an orchestra though because of delays, it was...
(Interplay) - 2004 Amiga Classix 4 (MagnussoftMagnussoftmagnussoft Deutschland GmbH is a pan-European computer game developer and publisher. The company is seated near Dresden in the eastern region of Germany...
) - 2011 From DustFrom DustFrom Dust is a video game, designed by Eric Chahi and developed by Ubisoft Montpellier. Ubisoft described it as a 'spiritual heir' to Populous, a British game developed by Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog Productions in 1989. Announced on 14 June 2010 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo , Ubisoft...
(UbisoftUbisoftUbisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
)
External links
- Éric Chahi's personal site, where he released the updated PC version of Another WorldAnother World (video game)Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
- Foxysofs, This site can let you download the games that he made, but they are game roms.
- Rap sheet for Éric Chahi on MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Idle Thumbs interviews Chahi about Another World, 27.8.2004
- Éric Chahi Interview about Out of This World - Webarchive mirror
- Éric Chahi Interview (in French) on Grospixels.com 25.7.2003, 17.11.2003
- Edge Magazine online interviews Chahi
- Éric Chahi Interview about Time travellers, Another world and Heart of darkness (in French) on factornews, 13.04.2006