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This article comes from the official account of Wechat: ID:chuappgame, author: etc.

Try to use a new game background, in-depth cooperation with local people to ensure authenticity and authenticity.

New Caledonia, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, is composed of a series of islands and is one of the overseas dependencies of France. As the common home of indigenous Kanaks and European immigrants, it has different languages and unique cultures.

Few video games use New Caledonia as the background, but the archipelago is the prototype of the open tropical island in Montreal studio Awaceb's upcoming adventure game Tchia.

Team manager Mary Lopez-Aguilera played an important role. Lopez-Aguilera describes himself as the happiest manager in the world, with responsibilities somewhere between HR and studio manager. She is not only responsible for employee welfare and the day-to-day operation of the studio, but also plays a huge role in game production.

New Caledonia has a cultural landscape of French architecture and a beautiful romantic lagoon beach. Lopez-Aguilera, known as the closest to heaven, was born in France. He lived in New Caledonia as a child and went to Paris to study art and drama at the age of 17. Her parents loved art and wanted her to become an actress, but after graduating from college, she rebelled and started working in the direction of public relations and human resources. She later sent her resume to the Awaceb studio she was recruiting (then in Bordeaux, France) and got her first job in the gaming industry.

Awaceb's founders Phil Clifford and Thierry Bora, from New Caledonia, both want to build a game around their hometown, and Lopez Aguilera is passionate about it.

"the culture of New Caledonia is magical and rich, but it is not known to the outside world, and it is a good way to learn about it through video games." "We have people from New Caledonia on our team, because obviously it's important to involve local people when you talk about the culture of a place," Lopez-Aguilera said. "otherwise, even if you spend two weeks in New Caledonia, it will be very difficult to learn more about it."

In the Awaceb studio, which has only nine people, most of them have multiple jobs. In order to improve the authenticity of the game, even Lopez-Aguilera has stepped out of his comfort zone. As a child, she went to a theatre in Noum é a, the capital of New Caledonia, every week to watch performances, so she knew the local actors very well. During the development of "Kia", she was responsible for finding dubbing actors for the protagonist of the game and directing the recording work.

"New Caledonia is so small that I know almost all the actors here, or at least know their names, so it's easy to pick the right people for different roles."

"there are some actors I know who haven't been discovered, and sometimes we have to go to the actors' homes to try them out and interview the actors' aunts, mothers or cousins. Of course, sometimes we interview dubbing actors in the recording studio, which can take hours, but it's not always ideal. In any case, this is the only way in game production, like a wonderful journey."

Lopez-Aguilera (left) is instructing local dubbing actors to audition and record Lopez-Aguilera, adding that any form of entertainment requires a cast that makes the audience feel authentic, and the film "House of Gucci" released in 2021 is a typical negative example. " It's strange that the characters in the Gucci family don't have a real Italian accent. You know, it's not hard to find good Italian actors. "

"the Kanaks have their own history, so we hope that through this game, the aborigines of New Caledonia will have their voices heard." Chia "is a game that spreads culture, and we need to get everyone to talk about local culture."

Lopez-Aguilera is particularly satisfied with Zia's dubbing actors. She revealed that the actress was the same age as Chia in the game and even looked alike. In addition, Zia's dubbing actress also participated in the revision of the script, helping to adjust some of her lines to make her voice sound more in line with the thoughts and reactions of a young girl.

In addition to showing the beautiful local scenery, "Kia" will also explore more aboriginal cultures to coordinate the dubbing. During the development of "Chia", Lopez-Aguilera went to New Caledonia and stayed there for seven weeks. "before I leave, can you take care of everything? I'm leaving. Are you sure you can last seven weeks?" "there was a 10-hour time difference between France and New Caledonia, so it was difficult for me to talk to my colleagues," she recalls with a smile. fortunately, everything is going well. "

After returning to France, Lopez-Aguilera continued to keep in touch with team members as far away as New Caledonia, including dubbing actors, sound engineers, translators and so on. At the same time, she believes it is important for teams from the two places to meet, which can help developers learn more about New Caledonia. So she arranged a short trip and asked everyone in the studio to go there for two weeks. Lopez-Aguilera notes that it's like a gift to the development team and another way to make sure the game is realistic enough.

"when we hire new employees, I spend about an hour telling them about the history and culture of New Caledonia, but that's not enough." "because the game shows the real scenery there, it is very important for them to enjoy the local scenery in real life," she explained. "

That trip also gave Awaceb a chance to learn what New Caledonians think of Chia. She took the team to Lifu Island to show the islanders "Chia" and the Dehu language in the game. Dehu is one of the three indigenous languages spoken by New Caledonians. It is also the main language on Lifei Island and the local language chosen in games. " We have to show the game to the locals. Although Kia uses a real language, we are not Karnak and are not proficient in Dehu. In any case, we are from New Caledonia and want to show the locals how we use those languages. "

If the game studio wants to depict the culture of a place, it needs to conduct comprehensive and in-depth research, rather than just adding some typical symbols. "this truth is self-evident." "if you try to talk about a culture, you need to involve locals who are familiar with that culture," Lopez-Aguilera said. since Chia is a game about New Caledonian culture, it is impossible to invite a group of Los Angeles actors to dub the characters. we have to work with the locals and get them to show aboriginal values. "

Kanak dance is usually related to ancestor worship and life events. Dancers paint colorful colors on their bodies to attract the attention of their ancestors. Lopez-Aguilera wants to see more peers explore different cultures through games. " I think we have put too much pressure on the game industry and high expectations, hoping that it will have a variety of themes and presentation methods, but the game is still very young, and it is easy for developers to choose themes or elements that players are familiar with. such as making shooting games, racing games, or using Japanese scenes. Of course, many narrative games are talking about niche culture or in-depth topics, but production teams often lack funds to show them to players around the world. We are not the first independent studio to do this. But talking about culture, you know, like the film industry, it takes time. "

"in the 50 years since the birth of the film, almost all films have adopted the same theme and background, and producers will not spend time on field trips to other countries, producing in-depth content, or discussing topics that no one knows yet."

Lopez-Aguilera added that this is also the result of the concentration of most game development studios in first-tier cities. On the one hand, teams in big cities do not care about unpopular topics; on the other hand, it is difficult for teams in small places to make games that depict local culture. " Of course, you can collect information and learn knowledge online, but in New Caledonia, it's almost impossible to learn how to make video games. By contrast, if you live in Paris, you can easily enter the gaming industry, but most of the games you make are about the customs and customs of Paris. "

Lopez-Aguilera called on developers to actively try to adopt a new game background and work deeply with native locals to ensure authenticity and authenticity. In many ways, the developers of "Zia" happen to be from New Caledonia, so they connect a rare bridge.

"I used to live in New Caledonia, but I'm not a Kanak after all, and I don't know everything." Lopez-Aguilera said, "We have used the word 'orphan' in the text of 'Chia', but the translator tells us that there is no such word in Dehu at all. Even if the biological parents of the children are not around or have died, they will have other parents. I can cite thousands of similar examples. This is why it is so important for us to communicate and cooperate with indigenous people who are familiar with the local culture. "

This article is compiled from: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/game-changers-marilou-lopez-aguilera

Original title: "Game Changers | Marilou Lopez-Aguilera"

Original author: James Batchelor

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