We sit down with Jessica Richard, Communication Manager over at DotEmu. As they are a developer and publisher, they’ve worked with Limited Run Games and Nicalis; so we got a lot to talk about.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Jessica and I am the communication manager of DotEmu. I used to be a video game hardware journalist and community manager for a French video game website.
What was the first console/game you ever owned?
Technically, it was my father’s, but my first game was Penguin’s Adventure 2 on MSX. I mostly played on the PC after that until I got my own PS1 for my 9th birthday. I now play on PC or console without any distinction since.
Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming?
I’ve got a lot, but I can think about Summer ‘99 when every kid on my neighborhood was playing Pokémon and we were like 12 children squeezed around one Game Boy. That was really fun and it changed a lot of my vision of gaming.
DotEmu was founded in 2007 with a mission to restore the retro games of yesteryear into the forefront today! For those unfamiliar, can you share some words of wisdom as to the origins of the company and what led to the appeal of those classic titles?
We are a Video Game developer and publisher. Based in the lovely city of Paris, we specialize in “retrogaming” and our mission is to bring back the best games from the past on the most recent platforms.
We have been working with talented creators from all around the world including companies like SNK or Square Enix and living legends like Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia, The Last Express), Yoshihisa Kishimoto (Double Dragon series), Frederick Raynal (Little Big Adventures, Alone in the Dark), Shinji Hashimoto (Final Fantasy series) or Eric Chahi (Another World).
We developed and published more than fifteen titles on console, PC, and mobile. We recently released Ys Origin (PS4, PSV, XOne), Windjammers (PS4, PSV) and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (Switch, PS4, Xone, PC). We are always in search of hidden gems from the old days with the objective of bringing them back in front of the gaming scene.
DotEmu is a team of passionate gamers who dedicate their work to find the perfect balance between nostalgia and modern expectations.
DotEmu provides a wide variety of services to the indie game industry. What led to wanting to work with indie developers to help get their games published?
With The Arcade Crew, we want to share our knowledge and help indie studios to bring their awesome games to life. We’ve been making video games for more than 10 years now and we know very well the struggles to create a game, especially for small teams. We’re very happy to assist passionate game makers during the entire process, from creation to marketing. We carefully choose the games we want to support and we deeply believe in their qualities and future success!
While a majority of your titles are released digitally, what has it been like to partner with companies such as Limited Run Games and Nicalis to release physical editions of your games?
We’re retrogaming fans (and a bit old, let’s admit it), so we are attached to those boxes. Being able to release our games physically is great for the players and we are really happy to have partnered with such companies. What Limited Run Games does is a thing of beauty, and we are proud to have worked with them on bringing our games to the fans.
Are there future physical titles planned that you can tease today?
Not for the moment, but we never know.
Your games run the gamut in regard to genres. From action to RPG to SHMUPS, is there a favorite genre to work with?
We’re hardcore gamers ourselves, so we pretty much love to work on any type of games, but more that specific genres, I think that working on retro games is just awesome. Is there anything cooler than working on games you loved when you were a kid? I don’t think so!
If given the choice, which of your characters would you like to see appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros?
That’s a tough question… The Double Dragon brothers would definitely be cool. Wessel from Windjammers would break the internet for sure. And seeing Robert Landolt from NEO TURF MASTERS would just be crazy. But I think Hu-Man (with all his transformations) from Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap can definitely make it in the game! (Nintendo, if you read this, just send me an email. Thanks.)
With Ys Origin having just arrived on the Xbox One, what’s next for DotEmu?
We are working on several projects at the moment and we recently announced Blazing Chrome and Dark Devotion with The Arcade Crew. We’re also releasing Another World on the Switch real soon! So, you should definitely stay tuned.
Finally, is there anything else you’d like to share?
You can find us on social media to follow our work. See the links below.
Follow DotEmu!
https://www.twitter.com/dotemu
https://www.facebook.com/dotemu
https://twitter.com/TheArcadeCrew
