Video games, animation, comics… behind “Dordogne”, the ambitions of the French studio Umamination

A game created from hand-painted watercolors and showcasing the Dordogne of the 1980s. Similar to an interactive cartoon where a young woman reminisces about her vacation memories in the countryside, ‘Dordogne’ is the first game video from the Bordeaux production company Umamination. Released on June 13 on consoles and PC and available in the Xbox Game P subscription, this video game stands out both by an artistic direction that has seduced as far as Japan, but also by the profile of its creators. Its director, Cédric Babouche, has nearly twenty years of experience in animation for cinema and television. His development studio, Un je ne sais quoi, was acquired by Umamination in 2021.

“Since we started working in the Dordogne, people think we’ve given up cartooning. But not at all. Umamination’s ambition is to carry out transmedia projects“Explains Aymeric Castaing, CEO of the production company. In addition to the video game, Dordogne will give birth to an animated short film but also to a comic strip which will extend the story. The next project, scheduled for the end of 2025, will be released in the form of a video game and an animated feature film. “Our goal is to release every two years universes available in both video games and linear content.“, continues the leader. Umamination is also eyeing virtual reality.

The city of Sarlat is represented in the game Dordogne Un je ne sais quoi/ Umamination/Focus Entertainment

The company, which is finalizing a fundraising of 2 million euros and plans a larger one for the end of 2024, intends to keep an artisanal touch while industrializing certain parts of the production. The graphic elements of video games and ociated animated films are, in fact, produced with the same 3D engine (Unity). At the end of the day, precious time is saved anda saving of 30% on the budget“says Aymeric Castaing. Umamination also highlights its good knowledge of public creation aid schemes. The Nouvelle Aquitaine region and the CNC have thus supported the development of “Dordogne”.

International visibility

For this first step into the world of video games, Umamination also benefited from the support of the Singaporean accelerator Global Top Ground, which specializes in supporting young video game studios. He also signed a publishing contract with the French group Focus Entertainment, which is responsible for marketing, distribution and communication and has provided advice on the “video game” side of the project.

“We could have financed Dordogne alone. But gaming is an industry where you have to be on the map to exist.“, under penalty of being drowned in the middle of the hundreds of video games which come out every day in a relative indifference, indicates Cédric Babouche. “Focus helps us with this“.

Last November, the game’s trailer appeared during the Nintendo Direct conference, followed by millions of players around the world. “The fallout was immediate“, remembers the creator. The game was also released on Microsoft’s Xbox Game P service, which guarantees “Dordogne” international visibility.

The heroine of Dordogne plunges back into her memories of holidays spent with her grandmother Un je ne sais quoi/ Umamination/Focus Entertainment

“Dordogne” also benefits from its name, which mobilizes a whole tourist imagination. And yet, “people in France have suggested that we drop this title, which they consider to be too kitsch. But we held on and I think that was our best decision“, continues Cédric Babouche. To push the immersion to the end, a dubbing in Occitan was made in addition to French and English, a first in a video game. “Dordogne Périgord Tourisme also uses the image of our heroine, Mimi, in its communication “, adds Aymeric Castaing. What, there too, to gain visibility.

Dordogne, a narrative game published by Focus Entertainment, available on PC and on all game consoles on the market. 14.99 euros on PC, 19.99 euros on console.