Coline Sauvand and Laurent Toulouse
/Coline Sauvand and Laurent Toulouse are the creators of 30 Birds, which received an honorable mention at the A MAZE. Awards 2020. Enjoy the interview.
Coline Sauvand and Laurent Toulouse
A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: Hi, we are Coline Sauvand and Laurent Toulouse, two artists, founders of the future ~ram ram~ studio. Coline is a drawer with a very unique style, she's a fast worker and is very decisive. Laurent is a musician, a programmer and a dreamer. We're making an amazing video game called 30 Birds.
A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: I don't know but we are artists making quite an ambitious computer game inspired by Persian miniatures. Also we're putting everything we have on the line ! Ok, maybe we're just desperate....
A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: We wanted to: make art, tell stories with drawing / painting, make drawings / paintings alive; which could have lead to animation but since Laurent knows how to code we decided to go for games. Also it's kinda fresh to make a video game with an artistic intent. It's an attractive medium to make art because it's relatively new and very popular.
A MAZE.: Who (or what) is your biggest inspiration? Think beyond games too - musicians,writers, filmmakers, artists, scientists, …
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: Alternative or unusual pictures, mainly drawings and paintings. We're always craving for unusual way to represent things, for works in which you can strongly feel the artist's touch, and the artist shows you an unexpected way to see the world. And that's also one of our main goals when we create.
A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: The visuals inspirations of 30 Birds, especially the Persian miniatures but also alternative comics and animation : e.g. Joann Sfar, Nicolas Presl, Delphine Panique, Jesse Moynihan, Tarmasz, Nina Cosco, Léon Maret, David B., Jim Woodring, Brecht Vandenbroucke, etc...
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: Odd is beautiful. And to creators: create what you have in mind and don't worry about skills, standards and stuff...
A MAZE.: Is there a repeating pattern in all of your works the players may experience?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: Strong aesthetics, poetic approach and humour: it's impossible for us to make something serious.
A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: We think that we find more influence in the past, especially in myhtologies, legends, and antique art forms. In general, we get inspired by different visions of the world, visions that challenge the standard (rationalist) contemporary vision of reality. You would usually find this kind of vision in past cultures.
A MAZE.: What does responsability towards your player mean to you as an artist ?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: We think that being artists means having wild ideas and success in conveying them to someone else. It's hard ! Maybe even more in a medium where you let the audience do part of the work. We want the player to have fun, but not only: the game must bring them in a place they would never have been. If it feels different or weird, and they can still enjoy it, that means we've reached that common sacred ground where the magic happens. We think that place is the responsability of artists.
Screenshot of 30 Birds
A MAZE.: What impact is the current pandemic having on you and your work?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: We were already working at home for a month when it started so that didn't change much. But in the first week, we lost a lot of time worrying about how the quarantine would affect some of our projects on the practical side. We also had to worry about our families and find info about the pandemic to make sure they were safe etc... All of that was very time-consuming and delayed our work.
A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: ...
A MAZE.: What are the three games someone who never played a game before should play? Why those?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: Asuming the person is an adult: "A Short Hike" because it feels so natural, "Uncharted 2" (or one of the sequels) because it's very close from a movie, and to let them have a feel of a modern 3D game (and there is an "exploration" mode if it's too hard), "Gorogoa", because it's a masterpiece and the gameplay is easy to grasp.
A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance ?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: These quarantine days, we spend time in the garden, enjoying the sun. We also sing regularly.
A MAZE.: What are the main challenges for artists in your country to sustain themselves?
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: To be honest, situation for artists in France and Belgium is probably better than in a lot of country. But still, there is a lot of competition, art is often not taken seriously by the industry (I mean it's hard to charge). Even if there are a few channels to exhibit, it's very hard to sell, because your audience is usually not an audience who can afford art, outside of zines and such. Even if there are more and more alternative publishers, the ratio sale revenue / work is not that good.
A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
Coline Sauvand & Laurent Toulouse: 1- Art games will have grown a lot because it's just the beginning. 2- Exhibiting games won't be a problem anymore (so : art games in museums and galleries, or 2030 equivalents). 3- Some new art forms using AR and VR.
Screenshot of 30 Birds