A look back at the origins and genesis of Quark Dreamcast
Quark is an obscure name, known mainly to science enthusiasts. You may wonder why I am mentioning it and what it has to do with Quantic Dream... The answer lies in the company's name itself!
In physics, a quark is an elementary particle described by quantum theory, which is one of the cornerstones of understanding phenomena at the subatomic scale. Indivisible, a quark is a form of fundamental matter, for information purposes, currently classified into six distinct types. These particles are crucial to explaining the structure of matter at this scale because they interact with each other through strong interaction, which is responsible for the cohesion of protons and neutrons within atomic nuclei. Furthermore, certain theories in quantum physics suggest the existence of additional dimensions within the space-time relationship, concepts that can be explored through these interactions between various types of quarks and other subatomic particles.
That's why David Cage, founder and CEO of the studio, has deeply linked his creative spirit and passions to the name of his company, “Quantic” and, by extension, to the title we're going to explore today!
Quark: Content
Articles about Quantic Dream
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Omikron Exodus and Omikron: Karma: An aborted saga
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Blast, a forgotten Survivor Horror
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Fahrenheit or the studio's renaissance
Homemade cover of the game created by Benedikt Scheffer
The origins: The reflection
The story begins during the development of The Nomad Soul. David Cage (editor's note: David de Gruttola) travelled to New York to collaborate with David Bowie on the game's music. One day, sitting in a bar with a breathtaking view of Times Square, he spent several hours sketching out the first draft of the Quark concept.
David Cage looked back on this period in an interview with IGN (March 2000) in which he discussed the studio's need for renewal and lightness, with a greater focus on fantasy, once the Nomad Soul project was completed - that game being a science fiction world heavily inspired by Blade Runner. This is how they began working on this new project, drawing on all the experience they had gained since Omikron while incorporating new game mechanics.
A mix of a fax and an artwork
It is important to understand, as we mentioned in the previous article, that the development of The Nomad Soul was coming to an end after having been exhausting, long, and difficult; much more complex than the development team had anticipated. However, it was a challenge that was successfully overcome, marking a decisive first step in the company's career.
As Thierry Doizon, a former collaborator, attests: « David Cage transferred his musical dream into video games. His ideas were sometimes simple, but he always managed to draw inspiration from numerous references. As an anecdote, he used software to generate random names for the characters in The Nomad Soul. »
So, Quark will be the opposite of The Nomad Soul, a break from a universe that's been in development for over two years. This move makes sense: if the studio wants to survive, it needs to start thinking about the future.
Even before the official release of The Nomad Soul, three major challenges had to be overcome:
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Delivering a rich and original storyline
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Leveraging the technology of The Nomad Soul, but improving it thanks to the expertise of the development team
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Developing innovative and multiple interactions
The adventure is just beginning for Quantic Dream, and these ambitions will lay the foundations for future projects.
A difficult time period
Looking back on the creation of Quark is a complex task as information about its development is scattered and sometimes contradictory. However, several elements allow us to retrace the key stages of its creation. The first important step was the creation of the game's draft script, written by David Cage, probably in 1998. The second was by Thierry Doizon, then head of concept art, who worked on Quark from October 1998 to June 1999. He provided us with his magnificent watercolors to illustrate this article, depicting the world and its characters.
Faxes sent between QD US and QD Europe (Una's world)
Thierry Doizon : « Régis Carlier (who was previously project manager on Atlantis, a highly successful game from Cryo) and I left Cryo to join Audrey Leprince, a talented screenwriter with whom we started our own project. We were passionate about role-playing games and live-action role-playing. Our idea was to create a real-time 3D version of Ghosts 'n Goblins. We developed a real-time 3D demo for the PlayStation, which we presented at E3, with some success. Peter Molyneux loved our project (remember, he's the creator of Populous, Syndicate, Theme Park, and Fable) and wanted to hire us, but not our project. We were also introduced to Capcom, who a few years later would release a 3D version of Ghosts 'n Goblins, a game that incorporated many of our ideas. It sparked something in them! »
The hiring of Audrey Leprince in 1998 shed further light on the project. According to an article on the UbiSoft website, she was recruited for her ability to develop branching narratives.
Audrey Leprince : « When I met David Cage, the boss of Quantic Dream, I presented some scenarios I had written for live-action role-playing games. That's what caught his attention. »
Audrey worked on the IAM for The Nomad Soul (see article: [Behind the scenes of The Nomad Soul, a game by Quantic Dream]), a system that will also be used in Quark. It simplifies story branches by offering subtitled dialogues with different options to choose from, giving players a variety of ways to progress through the story. This intelligent approach avoids cumbersome programming, allowing game elements to be quickly adjusted.
The enemy of the game (fax)
Thierry Doizon : « At the beginning, Régis Carlier was already working at Quantic Dream (since July 1998) and it was through him that we were hired. At the time, our dream was to move to the United States and leave France's overly rigid academic system behind. David Cage promised us that we would start working in Paris, then move to a new studio in the US, in Los Angeles, to finish the project there. That's how we joined Quantic Dream. »
Quark is unique in that it is the first Quantic Dream game to be developed in France and the United States. The US branch was established at this address:
Business developement & creative.
Quantic Dream Inc 175 Bluxome St
#301 San Francisco
Pierre Roux : « Phillip Campbell was my mentor in the US. I moved to the US to join my wife, the marketing manager at Eidos, who was working with him. Among other things, I created Flomp in 3D. »
Here, Philip Campbell, who led the creation of the Quantic Dream studio in San Francisco, adds: « I didn't really start working on Quark until the end of the development of Omikron. I didn't have much contact with the French team. I wasn't involved in the development of Waki's world; that was David Cage's responsibility. My role focused on creating the world of Una in London, while relying on what was happening in Paris. I sent numerous faxes with designs, but we quickly started working on another project. »
This dual geographical location marked a turning point in Quantic Dream's creative process, with teams in Paris and San Francisco having to navigate between different visions and contrasting production realities, while seeking to maintain artistic and technical consistency for Quark.
The French and American branches of Quantic Dream communicated with each other by fax. Philip Campbell archived some of these proposals for the world of Una. Scans of them are available on the page: [An exchange of faxes with suggestions for Quark Dreamcast between the American and French branches of Quantic Dream]
The year 1999: A period of creativity and tension
This period was devoted to developing Quark's storyline ideas. The conceptual phase could begin. Quantic's developers were called upon to imagine an exciting world for players to explore, but above all for themselves!
Trees are revered in Quark
Thierry Doizon : « David Cage worked in his office, gave us guidelines, and from there, we had to figure things out for ourselves. We didn't really need any more information than that! It was our dream, along with Stéphane Elbaz, to make the world interesting, like the relationship with trees, which were both homes and a religion in their own right. I created two large concept design notebooks, drawn in ink. »
However, despite this creativity, motivation began to wane. Quantic Dream was going through its most difficult period. Development of The Nomad Soul was nearing completion, but it was marred by numerous issues. The studio was rushing to meet the PC release date of late October 1999, while the PlayStation version was progressing slowly. The working atmosphere was tense, with a kind of internal competition to meet the urgent demands of David Cage, who, for his part, was also facing pressure from Eidos. This created complex and exhausting situations for the entire team.
Thierry Doizon testifies: « It had become unbearable for me, and after nine months, I left in June 1999. I was sad because I really loved the Quark universe. I was replaced by a concept artist, Jérôme Reneaume, a former comic book artist, who took over the characters and did a beautiful job. »
At this point, Quark experienced a slowdown. Régis Carlier, the project manager, left Quantic Dream after only one year (July 1999). David Cage's promise of expansion into the United States would not be realized immediately, as the American office would not be officially established until September 1, 2000.
Thierry Doizon continues: « Régis was the project manager, Audrey was in charge of the dialogue and character creation. There wasn't really any inspiration from other games, but of course, the game that Quark was most similar to was Zelda. »
Following pressure and restructuring, development of Quark had clearly slowed down. Audrey Leprince, although still involved in the project, was also asked by David Cage to help develop Quantic Dream's marketing policy. Stéphane Elbaz, meanwhile, continued working on Quark but his priorities were divided given the required and urgent completion of The Nomad Soul. The winter of 1999 passed with Quark relegated to the background. However, thanks to concept art and a sufficiently advanced script, it became possible to create a playable demo on PC in order to make proposals to publishers.
Pierre Roux, who worked on the game at the beginning of the project, explains: « I worked on the game right at the beginning, outside the office (before the move to the US) and only on concepts for 3D models. »
A farmer from the Quark tribe
Quark remained the only project at this point to offer depth in terms of storyline and with a well-defined universe - although the internal 3D engine is still in the early stages of development.
Eric Seigaud (3D art director, 3D environment artist, designer): « There was a kind of cooperation between players, but it was very vague and not yet implemented in the game. »
This idea of cooperation between characters, which would become an important component of gameplay, was still in the design phase.
Jérôme Reneaume, the concept artist who took over from Thierry Doizon, wanted to inject more dynamism into the game: « For my part, my inspiration was Chrono Cross. I reworked the characters and expanded the universe. »
The influence of the SNES game, with its colorful and interconnected parallel universes, is clearly visible in Quark's structure.
A choice of scenarios between two intertwined, yet opposing, worlds
Quark's storyline revolves around two parallel worlds, a rich and complex concept. The player's actions have a direct impact on the challenges to be solved in the other world, adding a strategic dimension to gameplay. The two worlds are completely different: one is a lush and colourful medieval fantasy universe populated by strange creatures and magic; the other is an austere, dark, and oppressive world tinged with an apocalyptic atmosphere. This juxtaposition of worlds is very much in line with Cage's philosophy of exploring opposing natures along with mysticism, such as Yin and Yang, in his creations.
Audrey Leprince : « I was a game designer on Quark after Nomad Soul was released. We already had the beginnings of a game with modeled characters, including the creature that the hero could ride, which was really superb. We also had a game design bible with a fairly advanced storyline. The gameplay was based on the asynchronous use of the two heroes' powers, each in their own world, but with elements that intersected between their two realities. One of the heroes evolved in a fantasy world, while the other was in a more contemporary world. »
A sketch of London (Una's World)
The Quark development team wanted to create two intertwining yet contrasting worlds which could strike a balance between fantasy and reality in order to give them differing perspectives. For Una's quest they chose 19th-century Victorian London because of its atmosphere. The city, which was highly industrialised at the time, was heavily polluted with the famous “gray fog” smog blanketing the city.
Philip Campbell : « I tried to create a ‘real’ version of Waki's fantasy world. Except that my world was a bit like ‘magical realism’, based on all kinds of sources—the history of London, books and literature, films, etc. I think the gameplay would have been relatively balanced. »
It all begins for the player (likely as an introductory cutscene) with the discovery of a secret society known as the “Travelers” who have the ability to travel through other universes. Quark is one of these parallel universes. Only the Travelers have the power to teleport in this way, and they have had it for a very long time. This group used to travel and interact in different worlds in order to bring wisdom and prosperity to each one.
One of them decided to use his powerful abilities to become the absolute ruler of the universe, a sort of sole deity. To achieve his goal he massacred his fellow Travelers, but one couple managed to hide their two children at the last minute: Waki on Quark and Una on Earth. Waki lives with the Quarks; strange little creatures located in the Opal Valley, a somewhat supernatural region of a planet. The chief of the tribe, ”Fen Fenji" has taught him the basics of combat and a few magic tricks. He is aware that the peace that preserves his tribe is in danger, as an enemy is heading towards the Opal Valley!
This unknown evil is emptiness, which is consuming the world and inexorably approaching, dragging Quark's tribe into the abyss, into nothingness, if nothing is done (this plot inspiration is reminiscent of Luc Besson's “The Fifth Element” but even more so of Wolfgang Petersen's 1984 film “The Neverending Story: The Flight of Falkor”).
The house in a tree from Fen Fenji
We clearly see David Cage's spirit and his pronounced taste for reincarnation, the psyche, and even the rejection of death (the void is personified). It is difficult for me to go into further detail about the storyline.
Quark! Inspirations for Una's world
The secondary page, taken from faxes between the American and French branches of Quantic Dream containing ideas for Quark, is a wealth of information providing in-depth glimpses into the ins and outs of Una’s adventure and her world. Philip Campbell drew inspiration for his vision of Quark's London from many sources, including:
Actor and director for the game's soundtrack: Actor Bob Hoskins. An actor in Hook, Super Mario Bros and Who Framed Roger Rabbit among others, for the voice of the canary.
Books: Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens) for Jack “the little thief,” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and an Unreleased game for the Dreamcast which can be found here.), this classic inspired characters encountered close to the main antagonist J.K.:The Yellow Mark Blake and Mortimer, The literary genre of Steampunk. Originally derived from science fiction, it first appeared in literature and is now a culture in its own right.
Specific people: Robert Franklin Stroud, nicknamed “Birdman,” was an American criminal serving a life sentence who became a renowned ornithologist for his studies on birds in captivity. Jack the Ripper directly inspired the games big bad guy, J.K, Spring-Heeled Jack, a Victorian-era English folklore character would also be used for inspiration for J.K.
Cultural: French or Italian chef (comic accent from the orphanage), London double-decker buses, the docks, Pearly Kings and Queens (a charitable tradition organized by London's working class), fish and chips, and Chinese restaurants.
Real life Places: Victdoman warehouses / Southwark quays / Petticoat Lane (London clothing market), houseboats in Chelsea / Hay's Gallena, St Kathrine's Dock / Old Billingsgate, Regent's Park, St Andrew's Place, Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Canal Hampton Court, London Toy + Model Museum / Mechanical Toys in Covent Garden / Walk along Regent's Canal / Tower Bridge / Tower of London / Parisienne Boutique / British Museum / The Shakespeare Inn (pub in the docks).
Suggested idea (Fax)
Films: Men in Black, Starship Troopers, Mimic (director), The Great Escape (John Sturges, 1963), Fire Starter, (Guillermo del Toro, 1997) for Una's confrontation with the first Boss, Hitchcock's Rebecca
Architecture: Sant's Elia (Italian architect of the Futurist movement)
Music: Some of the Spice Girls’s nicknames were humorously used for some prostitutes: Mel B (Scary Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), and Melanie C (Sporty Spice)
Events: Great Fire of London, 1666. Blitz of London during World Wars I and II. The fog of industrial London in the 19th century. In 1483, two young princes were held in the Bloody Tower in the Tower of London until they died.
Setting part of Quark's plot in England was a clever move. This country, especially its capital, has a rich history dating back centuries. From literature to cinema, music to architecture, Una's world revisits the classics in its own way with unexpected nods, such as to Britain's most famous girl band!
The main characters
« Waki » s a young adventurer who decides to fight against the evil that is consuming his world. « Una », his sister, is a perceptive young girl who grew up in a poor orphanage in a dystopian suburb of London (see above in the article).
Philip Campbell : « The countryside is where Una's first missions in the game take place. From escaping the orphanage to arriving in London. She meets some key characters and discovers the terrifying power of the big bad guy in his mansion in the London hinterland. »
Waki will have a thrilling adventure in Opal Valley
Una conquered her fear to walk the streets of London.
The story begins with the appearance of a black hole that pierces the sky and threatens to swallow the Earth. A passage seems to open up in order to impose the will of the last of the « Travelers », personified in the figure of « Sir John B.Konrad ».
« J.K., the main enemy, was a humorous reference to our support for Omikron at Eidos, director John Kavanagh. »
Convinced that he has eliminated the last of the « Travelers », he discovers the existence of the children and sends armies of « Kroll », evil beings from another dimension, to pursue them.
« The characters Jack and the old tramp Peckham were, of course, based on Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens). Slowly, as Una progressed, she would encounter more of the evil ”Kroll,“ created by darkness or whatever it was... »
Jack is a mischievous thief from the orphanage, but he has a big heart. During her quest, Una catches him stealing something from the boarding school bathroom. Peckham, a homeless man, proves to be a good advisor to the young girl when she meets him on a London bus. (See the fax appendix page for more information about these two characters and many others.)
Sir John B.Kon alias JK
The two young heroes, Una and Waki, will set off on a quest for the truth, unaware of each other's existence. At night, dreams will allow them to experience each other's adventures through a psychic connection that will influence their future decisions. It was planned to be possible to progress by changing characters according to the difficulties encountered in the game, thus strengthening the bond between the protagonists of the adventure.
Game Animals: Companions and Key Mechanics
In Quark, animals play a central role not only in the narrative universe, but also in gameplay. Each hero, Una and Waki, will be accompanied by three animals in their distinct worlds, forming a complementary team capable of solving puzzles and overcoming various obstacles. This companion system is deeply rooted in the game mechanics, creating dynamic interactions between the two worlds.
There are six of them, like the quarks in quantum physics, and they have unique abilities. Una's animals are familiar and rooted in reality, while Waki's animals are more whimsical and born from the imagination of their creators. Here they are, cute as can be:
The Dog « Baron » (Una's World): Coming from high society, he is Una's closest companion and devoted protector, ready to sacrifice himself for her in the face of enemy attacks. His unwavering loyalty to the young girl earns him criticism from the other companions, who question his loyalty. Traumatized by his time in the pound, he harbors a deep distrust of humans. However, he stands out for his ability to carry objects, a valuable asset in delicate situations.
The Monkey « Saïmirie » (Una's World): This agile companion excels at climbing anywhere and sneaking around quietly, making them an expert at stealing. Always on the lookout for danger, they are able to sound the alarm quickly. Their mischievous nature leads them to distract those around in order to divert attention. However, their greatest flaw is how easy it is to strike fear into their heart.
The Canary « Sean » (Una and Waki's world with an unknown name and appearance): Meaning “the lord shows mercy” in Irish, this character is identical in both worlds. In Una's world, he stands out for his typically British inspector's hat. Arrogant and self-assured, Sean has special abilities: he can fly, detect gas and smoke, and attract enemies with his terrible singing. However, he has a deep aversion to water and a penchant for bad jokes. A mix of Irish humor and phlegmatic temperament.
The weasel/ferret (Una's World, no image available and name unknown): With abilities similar to those of the monkey, they are useful at various points in the game. However, they are sadly frowned upon by humans and have a mutual animosity with the monkey, which they do not like very much.
The Flomp « Tiam » (World of Waki) : This agile animal is able to squeeze through narrow passages thanks to its flat, flexible body. Its powerful hind legs allow it to jump and run at high speeds, while its sturdy front legs, equipped with claws, are perfect for digging, climbing, and defending itself. Its sucker-shaped hands, ending in two large claws, give it excellent grip on surfaces. Tiam also has a powerful trunk, which it uses to throw objects at a distance. Its large eyes provide optimal night vision, and its body is chameleon-like, except for a distinctive blue area that allows it to blend into its surroundings.
The Gombak « Gumban » (World of Waki): Named Gumban, this animal is initially wild but, once tamed, becomes a loyal and formidable mount. Versatile, it can run, jump, swim, and charge its enemies with force. Able to stand on its hind legs, it also excels in hand-to-hand combat and climbing. Gumban has a unique feature: it can be equipped with accessories such as a saddle, armor, or even a war mask, making it even more impressive and effective in combat situations.
The gameplay mechanics and quest resolution in Quark revolve largely around the abilities of the two children's companions. In addition to forming attachments to these expressive creatures, they remain essential for braving the dangers that await the player in the game world.
A mastered 3D engine: The Nomad Soul team gets back to work
The game's appearance adopts a childlike style, in contrast to The Nomad Soul. Quark uses the technology developed for Omikron, while improving the AI and display tools.
To fully understand the creation of the title, we need to go back to the engine used for The Nomad Soul on PC, which evolved over the course of nearly three years before the game was released. As Antoine Viau explains, Omikron's 3D engine was not static and continued to evolve, particularly in terms of camera functionality and display improvements, allowing for significant updates. But it is mainly thanks to increased mastery of design tools that rapid and efficient use of the engine would be possible for this new project. Olivier Nallet, the new technical director at Quantic Dream, will play a key role in the evolution of the engine at various stages.
David Cage responds in the IGN interview that The Nomad Soul had been extremely important for the team. They had to find answers to an incredible number of technical and conceptual problems, and learned a lot in the process.
Interestingly, there would have been no internet or multiplayer features. This means that the game would have remained true to the pure tradition of Action/Adventure/RPG games. However, a Dreamcast version was already announced, and a PlayStation 2 version was possible (mainly due to poor sales of the SEGA console since the arrival of the PS2). According to several old articles, the studio had complained about the complexity of adapting a title to different computer architectures (which the development team also confirmed to me). The development team wanted to focus only on console development, which was less complex and more popular in households, and then adapt it to PC so as not to disrupt the development.
Waki in his village (E3 demo)
Quark would have been developed on PC with a single architectural base, then adapted for Dreamcast (which proved to be relatively easy, although the deadline was very tight for The Nomad Soul). The improvements would be significant, as DirectX is required (version 8 in 2000), allowing for a stable increase in the number of design tools. 3D had reached maturity and development kits had also made great strides, not to mention that the Dreamcast was compatible with Windows CE, facilitating porting.
How do you manage the freedom given to the hero in a vast 3D world, how do you give him the feeling that he is free while guiding him enough to tell an interesting story? This is what the evolving technology used on Omikron and the experience gained during its development will make possible with Quark!
The interactive nature and design of the game
Thierry Doizon explained during the game's design phase that he had not only created a graphic universe for the world of Waki, but had also built an entire world with its own customs, culture, religion, biodiversity, and ethnic groups. Stéphane Elbaz also played an active role in developing the game's design.
Jinha teaches how to handle plants
Thierry Doizon : « I was working with Stéphane Elbaz, and we had given ourselves free rein with the design and the universe, which had to be meaningful and constructed from A to Z. Stéphane Elbaz comes from a graffiti background, and he introduced me to digital art, while I came from industrial design and was working on the world of Waki. He was in charge of the London party, with a very ‘street’ vision. Our personalities complemented each other, and this reinforced the duality between the two worlds. »
To take it further, he emphasizes that trees were essential to the « Quarks » people (in fact, you can see in his creations the importance of flora, which in the world of Waki allows those who know how to use it to create potions or magic!). There was a real veneration of trees. He was very invested in this project, even though it wasn't his own! His experience at Cryo was essential, as the company was considered the best video game school in France at the time. He had worked on Dreams to Reality (the company's first real-time game, technically inspired by Tomb Raider, but which failed due to a lack of polish and problems with completion) as well as on the 360 title. The staff was excellent, but there was a lack of structure and the company's vision was absent.
« I created, named, and drew whatever I wanted. If I needed a vehicle, I created an animal! »
My conversations with Philip Campbell allowed me to uncover the depth of the game's design. Campbell worked for Eidos in the United States and was in charge of designing Omikron: The Nomad Soul. He was also responsible for integrating David Bowie into the game as a character and musician. He was later hired by David Cage and put in charge of game mechanics for Quark. The design elements are rich and reveal the complexity of the title.
Quark was intended to be an open world but guided by the storyline, a decision made by David Cage in order to keep players engaged and make it easier to share their gaming experience. As a result, the title would be less interactive than The Nomad Soul. The story and events are not linear, meaning that the player can move freely and fight with a wide range of movements (similar to the combat system in The Nomad Soul, allowing the player to fight several opponents at once) in real time in an arcade-style approach. However, the view was to be in third person with significant work to be done on the camera. Forget about first-person view sequences, as these gave David Cage headaches and he was not convinced by this view. Furthermore, its integration into The Nomad Soul game engine was not originally planned; it was a request from Eidos to make it like Half-Life (the hit title of the moment).
Fog floats above the streets of London
Many of the characters encountered in one world would exist in the other as a parallel version of themselves, with a modified model that would complement the characters' appearance. The connection between the heroes would also be very important as an event in one universe would have an impact on the other. Behind this childlike world lies great depth. It would not be uncommon to return to places already visited to complete side missions which, through a combination of choices and progression, would lead the player to progress in the adventure through the destinies of the two protagonists.
Una's world, which can be summed up as an escape from the orphanage, would become increasingly dangerous when the Krolls are in direct pursuit. She would need to use various objects such as a slingshot to fight them.
« We explored a lot. We started the demo when everything was connected in our universes. Before we had the information from the US, it took a long time. The ‘Krolls’ were supposed to be representatives of evil, camouflaged in the world of ‘Una’ but not in the world of « Waki ». »
Several design proposals for the Krolls, monstrosities!
The world of « Waki » is full of action. He sets out to fight evil using magic spells or technological objects in a world that seems larger than Una's oppressive and dark London.
Jérôme Renéaume : « Waki has a more direct approach to the danger posed by the Krolls! »
Quark was being finalized and was developing nicely into an adventure game, inspired by and filled with many elements from the world of role-playing games. The use of animals with different abilities allowed for the development of distinct and rich forms of gameplay. This point is even a key element! The development team would do everything possible to ensure that the gameplay was as natural as possible, despite the different gameplay possibilities offered. Only the canary's manouverability will be different due to its aerial specialty (two different birds in the two worlds but the same role).
Philip Campbell : « I worked on a preliminary design for ‘half’ of Una, including where the game would switch between worlds, but the only thing I saw develop was a short technical demo of London with a train crossing a bridge (which allowed movement between different areas in the world of Una, complemented by a boat). It was certainly not as developed as Waki's world. »
At the same time, IAM's in-house scripting technology is seeking to evolve, which should enable David Cage to develop emotion through video games.
Una materialized in the game
The title will emphasize the cinematic aspect (which will shape Quantic Dream's brand image). The game will alternate between action and reflection phases to reinforce the overall plot. The dialogue-driven portion is central to the game, serving not only as a means of telling a story, but also of bringing it to life for the player. It balances the game's action and ensures the player's interest throughout the adventure. It is difficult to explain the emotional complexity of a film, which is conveyed through the movement of the characters, the camera angles, the lighting, the posture (hence the importance of motion capture, which has grown in importance following new investments at Quantic Dream) and, of course, the music, which is the essential link. It is Xavier Despas (also at Quantic Dream) who earned his stripes after his superb work with David Bowie and Reeve Gabrels and who is responsible for the sound.
A single-player adventure game that builds on future players via the Internet
Although the storyline is not yet complete, David Cage explains why. He wanted to make Quark the first game in which players are co-producers. To implement his revolutionary idea at the time, the game was going to offer its stages of development via a website where the public could interact directly with the development team. This idea had already been used with The Nomad Soul in the form of a logbook.
Quark's homepage adapted to our good old VGA screens (800X600)
For Quark, the concept had to go further, allowing exchanges via forums or even video conferences, game videos (RealVideo), goodies, and even sketches. The game's progress could have been tested to get feedback from players and thus better meet the public's expectations while giving developers flexibility. It therefore made perfect sense that the scenario was not completely set in stone in a script or in the minds of the development team!
This vision was innovative at the time and proved promising in facilitating the process of finding a distributor. What could be better than releasing a game that had been validated by players? The other advantage of such an approach was, of course, the opportunity to communicate for promotional purposes via the Internet and build loyalty among future players.
Communication and game development
At the beginning of the second millennium, Quark began to appear in the trade press. It was at this point that the game began to take shape. In July 2000, an article appeared in the British magazine SwamBug stating that the title would not be available for another 18 months, pushing back the likely release date to late 2001 or spring 2002.
Blue hair, the common thread between Waki and Una
A relevant point highlighted in an IGN article: fierce competition in the world of open 3D environments, which offer enormous possibilities, but also require enormous resources. We learn that games such as Shenmue and Outcast were Quark's main competitors, with ideas similar to those of Quantic Dream but different cultural approaches. This competition, which was beneficial for players, forced developers to surpass themselves.
When we consider the delays with Outcast and the problems with its publisher Infogrames, or even the financial drain that Shenmue was for SEGA, Quantic Dream clearly had an opportunity to seize, because, unlike its competitors, the engine was already designed and The Nomad Soul had proven itself in the hearts of gamers and in the press!
The year 2000 was devoted to the first playable draft of Quark, with a demo build shown during E3. You can read the description and a detailed analysis of the demo on the secondary page: [Concepts and analysis of the Quark Dreamcast/PC demo, an unreleased title from Quantic Dream].
The brave Waki
Trailer of Quark, the Demo (French subtitles)
Eric Seigaud, lead graphic designer for the settings, shares his thoughts on the demo:
« It was just a demo that could be played on two small levels. The gameplay was almost non-existent, and you could only move around in two or three settings, playing as a creature that moved around in a bright world. »
Progress on the title was therefore slow, but it laid the foundations for feasibility. However, several internal factors slowed down the project!
« At the time, there was a lot of tension at QD. We were generating huge revenues »
Don't forget her sister, the valiant Una
This year is a chance for Quantic Dream to promote Quark using the same methods as Omikron: high visibility in magazines, a playable demo, a dedicated website, etc. Between June and November 2000, there will be a major promotional push.
Quark got people talking
Philip Campbell : « There was a small demo of Una on the streets, but not much else. The art team hadn’t interpreted my work or my vision yet. But I had a complete gameplay flow in mind for the world of Una! »
The game's key features are highlighted:
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The ability to manage the animals that accompany the heroes and take control of them in order to use their specific characteristics and powers, offering multiple new gameplay possibilities that have never been explored before.
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Travel between two parallel universes with completely different characteristics: a fairy-tale world on the one hand and a realistic, dark, and disturbing London on the other.
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Total freedom of action in a non-linear storyline.
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Real-time combat and powers taken to unprecedented levels.
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A game that leverages the technologies developed for Omikron while renewing them with a new “intelligent” engine, advanced dynamism, and powerful tools.
The project is really ambitious, which is why it's taking so long to finish. We also find out during this time that the Dreamcast version will be exactly the same as the PC version. Players are excited, but the publishers aren't, and this is what changes Quantic Dream's internal strategy.
The beginning of the end
So how did this title manage to disappear into the limbo of abandoned projects? The explanation is financial, and indeed, the video game market was hit at the beginning of the millennium by a crisis due to the sharp increase in development costs (we are talking about the professionalization of the sector linked to a technological leap), the dot-com bubble crisis (which would spell the end for Cryo, but above all would discourage investors), and the type of game offered by Quark, a genre that was proliferating at the time (adventure games were in crisis). Another reason affected the sector: sales of PC and console games were falling (poor sales of the Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2, which was mainly used as a DVD player with a fleet of machines that was not yet sufficiently installed).
The other reason was the cancellation of the PlayStation 1 version of The Nomad Soul (impossible to complete), which was quickly transferred to Dreamcast for release in November 2000. Eidos had really counted on the PlayStation version, given the incredible sales of Sony's console. The worst was yet to come with the game's poor sales in North America, which led to the end of Eidos' funding (and put an end to The Nomad Soul 2).
Audrey Leprince joined Thierry Doizon at this time to work at MASA (Mathématiques Appliquées SA) on projects including Conflict Zone (PC, Dreamcast, PS2).
However, it was at this point that Jérôme Renéaume took over the project (the only one at QD, but [B]last would soon be launched at that time).
A pretty watercolor of Una
Jérôme Renéaume : « I created the covers for Quark and (B)last in the form of a PressKit (CD presentation) which was sent to publishers along with concept art, the script, a video, and a playable demo. »
With such progress, it seems surprising that Quark was not considered a lifeline for the company, which is where Quantic Dream's turnaround comes in.
Several factors will gradually sideline Quark in favor of a new, more ambitious project, in the eyes of the CEO. It is important to note that several games will be scrapped.
Philip Campbell : « Throughout development, something was happening: Quark and another game were on hold, completed in the form of pitches (and small playable elements) good enough to be offered to publishers—the traditional method! David wanted to continue doing this, but our business partner opposed it, as it diluted another very important internal project! »
Sean in the pulpit and in the wing
In January 2001, a new title was proposed and promoted by David Cage, under the name Fahrenheit or Indigo Prophecy for the US. At the time, the game was intended to be episodic and relied on Vicon Motion Systems, the leading developer of professional motion capture systems, which announced that it was working with Quantic Dream to launch the world's first real-time 3D game, entirely animated using optical motion capture.
Eric Seigaud : « I wasn't privy to the gods' secrets, but I think David Cage grew tired of the project and was thinking about Fahrenheit... What's more, the publishers weren't fighting for it and it was a very turbulent time at QD. »
Quantic Dream has found a publisher for the Fahrenheit project: Vivendi. This title remains the company's biggest project. As Quantic Dream has invested in a motion capture studio, this project makes perfect sense.
Philip Campbell : « We don't want to work on Quark any further unless a publisher is interested. »
In 2002, the QD team announced that it was working on a new generation of technology and decided to put all other projects on hold, without however closing the door to a possible resumption of Quark.
The reality is more complex. For the Quark project to work, Quantic Dream had to completely overhaul the particle management system. Unfortunately, the modified version of this part was subsequently lost. The reason is as follows: before the arrival of the Fahrenheit tool, source code management was very simple: a shared folder on the network served as the basis, and read-only permissions were applied to prevent multiple people from modifying the same file at the same time. Subsequently, the team switched to a tool called SourceSafe, which represents this principle but in a more organized way thanks to dedicated software.
Vincent : « The IAM editor used for The Nomad Soul had part of its engine broken due to Quark's poor development, and it had to be rewritten. »
The IAM version that had been studied at the time did not allow for « build » (complete program generation) to be launched. It was limited to an editor only. In addition, the code was no longer compatible with the old runtime environment, and many temporary developers who had been working on the project had left the team to join another company called Nevrax, resulting in the loss of several months of work.
Another fax scan
Other factors would subsequently condemn the title. The same factors that would weigh heavily on Evil Twin. Although the game was ambitious, Quark found itself in direct competition with the aforementioned title, not to mention the new The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which was already released in 2000 with many similar elements (parallel universe, fall of a giant moon, magical powers). Delayed until late 2001-2002, Quark found itself in the midst of a slump for this type of game, which saw its sales halved. Under these conditions, it became very difficult to find a publisher.
Philip Campbell : « David wanted to be more independent and break away from publishers. While Omikron was being completed, Quark and another title were in development, but that wasn't where David's main focus was, because he wanted to create a new form of game. »
Welcome to the world of Waki
David Cage, in an interview in 2001: "Quark is really promising graphically and offers some very interesting gameplay ideas. It will benefit from the new engines and tools developed for Fahrenheit. It will initially be developed for PS2, Xbox, and PC, depending on the publisher. We are currently discussing this project with various publishers, and we should be able to announce an agreement before the end of the year" (the Dreamcast version was abandoned following the failure of the console), which proves that the project was not canceled, but that it was ready to be transferred to other consoles, taking advantage of technological advances.
Indeed, the title made headlines again briefly in 2006, when the CEO of QC had the idea of reviving the project, which, let's not forget, was close to his heart. He had high hopes for it on Nintendo Wii, The machine's success, linked to Nintendo's image, made it a title particularly well suited to the platform, but without a publisher, the project would eventually fall into oblivion.
All of these factors are the main reasons that will force Quantic Dream to change tack. But before embarking on the Fahrenheit project, the company will try its hand at another project, [B]last, which will suffer the same setbacks as Quark... to be continued.
To offer my perspective on this research, I remain hopeful that this title will not return under a “NextGen” format, but rather find its place in an independent offering. May we rely on the adage “writings remain, words fly away” so that Quark may finally emerge from obscurity!
Part of the development team and Acknowledgments
When a title does not reach the end of its development, there is no comprehensive list on the Internet of the individuals who worked on the project to thank them for their involvement, as is done by the MobyGames (Video Game Database) website, among others. In rare cases, the credits are already implemented in the game following its development before its cancellation.
Information about the people who worked on an Unreleased product and their assignments is nowhere to be found, so it gets lost and forgotten. As the years go by, establishing the organizational chart of a development team becomes more complex and will eventually become impossible, if it isn't already. Below is a non-exhaustive table of Quark's team more than 25 years after it was abandoned:
Vince
I would also like to thank them (not everyone could be contacted for this article) for their availability, their kindness, for taking the time to answer my questions, and for providing us with conceptual material about Quark. Their testimonials allow us to go back in time to the era of its development, to understand its concept, to learn about its storyline, to get a glimpse of its gameplay, and finally to imagine ourselves playing it.
We can only thank the entire Quantic Dreamcast team (Mobygames link for The Nomad Soul) involved in Quark for trying to imagine a game that clearly stood out from others on the market at the time. We can only feel sorry for them that they were unable to see their desires and creations through to completion. Let's hope that one day we'll be able to try out the Quark demo and run around with Gumban in the enchanting world of Waki!
The appendix pages of the preservation project dedicated to Quark
French and American developers at Quantic Dream exchanged faxes containing their drafts for the script and mechanics for solving Quark quests. Approximately 40 scans of faxes related to the world of Una, along with their transcriptions, are available on the page: [An exchange of faxes with suggestions for Quark Dreamcast between the American and French branches of Quantic Dream]
The concepts illustrating the game's atmosphere, the appearance of the characters, and the locations in Quark are not all featured in the main article dedicated to this Unreleased Dreamcast title from Quantic Dream. The rest of the artwork, including some beautiful watercolors, can be found on the page: [Concepts and analysis of the Quark Dreamcast/PC demo, an unreleased title from Quantic Dream]
The programmers at Quantic Dream had coded a short demo of Quark showcasing its artistic direction, the concept of animals, and the accompanying gameplay mechanics. This vertical slice was used to present the game with a view to signing with a publisher. It remains to be unearthed to this day. A chapter of the page [Concepts and analysis of the Quark Dreamcast/PC demo, an unreleased Quantic Dream title] is dedicated to it, examining its progression in detail.
Special thanks to:
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Romain Villiez for writing the article and conducting research on Quark
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Neil Riddaway or the English correction of the article.
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Brainjamain and JoPe form Life is a Video Game association for proofreading and editing the French texts
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Benedikt Scheffer for creating the Quark Dreamcast Cover
In my research focused on unreleased games, I have had the opportunity to interview a number of developers. I took the opportunity I had to create some articles for these cancelled games, complete with previously unpublished information:
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Proof of the existence of the Smurfs (The Smurfs) on Dreamcast and Playstation 2
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World's Scariest Police Chases: Deadly Pursuit, an escaped Dreamcast Unreleased
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Planet of the Apes Dreamcast crashes on an Unreleased planet
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The discovery of Farnation Dreamcast in video: when SEGA wanted to offer MMOs on its latest console
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Frontier Dreamcast, when Turbine's MMO almost arrived on Dreamcast
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The making of Prodigal Xbox 360/PlayStation 3: When Need For Speed met Devil May Cry
