Come with us behind the scenes of The Nomad Soul and its Dreamcast prototype, a game by Quantic Dream
This was the start of an atypical career path which, from the age of 14, transformed a young music enthusiast with an entrepreneurial spirit into a video game developer.
The Nomad Soul is an Arcade/Adventure game with full freedom of movement in a 3D real-time city, complete with a rich environment, NPCs and vehicles. This title is based on a complex and original scenario including the idea of virtual reincarnation.
The Nomad Soul is based in a French-style “Cyberpunk” world, inspired by the great civilizations of the past, with an artistic approach reminiscent of Blade Runner.
Nomad Soul : Contents
Articles about Quantic Dream
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Quark: a mysterious Dreamcast Unreleased
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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
The development of Nomad Soul: The PC version
Graphic designers such as Pierre Roux and Olivier Demangel, who was also the project manager for the game, were able to deploy mountains of talent.
Antoine Viau underlines their flexibility: « I was in charge of the 3D engine, but also project management and the computer network, not to mention character control and some of the combat. »
Festival Imagina: Omikron's pre-rendered video
These men embarked on a wildly ambitious project—financially risky, entirely handmade, and carried out in full 'make-do' mode, all under an almost impossible deadline. But when you gather a group of passionate, highly motivated young people in one place, the result is a powerful mix that drives success. It would take all of David’s ambition—and his financial backing—to convince a publisher, which was no small task.
The year 1997 would be devoted to PR communications through the annual Computer Graphics festival Imagina, Joystick magazine, France 3 Television (Microkids) and Canal +.
Pierre Roux: « The cinematic created for the Imagina festival was not completed as planned. The task was very time-consuming and complex, and we didn't manage to meet the deadline for this video, which was supposed to be a promotional element for the company. It was a chase through the city with the Omikron Police. »
As Pierre mentions the "Omikron Police", now would be a good time to mention that The Nomad Soul actually started off its life known simply as Omikron, before being changed to The Nomad Soul for european regions, and releasing in the United States as Omikron: The Nomad Soul.
On the programming side, the project would continue to make progress, the “maps” (environment maps) were getting bigger and bigger, and the number of displayable elements was constantly increasing.
Fifteen or so publishers (Electronic Arts, Ubi-Soft, Psygnosis, Eidos, Virgin, GT Interactive...) were contacted to hopefully publish the game and time was running out! With just a few days left until the deadline, on April 10, 1997, Quantic Dream finally found their publisher; Eidos.
After more than 5 months, the demo was finally ready, as was the press kit with 180 pages of Game Design, a scenario bible and illustrations by Bernard Bittler.
Eidos, the salvation studio
When the deadline was less than a week away, David was trying to get in touch with publishers. In a last-ditch effort, he called Eidos to see if they'd be interested in seeing his demo in real-time 3D. They agreed, and so out set David, complete with backpack, carrying a powerful PC and the demo that would determine his future. While walking through the streets of London towards the Eidos Interactive headquarters, he met John Kavanagh, the Vice-President of Product Development. When he saw the demo at HQ, he was captivated. The studio would finally be able to sign with a publisher and find the money needed to continue the adventure. As project manager, Hervé Albertazzi (now a famous novelist and screenwriter) would oversee the development of the game on behalf of Eidos, and his ex-military stature would be a real attention grabber of the team.
For lovers of conceptual material
Anecdotally, David Cage was forced to wait for his contract to be translated into French (completed that very day), before signing it. It was about time, as there were still 3 days to go before the deadline.
Philip Campbell (The Senior Designer for Omikron/The Nomad Soul): « You'll find my notes on Omikron. These are my initial design responses I gave on the Omikron design for David Cage (files at bottom of page). »
By blending adventure, RPG, first-person shooter, 3D fighting and driving game mechanics, The Nomad Soul offers a level of gameplay variety that is rarely seen. Indeed, even David Cage would later admit to journalists that he had gone too far with his ideas, given the technical possibilities of the time. One thing's for sure though: this title was a precursor to open-world games that would follow, such as GTA and Saints Row.
With its newfound financial resources, Quantic Dream would start recruiting. The new team would grow to include five programmers headed by Fabien Fessard, and seven graphic designers, the latter headed by Olivier Demangel, who had a dual role as illustrator/animator.
Pierre Roux: « was only project manager when we signed with Eidos at the time we moved premises. Philippe was in charge of all the characters, and Tony was the lead animator. I was lead artist after we signed. »
From drawing to video games
The project could now really move into gear, and was scheduled for completion in 1 and a half years time, with a commitment to produce a PS1 port at the same time.
« David liked character names beginning with ”U" (a very depressing sound!) - Kail's original name in Omikron was Uzal.... I persuaded him to opt for more audience-friendly sounds like “K”... And I did my best to convince him not to call anyone Philip or Wayne!!!! At the time, I was in charge of the San Francisco office and our creative production, but at that point I was still working for Eidos. The French team at Quantic Dream only knew me as this weird Irish guy... I created designs - that's what I've always done! »
If you'd like to find out more about Philip Campbell's work on Omikron and his extraordinary career, I can only recommend this Eurogamer article: The amazing stories of a man you've never heard of
Antoine Viau: « During this phase, priority is given to the PC version and a parallel port to the PS1. “The game demo is ”sold" to Eidos, and development of the real product begins. The team is immediately expanded, we move into real premises (in fact, an apartment converted into professional offices) and hiring continues until the end of the project. As such, we “extended” the premises by renting another apartment on the same floor! For the anecdote, my workplace was right next to the bathroom (with bathtub). »
Most of the team was made up of newcomers, and this is reflected in many parts of the game.
Fortunately, Anne Devouassoux (co-founder), a new addition to the team, helped David Cage give structure to the company by taking on the administrative responsibilities, as well as managing human resources and external relations.
Bernard Bittler (see his Portfolio here) then quickly joined the team to create illustrations, some of which are used in the layout of this article, with a view to finalizing the technical documents to be sent to the publishers, who would also translate those documents into English.
A visit to the house of Uzal (Kail)
« Olivier Nallet (who began his career with the fabulous ”Super Burnout“ on the Atari Jaguar) played a key role on ”The Nomad Soul" and I think even afterwards. When he arrived, he totally updated our working methods and development organization. He brought incredible experience and expertise. I think I can even say that he saved the game, which was (in my memory) pretty much in the doldrums at the time. »
There was also Frédéric Hanoulle from “Buf” (La Buf Compagnie is a French visual effects company specializing in cinema, advertising and music videos) who brought a little structure/maturity.
Quantic Dream's vision of the future
Éric Seigaud: « At the start, The Nomad Soul was developed by a team of around 20 people—a number that grew significantly toward the end of the project, as pressure mounted to meet development milestones under Eidos’s demands. »
Development could be described as a cheerful mess and a grueling job, where "standard working hours" don't count! The atmosphere in the team though was good, and nicknames flew everywhere: “Fefesse”, “McFly”, ‘Grotony’, ‘Rico’ and “Le Boss”, all sounding like the jokes of a band of fun-loving enthusiasts - with little oversight from fun-hating human resources!. Like with all good nicknames they were obviously affectionate with no hint of actual malice.
Very similar to a Storyboard
Antoine Viau: « Back then, there was no 3D map. When a polygon was displayed, it had to be drawn manually in the code—what we call 'in software,' meaning the rendering was handled entirely by the software, not the hardware. At the time, I didn’t have the skills to write a routine that could render a polygon with proper 3D depth on the texture. So I reached out to my friend Simon Caby (husband of singer Cécile Corbel) for help. For reference, the PlayStation 1 has the same limitation, and there’s no real workaround. David ended up hiring Simon to do the job and licensed his technology. »
While the game doesn’t revolutionize controls, it offers a rare mix of gameplay styles—from first-person shooting to adventure to Tekken-style combat. All of this is elevated by smart camera work and a cinematic approach that was still uncommon in the industry at the time. The Nomad Soul arrived just as open-world games were beginning to take off, and it stands as one of the last titles that can truly claim to be original.
Pierre Roux: « Eidos wanted FPS levels like Half-Life, which was in vogue, but not Cage's taste; I'd worked on the supermarket with Tony, so we had to rethink everything, both visually and in terms of gameplay. Once the job was done, we were surprised to see that not all our work would be implemented in the final version, as is often the case in the making of a game. »
Éric Seigaud: « I was a 3D graphic designer and mapper, and also did a bit of design (because we were responsible for our levels). I designed “Aneckba” (the 1st level), the “red light district” (2nd level), the “snow level” as well as various interiors and all the interactive objects we could choose from. There were only 4 graphic designers, plus 2 mappers and 1 intern to make all the levels. »
What's more, while the title doesn't revolutionize handling, it does offer a rare variety of gameplay elements, from FPS to adventure to Tekken-inspired combat! All of this is enhanced by an effective use of camera management, a cinematic vision still far from ubiquitous in the videogame industry. Nomad Soul comes at just the right time in the burgeoning open-world trend. It will remain one of the last games that can claim to be original!
Antoine Viau: « For the record, we received a prototype 3D graphics card from Cirrus Logic (I think it didn’t support textures), and I ported the engine to it using DirectX 1.0. But we quickly abandoned the idea, since there were no guarantees about the card’s future. As it turned out, Cirrus Logic would completely miss the mark on graphics cards heading into the Y2K era. »
The project gains momentum and manages to move forward more quickly. Fabien solves collision problems, Philippe greatly optimizes the creation of NPCs (non-playable characters).
Éric Seigaud: « The atmosphere was good among the graphic designers, thanks to Olivier Demangel, who acted as a buffer between us, management and the programmers. »
By around November 1997, with the PC version progressing well, the game engine reached its final form. Graphically, the project was moving quickly, although some of the earlier groundwork had to be revisited.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « When I agreed to work with David, I started by 'working backward,' mainly optimizing all the resource-intensive PC formats. I was the most experienced member of the team, having worked in video games since 1985. On my own, I had as much cumulative experience as the rest of the team combined—but looking back, I find that rather sad. »
Omikron's real-time 3D engine after more than a year's work:
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SVGA display, 16 bit (65,000 colors) True Color
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3D card compatibility with Direct 3D (3DFX and Power VR)
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Gouraud mapped textures
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Z-mapping (determines the order in which elements are rendered)
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High-precision collision algorithm
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Rotation and Morph animation support in Motion Blending
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Multiple lighting effects - lighting, fog, drop shadows
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Dynamic data loading system
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Direct integration of animations in Motion Capture
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Motion Capture on faces in real time, interlaced with voices
Antoine Viau: « 3DFX was making a big entrance into the market, and I began porting the engine to their new platform—with help from a 3DFX engineer who came to my house on a Sunday morning, probably because he had to fly back to the U.S. on Monday. Other 3D cards started appearing too (I think ATI was one of them), so I ported the engine to DirectX and integrated the rest: DirectAudio, DirectInput... but eventually, that port was abandoned in favor of the Dreamcast. »
As can be seen, the Quantic Dream team increased its workforce once again to speed up development of The Nomad Soul, which had fallen further and further behind schedule.
Elisio Lima Da Costa: « Stéphane Elbaz and Loïc Normand were responsible for the art direction and the final look of the game, bringing a unique touch that ensured The Nomad Soul remained a truly original work, despite its technical limitations. »
The website will evolve with the new resources deployed
Communication was in full swing. In 1997, the press rushed to talk about the game, with two pages in the English magazine Edge (picked up by Next in the US the following month), a page in Joystick, a double-page spread in Playstation Magazine...
Éric Seigaud: « David Cage has always been a very good communicator, and what came out in the press was much more developed than the reality, so you have to be a good salesman! As for magazine content, it's all about communication. As for game reviews, the publisher has a big say in the final article, which is less true today with social networks. »
Motion capture and IAM systems
Philippe Aballéa was working on the integration of motion capture. Yes, Quantic Dream was in the process of implementing “Motion Capture” (an experimental technology developed at the time from medical research), with the help of professionals such as Pascal Gentil - double Olympic bronze medallist in Taekwondo. It was carried out by “Act Vision” in Dijon. This process was far from common at the time, but it gave the game a cinematic depth that would become the company's trademark.
Facial motion capture
« Act Vision » was no beginner, having already worked for the CNRS and NASA. The French company has contributed to films such as Pinocchio (1995) and Excalibur (1996), to name but a few. As for video games for which it is credited, Adidas Power Soccer and Dark Earth... are just a few examples.
Capable of processing 30 minutes of 3D body animation or one hour of 3D facial animation per week, Quantic Dream would offer an undeniable technological leap in animation.
That said, the work continued to demand flexibility from the teams. It was around this time that the Intelligent Adventurer Manager, or IAM, became fully operational. Quantic Dream developed this innovative system to avoid the overly predictable behavior of NPCs often seen in open-world games—a concern also being tackled by titles like Shenmue and Outcast at the time.
Interestingly, the team approached the issue from the opposite angle: instead of scripting a solution for every problem, they focused on ensuring that every problem had an available "off-the-shelf" solution that could be applied. A clever concept!
François Kermovant: « There was Simon Williams about the same age as Jean Charles Meyrignac who also had a lot of experience. He had started IAM, the scripting part of the game (Omikron), but he left (to Darkworks) during development, and was replaced by Stéphane Fournier. »
David Cage's girlfriend Sophie will be largely responsible for IAM, joined by Nathalie Chody and Audrey Leprince.
Making of The Nomad Soul
The intelligent narrative system wisely relies on text rather than voice, avoiding the clunky spoken translations associated with the IAM system and allowing for greater efficiency. The animation makes full use of motion capture, delivering a level of realism that surpassed most games of the era. This realism is reinforced by the strength of the 3D engine—though it wasn’t the most powerful of its time, it was still highly effective.
Daniel Cinglant in the middle of the derushage
Antoine Viau: « Despite everything, the game offers a rich and complex world, teeming with elements, a so-called open world, with original cyberpunk graphics that exuded quality. »
In 1998, the game was presented at CES in London with Bautista, Cage, Kavanagh, Albertazzi, Viau and Roux.
The musical aspect of the game
Where the game truly breaks new ground is in its sound design—an aspect often underestimated, yet absolutely essential. Given the game's consistently cinematic artistic direction, settling for anything less than high-quality audio would have been unthinkable. In film, it’s the music—not the visuals—that carries the emotional weight. The music sets the tone; the image simply reflects it.
Omikron the album
In May 1999, Eidos announced a collaboration with rock icon David Bowie, joined by his longtime guitarist and collaborator Reeves Gabrels. Together, they worked closely with the development team to produce original music for the game, including eight tracks from Bowie’s upcoming album Hours…, though the in-game versions were unique, with 35 instrumental variations tailored specifically for the experience.
Seamlessly aligned with Omikron’s distinct universe, the music elevated The Nomad Soul, helping it earn early critical praise. Bowie was thrilled with the partnership—even lending his likeness to the game, where he was brought to life as a digital character. Hype for the project quickly reached fever pitch, and public curiosity soared. But as development advanced, things grew increasingly difficult behind the scenes.
But before we return to the studio’s development struggles, let’s revisit the musical side of things—after all, music was David Cage’s first profession. At Eidos’s request, Cage put together a wishlist of artists he’d love to collaborate with on The Nomad Soul: Björk, Massive Attack, Archive, and David Bowie—who, in fact, was the last name on the list. Cage never expected Bowie to respond. To his surprise, he did.The meeting took place at Eidos’s London offices. Initially, Cage had hoped to license Bowie’s song Heroes for the game, but Bowie had other ideas. Instead, he proposed creating an entirely original album for it.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « The band originally approached to do the music for the game was Archive, but David Bowie also appeared at the time. »
Archive also spent time in the recording studio run by Xavier Despas, just after the release of their album Londinium, album link: https://www.albumrock.net/album-archive-londinium-407.html
David Bowie is not like other artists, and his ability to mix genres through experimentation is well known. This fruitful collaboration led to 2 hours of instrumental songs and also to his inclusion as an actor (voice and motion capture) in the game, performing what could be considered the first virtual in-game concert in videogame history! I remember that moment perfectly as a player, being able to sit back in a virtual bar and take part in a virtual David Bowie concert - a real first!
David Bowie in Omikron
David Bowie himself said he wanted warm harmonics in total opposition to Omikron's universe: « The world is becoming dehumanized, and music is taking over the humanist role of this universe. ».
Artificial Intelligence and algorithmic tools have been used in music composition for some time. One early example is Verbasizer, a program developed in 1995 for David Bowie, which rearranged words into unexpected combinations to generate lyrics—building on Bowie’s earlier cut-up writing technique.
David Bowie's transformations
The futuristic electronic music and rock soundtrack was very popular. Game characters could buy a virtual album by the equally virtual band “The Dreamers”, made up of Bowie, Gabrels and Gail Ann Dorsey. There were eight songs written by Bowie and Gabrels, eight instrumental versions of his songs and 26 other songs composed by Gabrels. Some songs from the soundtrack were also released on Bowie's “Hours” album. In a press conference, Bowie stated that his aim was to give an emotional dimension to the game's music, while working closely with Quantic Dream. In addition to the music, the game also featured sound effects and ambient tracks by Xavier Despas.
Bowie left us in early 2016 with over 140 million albums sold, as well as a handful of films... A body of work as dense as it was eclectic, making him one of the greatest artists of all time!
With so many resources committed, Eidos wanted results, even though the project was dragging on. Worse still, the publisher was suffering. The delays to Daikatana, which turned out to be one of the worst disappointments in video game history, were starting to take their toll, not to mention the fact that the “Tomb Raider” license was running out of steam, further weakening the company.
During a press conference at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Eidos presented the original music for Omikron, The Nomad Soul below.
David Bowie at the E3 conference
The « rock’n’roll » spirit is still alive and well at Quantic Dream, despite the arrival of new reinforcements.
The commercialization of Nomad Soul
In life, even when everything seems complete and perfectly executed, success is never guaranteed. The Quantic Dream team experienced this firsthand. The Nomad Soul received glowing reviews from the press, but the commercial response was mixed, leading to a somewhat disappointing overall impact.
Éric Seigaud: « Unfortunately, towards the end, Olivier and the main programmer (Fabien Fessard) left, and the atmosphere suffered as a result, especially as ego wars developed, and the arrival of new people didn't help matters. But all in all, work on The Nomad Soul PC (basic format) was enjoyable and the general atmosphere rather good. Olivier Demangel really held the graphics teams together in a human and creative way. »
Released in October 1999 on PC after nearly three years of development—and a great deal of hardship for the team—the game nonetheless earned critical acclaim. While it saw only a modest reception in the U.S. despite the praise, it still marked a major milestone: Time Magazine named Quantic Dream’s technology one of the 10 most innovative of 1999.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « When I left QD, I was burnt out, so I rushed to find work elsewhere and followed Fabien to Infogrames Paris, who had recommended me (we worked on Tintin Playstation). »
The marketing didn't seem to have been sufficiently supported by Eidos, and criticism was levelled at Eidos, leading to a certain desire for independence at Quantic Dream.
Antoine Viau: « We worked constantly, I eventually put on between 10 and 15 kgs and I was exhausted at the end. The project was planned for 1 and a half years but eventually exceeded 3 years. David was fully committed too, closing the door behind us at 3/4 in the morning. »
French promotional flyer
Sales were around 500,000 copies, with only 100,000 in the USA. Whether this was a project misunderstood by the American public, that the distribution and advertising were of poor quality, or both, it's hard to say.
Éric Seigaud: « I don't think the game was all that successful (but it did do very well in France and the UK), but the US didn't really get on board. Maybe that's why Eidos didn't want to continue - the sales numbers had cooled them off. What I'm telling you here is just my feeling, and can't be taken as fact! »
Perhaps the game was just too French for the American marketing department to sell the product...
« Now there's no ‘French touch’ at all, because all 3D engines look the same. »
The cancelled PS1 version
It was towards the end of development of the PC version that Eidos asked for a PlayStation (PS1) version, even though the game was originally intended for PS1, before being abandoned for PC .... following a request... from Eidos... The success of the console having, in the meantime, changed all that.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « David Cage was looking for someone to do the PSX version, but I didn't want to work on his project, which I felt was too vast. So I advised him to hire Frédéric Bautista, who was a personal friend of mine. »
Eidos logo
The graphics engine was ported, with existing assets being reused. The only difference was that the rendering engine was specific for each platform—PC, PlayStation, and Dreamcast.
« *The PSX version was in fact the same version as the PC version, with C macro-definitions to transform floating-point numbers to fixed-point numbers (”fixed point“), a well-known technique for converting floats to integers*. »
* A little technical background: In programming, there are integers and floating-point numbers. An integer is just an integer, whereas a float can be fractional, for example 0.123456. Floats are useful for things like rotations, where you might want more than integers for your rotations. Like 92.5 degrees, for example, but there's a trick to converting a floating-point number to an integer. It's actually 65536 / 360.
Tsoa Rakotoarisoa: « I joined Quantic Dream in late 1998 and stayed for a year. I was absolutely thrilled to be hired. Before that, I’d been at Shen Technologies (like Olivier Nallet), and this new role felt like a real breath of fresh air. I had a great time playing Tekken with David. At the end of each day, he’d come over with a mischievous grin and say, 'So, ready for your beating? He knew exactly how to push my buttons. And sure enough, I’d always get destroyed—but I was the only one landing those 10-string combos. It was a blast! »
Quantic Dream animated logo
The start of the PlayStation development thus began, but Frédéric Baustita left the studio shortly afterwards. It was Jean-Charles Meyrignac who, having previously worked for Quantic Dream and being available since he was unemployed, took over.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « As I was unemployed, David had hired me before, so I reluctantly agreed to take over on the PSX version. »
The developers began porting the PC graphics to the PS1, with, of course, enormous constraints; switching from 256-color to 16-color textures with “Deluxe Paint”, forcing them to redo all the textures, carrying out Z-buffer correction (a technique that consists in determining which elements of the scene should be rendered, which should be hidden) all by hand.
Tsoa Rakotoarisoa: « I was part of the team in charge of porting the PC version to PlayStation. I had previously worked on “Adidas Power Soccer 98”. My job was to rework the textures in 16 colors and adapt them for the PSX, which was an exciting challenge. »
The PSX's framebuffer, with just 1 MB of visual memory, limits the possibilities, and it becomes increasingly complex to display all the game's elements.
Olivier Nallet: « Jean-Charles Meyrignac and Christophe Vivet were part of the PS1 team. I was the tech lead. After about 6 months (at the end of 1998) we abandoned this version to concentrate on the PC. I became Tech Lead on Omikron PC to finish the game, as the project was already a year behind schedule and we weren't sure we could finish it in time for the new dates. »
The PSX port was complex, as there were too many performance-related technical limitations, such as a memory of only 2 Megabytes, compared with the PCs of the time, which had 16X more. The PlayStation version was abandoned because the game was getting so big on the PC that the Team could no longer fit it on the PSX.
On Dreamcast, each language had its own cover.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « For the PSX version, I mainly wrote tools to compress PC data, which was ultimately used for the PSX version. I rewrote just about all the formats to make them more compact and memory-friendly (except for the script compiler, written by Olivier Nallet). We struggled to make the game fit in memory. Eventually, the code grew so large that it no longer fit on a Playstation. »
The PlayStation version was a long way from being finished. 5 to 10% had been completed. Although the graphics were ready, the technical side was not.
Éric Seigaud: « I was head graphic designer, working on all the levels with 3 other graphic designers. We did 3 levels before Eidos abandoned the project. This version of the game was essentially another version entirely. »
At this point, the rift with the publisher came to a head. Several months after Eidos had decided to abandon the project, a very major publisher wanted to buy the version and finish it, but Quantic Dream refused, as it was more interested in working on Fahrenheit. At the time, this was a persistent rumor, but one that was never confirmed by David Cage.
Tsoa Rakotoarisoa: « For me, Quantic Dream was a paradise, although it wasn't easy for everyone. David Cage was the only one who knew how to reward his employees. I left to discover new horizons and enrich myself personally and professionally (Studio Kalisto). David Cage really wanted to keep me, but he understood my choices and our relationship was very good. »
One thing is certain: the PlayStation version has been cancelled for the second time, a blow that will have an impact on sales due to its absence on the most popular console.
Éric Seigaud: « One thing's for sure: it's got a cult following, which might explain why this major publisher wanted to produce the PS1 version afterwards. I do have some material in my archives, but unfortunately I can't distribute it without Quantic Dream's agreement. »
The Dreamcast version
As Eidos insisted on having a console version, and the limitations of the PSX meant that it was outdated, it was decided to port the game to the Dreamcast. It's not as good as the PC version due to a lack of optimization, but the differences are minimal.
French Dreamcast version
Olivier Nallet: « After the PC release, Jean-Charles, Christophe, François and I went straight back to work on the Dreamcast version. I was still the tech lead. We used the various optimizations (especially in terms of memory) we had for the PS1 to release the Dreamcast version (which helped a lot). We converted from PC to Dreamcast in a record time of just 3 months, which was really intense. »
A Dreamcast version was released in May 2000. It was produced by a small team of coders including François Kermovant, in charge of porting the graphics engine.
Antoine Viau: « He's the one who managed the entire engine porting to DC on his own. Quite a performance! »
As François Kermovant explains, it was really a crack team that started the Dreamcast conversion on its own, beginning with the discovery of the development kit and the porting of the graphics engine (from Directx PC to Shinobi Katana). The “PS1” team arrived shortly afterwards to help with the Dreamast port.
François Kermovant: « I started out on my own - I think I'd become unbearable, living on my own in the apartment next door that Quantic had just rented. Then Olivier, Jean Charles, Christophe and I were joined by Bérenger Dewazière, who took care of the sound, which was no mean feat. Amar Amadi lent a hand with the graphics (which I messed up in part by switching textures to VQ* format, but it was hard to do better in the time available). I think Fabien Fessard left at that point. »
*Clarification on the Vector Quantization texture compression format: the Dreamcast's video chip supports this process, enabling rendering directly from textures compressed to 2 bits/pixel. Vectors in this case are 2x2 blocks of pixels, or 12 dimensions. Compression is good, but slow.
American Dreamcast version
Philip Campbell: « There had been a lot of justified excitement around Omikron, from the first demo at E3 to all the rave reviews during development. We were criticized in the U.S. and the U.K. - all the elements didn't really work together. Not being on Playstation was a blow. Eidos itself asked for a lot of changes during development, some of which didn't help. In particular, the transition from third-person view to first-person shooter. It really hurt and the levels weren't optimized. I still maintain that the game was ahead of its time !!!! " »
Did you know?
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The game's hero has the dimensions of David Cage, so he's personified in this dystopian world, so to speak.
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Along with “Ne me quitte pas”, “Amsterdam” is Jacques Brel's most famous song. A song that Brel didn't really believe in, it was never recorded in the studio. Funnily enough, it was covered by David Bowie.
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The game was offered for free to the public on the day of David Bowie's death.
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David Cage's 4 rules for making a successful video game: Rule number 1: The right demo - Rule number 2: Gain self-confidence - Rule number 3: Be vigilant - Rule number 4: Believe.
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Campbell (his website can be found here) would later leave Eidos to join Quantic Dream as Creative Director. He was one of those impressed by Cage's vision. The nickname “Foggy” was coined by Campbell when he first met Cage at E3. You can find this nickname in Campbell's documents when he addresses Cage.
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The actor who played host Lance Boyle in MegaRace was Christian Erickson. Prior to this role, Erickson had made small appearances in films such as Fun with Dick and Jane and Les Liaisons dangereuses. MegaRace was his first leading role. He subsequently lent his talent to many other video games (in addition to MegaRace 2 and MegaRace 3), including Quantic Dream games such as The Nomad Soul, Fahrenheit (known in the U.S. as Indigo Prophecy)
Omikron's decodex (Letters and numbers)
A = ⅃ - B = Ʒ - C = < - D = > - E = ꞊ - F = f - G = ʕ
H = ʌ - I = ◆ - J = ⅃ - K = k - L = ꓶ - M = ʍ - N = ∩
O = ○ - P = ʖ - Q = ʕ - R = ɏ - S = Ƨ - T = +/t U = ∩
V = √ - W = ʍ - X = X - Y = ɏ - Z = Ƹ
1 = 1 - 2 = 2 - 3 = Ǝ - 4 = ᘔ - 5 = Ʒ - 6 = ʘ - 7 = ǂ - 8 = ʘ - 9 = Ϩ
To new adventures...
One thing is certain: the Quantic Dream studio needed new investors for its new projects, and that will be achieved in July 2000, via the financial groups “Initiative & Finance & Gestion” and “Odyssee Venture”. A Quantic Dream office was set up in the USA, to better adapt to the American market.
Jean-Charles Meyrignac: « There was great energy from all the participants, but this game killed the team. »
Sébastien Sassolas (representing Odysse Venture investors) was, at the time, clearly impressed by Quantic Dream's results and development plan. The quality of management and the amount of capital involved convinced them that, with the right financial backing, QD was ready to play a major role in the Entertainment Industry in the years to come. As it happens, that's still the case 20 years on!
The first Quantic Dream logo
Tsoa Rakotoarisoa: « I remember David used to talk to us a lot, but we sometimes found it hard to make sense of all his ideas; he had a very prolific mind. Today, I'm able to assimilate some of the things he said that seemed unclear to me at the time, such as the importance of the video game medium, his artistic vision, questioning and choices. In the end, it was all about conveying emotions through art. I have very fond memories of that period. It was a very enriching time and a great joy for me to have been part of this revolutionary project for its time. »
Everything started to feel like it was going smoothly once more at Quantic Dreams. Sadly, a new game, “Quark”, was in development but was ultimately cancelled, as is “(B)last”.
More adventures to come in future episodes, with as many stories and anecdotes as ever!
Text and research by: Romain Villez
The Nomad Soul prototype available for download
Analysis of the European prototype of Nomad Soul Dreamcast reveals that the build was created on March 15, 2000, referring to its IP.BIN (a small program that initiates the start-up of a Dreamcast game). This beta (V1.002) of Quantic Dream's famous title was burned about 1 month before it went GOLD (V1.003, April 14, 2000). Please note that the file timestamps for the prototypical and final versions of the game are wrong.
The prototype reveals differences in the code only, nothing visible on screen apart from a last-minute change to a line:
V1.002: You'r in on of the Awakend's secret bases
V1.003: You'r in on of the secret bases of the Awakend's
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You can download this build of The Nomad Soul Dreamcast below
Omikron documents available for download
The documents below are drafts of the game’s unfinished scripts from late 1997. Philip Campbell, who archived them (thanks to him), carefully analyzes David Cage’s original script, sharing his questions and feedback directly with him. He also offers corrections and suggestions for improvements, such as fixing consistency issues and reconsidering the relevance of harvestable objects, as well as highlighting what he liked. Here are some examples:
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RANDOM: Do single-use items disappear after use? - I like the Resident Evil/multiplan system...
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RANDOM: L'Argent (Money) - can you also sell objects in the shops?
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SECTION 2 - 24. Mission Docks / Prison De Pamoka: The prison mechanic seems to work well, this is similar to a golden eye mission where you are in prison and you free the girl.
Feedback (comments, questions): Why should they put you in prison, and not kill you? - what is the story between Mashroud, the demons, the player and the Eveilles? Mashroud must have a different agenda ( to find the base) or Namtar would have told him - perhaps I am a little confused here and should read the rest of the story! I guess - the demons want to destroy EVERYONE, police, trusts etc., so it is possible that Namtar would use you to gain access for the demons somewhere. I only think of making one of the missions have this as there are a lot of missions! The demons could finish off the assassination, while you watch in horror? ( you can get close to him, they can't?)
At Quantic Dream, they were fine-tuning the script for The Nomad Soul/Omikron at the time. It wasn't set in stone. Since the game was constantly evolving, everything was constantly changing. Between feedback on the game's story and progression (downloadable below in Word format) and the adventure players would ultimately experience, the development team would rename places and characters. For example, the Uzal mentioned in the “Bonjour” document will be called Kay'l.
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Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank the developers of The Nomad Soul who answered my questions for their availability, kindness and for providing us with conceptual material. Their testimonials bring new insights into the behind-the-scenes development of Omikron PC, Dreamcast and PlayStation 1. Here they are:
Florian Desforges : Game Design, Tech Demo
Philip Campbell : Senior Designer
I'd also like to thank everyone involved in The Nomad Soul/Omikron project (MobyGames link). Will The Nomad Soul 2 ever be released?
Special thanks to:
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Romain Villiez for his research on Quantic Dream and the writing of this article
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Neil Riddaway for the English correction of the article
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Brainjamain and JoPe from the Life is a Video Game assocation for proofreading and editing the French texts
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