This week, we got a chance to have a quick chat with Stéphane Laurin from Sarbakan, easily one of the most ambitious companies in the gaming industry today. While they may not be a household name everywhere just yet, this studio from Quebec has developed and released over 600 web-based, downloadable, and handheld games since being founded in 1998. Anyone who has spent hours screaming at their computer screen while trying to overcome the complexities of Goodnight Mr. Snoozleberg has Sarbakan to thank. They are also the masterminds behind the wildly fun XBLA title Lazy Raiders as well as many, many other games. This brief Sarbakan interview covers their recent foray into console gaming, the upcoming Little Noir Stories, and other things we should expect in the near future.

I’m sure our readers would like to know who we’re talking to, so if you don’t mind, please tell us a bit about yourself, Sarbakan, and what you do there.
My name is Stéphane Laurin, and I am the Vice President of Business Development at Sarbakan Game Studio, a world-renowned game studio specializing in global cross-platform development and original game creation. I am responsible for securing Sarbakan’s business partnerships as we move into cross platform development for console and social gaming. Most recently, we finished and released Lazy Raiders, our first XBLA title.

Sarbakan is an interesting name. Would you mind explaining where this name came from?
The word Sarbakan means a blowgun, a traditional hunting weapon used by some tribes of South America. We love our name!

You guys and gals have impressively created hundreds of browser-based games—as well as a few handheld games—over the last several years. How does it feel to finally make the jump into the console market?
We are incredibly excited to be moving into the console title development! Over the past few years, downloadable console titles have gained incredible popularity and acceptance in the market, and we look forward to bringing our talents and industry relationships to the console audience. As it stands, Sarbakan is one of the few independent studios large enough to develop both branded console and social games, as well as our own original titles.

I have seen some people complain that Lazy Raiders had no multiplayer mode, but quite frankly, I don’t know that it would have worked properly, given the nature of the game. But a multiplayer versus mode had been designed at one point, correct? Could you explain how it worked and why it was scrapped?
In the beginning development process for Lazy Raiders, we planned to include several multi-player modes, which included co-op and versus. In Versus mode, players engage in split screen mayhem as they each race throughout the maze, attempting to acquire relics as fast as possible. The twist was that every time a player destroyed a trap on their side, it appeared on their opponents side.

We chose to remove this feature from Lazy Raiders in order to streamline the single player experience. That said, this feature may appear in a possible future adventure.

It has been stated before there is no DLC for Lazy Raiders in the works, but personally, I would love to see more levels. Has there been much demand for extra content or is the game going to remain as-is?
Currently, we have no plans to release additional DLC content for Lazy Raiders. We wanted to offer players a full gaming experience from the start. Our console development team is currently in pre-production on a brand new project, which will feature extensive DLC content.

Of the 600+ games created so far, many of them have been contracted, but how many of them are original Sarbakan creations not based on a pre-existing license?
Over our 12 years existence as a studio, Sarbakan has created many exciting and original titles, such as Goodnight Mr. Snoozleberg, Steppenwolf, Firechild, Wordmaster and Lazy Raiders. We are also very excited to be putting the final touches on our newest original IP Little Noir Stories: The Case of the Missing Girl.
[G3: That makes 21 original IP's!]

Little Noir Stories really seems to bring a positive change to the genre of hidden-object games, but so little information is currently available. What can you tell us about the game?
With Little Noir Stories, we really wanted to put the emphasis on the storyline. We wanted players to remember it long after completing the game, to become emotionally connected with the cast of characters. Things may appear pretty familiar at first, but be prepared for surprises and dramatic secrets unveiling.

Little Noir Stories places players into the scene of an ongoing investigation. As developers, it was our task to interlace the adventure and the hidden object gameplay together. Every item you find, every conversation you have, and every puzzle you solve, is meaningful and directly helps you make progress towards solving your case.

The story and the player’s progress relies on the teamwork between Anton Muller, an ex-cop with a troubled past, and Amelia Chandler, an independent investigator.

Is this expected to be an ongoing series?
We are very excited to be releasing Little Noir Stories, and will be looking closely at how our audience responds.

The web site still lists it as Coming Soon. Can we get a general idea of when the game might get a public release in North America?
Just add “very very” between “coming” and “soon” and you’ll get a pretty good idea. The game is complete. We’re just polishing the edges! Seek it out at Big Fish Games.

There have been several hints online that Sarbakan has a lot of other surprises planned for us in the near future. Is there anything you can share with us about these supposed games? Are any of them expected to be available on consoles?
Sarbakan’s main focus for this year is on console development. Through our success with Lazy Raiders, we were able to dramatically increase our visibility in the console development world, and our current projects have received incredibly positive reactions from the game publisher community. Stay tuned for many more public announcements in 2010.

What about currently? Are there any other games being worked on as we speak?
The next console game will be a fresh new IP and a surprising game. Stay tuned for more news updates in the near future!

As much as I would have loved to keep going, I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I felt it was best to go ahead and wrap things up right here. As you can see, a few things are still hush-hush, but it looks like we have a lot to look forward to. I would like to thank Stéphane for taking this time to speak with me, and I would also like to extend my gratitude towards Sarbakan for their quality gaming experiences. If you would like more information about Sarbakan, feel free to visit their web site. Also be sure to give Lazy Raiders a try and keep an eye out for Little Noir Stories: The Case of the Missing Girl and any future announcements.