During our visit to the Ankama Games premises for the Krosmonote, we were lucky enough to be welcomed by Julien and his team. Very often known as major players in the promotion of the company’s games, they also have an important role to play in most Ankama productions. Support for communication around video games, publishing, animation, or even the Ankama Shop, they are on all fronts! Dive into the heart of the creative cell of Roubaix society with us.
A team with diverse skills
On the front line when you enter the open space dedicated to the creative unit, Julien, team manager, was the first to answer our questions. Present as much on graphics as on websites, exhibitions and derivative products, he worked on the model of the WAKFU site, among other things. For example, for the 1.74 update, the “Shukrute”. The opportunity for him to explain to us the organization of work within this pole.
Firstly, Maba, an illustrator for 10 years at Ankama, is responsible for providing illustrations. They are then used to create the structure of the site. They will also be used by the various social networks to highlight the update. Then, everything is laid out on the site to allow players to discover (sometimes in preview) the content that will be offered.
An illustrator to impress them all
If you have been part of the DOFUS community for several years, you must have had the opportunity, at one time or another, to hear about Maba. In most cases, it takes the in-game design of the characters and turns them into detailed illustrations. But it also happened that his illustrations were the starting point for the creation of the sprite of a character in game! The same goes for environments and sets, whether for DOFUS, DOFUS Touch, WAKFU or even DOFUS Retro.
“Which is already a lot of things to do! (laughs)”
“My job is to create everything that is visual, highlighting game elements (monsters, bosses, heroes, protagonists…) and putting them in eloquent or epic situations that say a little more about the game and what awaits the players. »
Omnipresent transmedia projects
During our interview with the creative pole, one thing became certain: they are present everywhere. And although this is at first a surprise, it is an indisputable truth. We were lucky enough to be able to see some of their creations, intended for social networks, websites of DOFUS and WAKFU or even atAnkama Shop. Because an update like that of WAKFU benefits from several highlights.
As for example with The Shushette, a beer in partnership with the Flamand Country Brewery “Anosteké” accompanied by its Stone – Leaf – Scissor coasters. Or a lemonade, The Shupinette, with a good taste of blackcurrant. All these products pass through the hands of the team, with the same objective of making players want to.
Unsurprisingly, it’s also a good opportunity to boost sales in the Ankama Shop. Collectors and fans are numerous and appreciate this kind of creations.
It was Samuel and Nathan who worked on these products. Like Rébecca, they are graphic designers and work on communication in general within Ankama’s creative unit. Everything that comes out publicly from Ankama (or almost) passes through their hands at one time or another. Web, print… Whether related to games, derivative products from the Ankama Shop or Ankama Edition. Everything goes there.
In any case, this is an opinion shared by the graphic designers of the creative unit!
Bonta or Brakmar?
Some updates can sometimes create tension. Especially when for the latest update of DOFUS, we had to choose between Team Bonta or Team Brakmar! Fortunately, whatever your choice, the creative cell has worked for your good pleasure.
“It’s not for me to say if Bonta is better than the rest. »
Nathan
Sweaters, mugs, notebooks, scarves and other fan accessories have been created and promoted for this Update. And it was on the presentation of the various goodies that we let the creative unit return to its work. Because as we have clarified JulianAnkama’s creative unit “doesn’t work on games. But we try to promote the games to make them nice, to go along with all that.”.
