An old and storied franchise will make a major foray into gaming with the upcoming Tintin Reporter - Cigars of the Pharaoh. The title, developed by Pendulo Studios and published by Microïds, will be the latest adaptation of the near century-old tales of youth journalist Tintin.
Tintin has inspired gamers even before the upcoming adaptation of one of his best-known adventures, with the famous Captain Haddock being remade in Red Dead Online. With that kind of love even after 90 years, it’s no surprise that Cigars of the Pharaoh is a hotly anticipated title. Game ZXC discussed the upcoming adventure title with Charles Leveugle, product manager at Microïds, who shared the story of Cigars’ adaptation, as well as his insights into Tintin himself. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Q: There are dozens of Tintin adventures to choose from - what drew you to choose "Cigars of the Pharaoh" to adapt?
A: “Cigars of the Pharaoh” may be the 4th album of the Adventures of Tintin, but it is for us the first Tintin album to be this “video game-compatible.” It is a very important album for the adventures of Tintin because it is the first album to feature different countries and environments and some iconic characters such as the Thompsons or Oliveira de Figueira (or, careful for spoilers, Tintin’s archenemy Rastapopoulos!).
With all these characters to interact with, all these different environments, and sequences to adapt, our choice was quite evident as we wanted to offer a proper adventure game, a “complete” experience with diverse gameplay to apprehend.
Q: For readers unfamiliar with Cigars of the Pharaoh, could you speak briefly about what happens in the comic adventure?
A: “Cigars of the Pharaoh,” the comic book, starts with Tintin & Snowy cruising on the Mediterranean Sea. Tintin was assigned a mission to Shanghai, but he decides to take a large detour to reach the Chinese city. On the boat, they meet with Professor Sarcophagus, an Egyptologist who invites them to find and visit the Tomb of Kih-Oskh, a mysterious Pharaoh.
This is the beginning of a thrilling adventure for Tintin & Snowy as it will lead them to Egypt, but also Arabia and India – and they will end up fighting a gigantic drug-trafficking network. Classic 15-year-old reporter job, isn’t it?
Q: Snowy, Tintin's dog, is of course an extremely good boy. What can you tell us about his role specifically?
A: Tintin would be nothing without Snowy. This rule still applies to our video game: Snowy has a big role to play in the Cigars of the Pharaoh adventure, as he can unlock some perilous situations, find objects, and/or solve riddles… among other very useful canine skills! Unfortunately, we cannot tell you more about all the situations Snowy will be involved in, that would be a major spoiler!
Q: Could you describe the process of adapting a 1930s comic to a video game, as well as any particular challenges?
A: Adapting a 2D character into a 3D version of himself, and the same for the whole world around him, is always a challenge. Fortunately, we at Microïds have experience in this kind of adaptation, and we know what kind of talent is required to do the best job possible in doing so. The teams at Pendulo Studios have done a great job on Yesterday Origins and Vertigo, but also on another adaptation of a comics icon: Blacksad.
This way, with the great help of Tintinimaginatio and their providing of Hergé’s complete notes and precious remarks and tools to be 100% faithful to the master’s work, Pendulo Studios really did a comprehensive preproduction work to make sure the game was coherent and relatable to the 1930s.
As for the particular challenges, the biggest one was of course the translation of Tintin’s and Snowy’s 2D bodies into a 3D system. There have been a lot of interactions between Tintinimaginatio, Pendulo Studios, and Microïds to make sure to have the best 3D version of all characters. And we are all very proud of the result!
Q: Is there any part of this specific story you wanted to adapt but couldn't?
A: The first condition for us working with Tintin and Tintinimaginatio was to respect the comics in its entirety. This is the reason why the “skeleton” of the game, its main structure, IS the story of the “Cigars of the Pharaoh” comics. No panel was left behind, and no twists or secondary characters were forgotten.
On the contrary, we had the opportunity to add some “meat” to this skeleton and make the gaming experience thicker. As a result, the game is completely faithful to the original “Cigars” story, but with a great deal of additional elements such as NPCs (absent or less exploited in the comics) or environments.
Q: What other Tintin adventures would like to adapt into video game format in the future?
A: Well, if we focus on the “Cigars” diptych, the next adventure we would love to work on is the “Blue Lotus” – as it is the direct sequel of the “Cigars.”
As far as I’m concerned, as a Tintin fan, I would love to work on the video game adaptation of “The Seven Crystal Balls” because I used to be so terrified by the anime series version of it. I am very curious about what we could do with an antagonist so dreadful as Rascar Capac!
Q: "Cigars" is one of the earliest Tintin stories, and takes place before Tintin met a lot of his most iconic supporting cast such as Captain Haddock. Does the game stick to this or might we see any cameos from familiar faces who debuted later in the series?
A: It has been such a long time since Tintin has had a video game adventure, so we thought it would be nice to adapt early Tintin stories to give this character a proper IP reboot in a video game format. Of course, this leaves us with the one and only Snowy as a trustworthy supporting character. Our will to be 100% faithful to the “Cigars” album made us stick to this strategy.
But do not worry guys, if the game meets the success it deserves, we will get to Captain Haddock!
Q: Are there any specific puzzles you think will really stump players?
A: We implemented several puzzles to solve in Tintin Reporter - Cigars of the Pharaoh. We want the players to embrace the adventure just like Tintin would, and it has to feature a great deal of riddles to overcome. We want the game to be accessible to all kinds of gamers, but there are still some puzzles that can be a little “tricky.”
I would give a special mention to one specific puzzle the players will find in Pharaoh Kih-Oskh’s tomb, featuring a balance of souls – it is not “that” tricky, but it is a beautiful puzzle to solve.
Q: Changing gears a bit, who do you think would win in a fight, Thomson or Thompson?
A: Actually, we are unable to answer this difficult a question! Honestly, I think neither Tintinimaginatio, nor Hergé himself could answer! The thing, with Thomson & Thompson, is that they are both absolutely inefficient in a fight… So I really don’t know… Let’s settle for a draw, or better: for a double KO!
Q: What kind of Cigars do you think a Pharaoh would smoke?
A: After a little research, it has been proven that Pharaohs did NOT smoke cigars!
So we do not know what to tell you guys… but we are quite sure that Kih-Oskh would have been an exemplary sovereign – so that excludes smoking cigars!
Q: Which character in all the Tintin comics do you think has the most magnificent facial hair?
A: Well… sure thing it’s not Tintin!
I believe I can answer Captain Haddock… or maybe Thomson and Thompson.
Q: What would Tintin's favorite puzzle game be, if he had access to video games?
A: Should he have access to the Cigars video game, I would say that Tintin’s favorite puzzle game would be the ones you can find in the Kih-Oskh tomb. Because they are the first to be encountered in the game, and they are properly enchanting – these puzzles really put you in the steps of a “real” archaeologist!
If I was Tintin, I would surely love to face those mysterious Egyptian puzzles!
Q: My personal favorite moment in the "Cigars" comic is when the Sheikh reveals he knows who Tintin is because he's somehow gotten ahold of published Tintin comics from the "real world." How does that moment translate to the video game medium? (If you can say)
A: Breaking the fourth wall like this was an unexpected but savory tour de force by Hergé!
Of course, we had to pay our respects to this iconic moment of the “Cigars” comic… and we did it! But I can’t tell you what it’s going to look like, that would be a major spoiler! All I can assure you is that this particular sequence will be, just like in the comic, a peaceful and cheerful moment for Tintin – and so, for the player.
Q: What if instead of Snowy, Tintin had to be accompanied by another iconic video game animal companion. Who would you choose?
A: Tintin and Snowy are such a complementary duo that it would be a shame to replace the dog with another animal…But should I do this kind of exercise, I would do it with other animals we, at Microïds, have already been working on… such as Garfield! Or an army of Smurfs, maybe?
But let’s face it, there is no Tintin without Snowy, end of discussion.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: Well I guess it shows, but I would like to remind the readers that this game has been made by real Tintin fans, and we put our best efforts to make the game 100% faithful to Tintin’s spirit. We are confident that the game will please both Tintin fans and adventure game enthusiasts, and we can’t wait for it to be released to gather all the feedback from both universes!
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Tintin Reporter - Cigars of the Pharaoh releases November 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch version will release in 2024.