Meet The Team is an offbeat interview with the studio’s talents. Get to know us, discover our backgrounds, our favorite games, our life at Ubisoft and our hidden talents! This time let’s meet Laurent Chartrey, Lead Versioning & Tools Support on several projects at the studio.
Hi Laurent, do you play games?
My first gaming experiences were on the Amstrad CPC computer. On my first console, the NES, I played Super Mario and Zelda on cartridge. Then I turned to the AMIGA 500, and as I grew up, to games on PC, Playstation and Xbox. Today, I’m more of a PC gamer.
I play different types of games. Right now I’m on Horizon Forbidden West, Pathfinder and League of Legends for the cooperative side. I don’t have a favorite genre but I like to try deck games like Hearthstone or Roguebook. As far as narrative games are concerned, I am very fond of Disco Elysium.
I know that games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring are popular right now, but I don’t have enough patience to learn the boss patterns even if the universe is beautiful.
What is the video game that has marked you the most?
I would have to say World of Warcraft because I was playing in a guild and there were 40 of us coordinating in voice on boss fights. It was a great human experience.
My favorite character today is Mario! This mustachioed plumber symbolizes for me good mood, joy and benevolence. Whenever I see him, he relaxes me and makes me laugh. Mario also represents all the good times spent in the Nintendo universe with my brother.
What is your typical day like?
As Lead Versioning & Tools Support, my team develops, among other things, tools to check the consistency of game data, automate versioning and testing procedures. My role is to help them work together.
The fact that I’m working on two projects at the same time (BGE2 and Skull & Bones) allows me to see the way each project works and to influence them while encouraging my team to develop transversal tools for other projects.
I don’t really have a typical day because every day we take on new challenges, I don’t know what will happen. One day I’ll be talking to other studios, another I’ll be working on new tools. My job means that I have to be able to react to incidents and unforeseen events. Every day is an adventure and that’s what I like about my job.
Do you have an anecdote to share with us?
I remember a teambuilding, where with the Watch Dogs team, we did a whole day of karting. It was a beautiful sunny day spent playing competitively, talking, challenging each other!
If you could work on another Ubisoft game, what would it be?
I worked on Just Dance, Watch Dogs, Skull & Bones, Beyond Good & Evil 2 but not directly on an Assassins. I liked Assassins Creed Valhalla and would choose this project for its triple-A game scale. The pipelines and collaboration with different studios is very rewarding. Assassins Creed is an inspiring, anticipated game, and the storytelling and historical reality of it makes it very relatable to players.
Are you a dog or a cat person?
I grew up with Dobermans and I must say that they are adorable despite their reputation. I don’t have anything against cats, I had them too and I was attached to them, but I love dogs. I always want to jump on them when I see one!
What is the last book, movie or series you have seen or read?
Mistborn: The Final Empire. It’s a fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson. Other people on my team really like it too. I loved the Dune books, and really enjoyed the movie that was recently released. Otherwise, I loved the Arcane anime series. I watch some anime like Demon Slayer too.
Your favorite punchline?
I memorized this quote from The Dune Book when I was a kid: I interpreted it as a phrase to reassure yourself when you’re scared.
I don’t know fear, because fear kills the spirit. Fear is the small death that leads to total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will allow it to pass over me, through me. And when it has passed, I will turn my inner eye on its path. And where it has passed, there will be nothing. Nothing but me.
Credits :
Editor : Jennifer Lufau
Graphic Artist : Stéphanie Guérin
