Bientôt l’été is spoken in French and subtitled in English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish and Russian.
Smoke, drink, play music, play Chess™, speak French (to others!), walk along an Earth sea shore and discover its strangely absurd and picturesque secrets. All from the comfort of your orbital station’s polypurpose deck.

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The Intergalactic Holocom Transmitter II is a state of the art virtual reality simulation and communication unit specifically designed for deep space conditions. No matter how large or small the polypurpose deck of your orbital station, the IHTII can be configured to fit any situation (cylindrical, cubical, hexagonal and even spherical and torus-shaped configurations are possible). Despite of its convenient size and ease-of-use, the IHTII is equipped with the most powerful realtime holocom processor and virtual translocator of its generation. The psycho-realism of its rendering engine will astound you and the proprietary built-in symbol/meaning mapping algorithms will leave you breathless.

S. Thala LLC has dedicated all its resources to your comfort and delight. For a limited time the IHTII will be shipped with an exclusive version of the T. Beach* projector, inspired by the legendary work of 20th century Earth novelist Marguerite Duras, including the critically acclaimed U. Bridge* French café simulation that enables cross-galactic communication with other IHT units of any generation.
image T. Beach* is a monument of physio-amorous reflection. A trailblazer in its own time, it continues to top intergalactic holoperience charts to this day. Coupled with the U. Bridge* multi-user grid, it provides for one of the most profound muse-inducing experiences on all platforms.

Life on an orbital station does not need to be lonely or boring anymore. And our research has shown that exposure to psycho-motoric induction has a beneficial effect on the vitality and longevity of most organs of its user. S. Thala LLC provides considerable discounts for bulk purchases by registered employers.

In the unlikely case that your station is so remote that even the hugely powerful C-Beam transmitters of the IHTII cannot reach, the U. Bridge* program will generate a virtual antagonist that will make you wonder why you ever bothered playing with other astronauts in the first place.


* T. Beach and U. Bridge are heterosexual programs. Users stationed in the Desbaresdes belt and current or former citizens of the Chauvin system are advised to use with caution. Furthermore, the U. Bridge grid is limited to a maximum of two simultaneous users. Users with Stretter condition are recommended to consult their physicians before engaging. S. Thala LLC rejects all responsibility for inappropriate use.

Two-player mode requires an Internet connection (offline play simulation is also available).
Bientôt l’été is available for Mac OS X and Windows PC.
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The soundtrack is available on bandcamp.
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The following extras are available.
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Bientôt l’été is an interactive computer program that requires 3D hardware acceleration.

Bientôt l’été is an interactive program that uses realtime 3D videogame technology. In one part of the program you control an avatar —man or woman, the choice is yours— who walks on a simulated beach. Poetic phrases about love and loss roll in on the waves. These phrases are then taken inside, in the second part. Here you exchange moves on a chess board with another person on the internet, presumably playing your lover. You don't know who they are as the system matches you up automatically.

For more information, follow the development blog, browse through our reference material, or simply email us.
System requirements

Recent Mac OS X or Windows computer with decent 3D hardware acceleration.

Mac computers should be of the "Pro" type, or iMac. Windows computers should have a videocard suitable for 3D (Geforce 7600, Radeon X1600 or better).
Processor: 2Ghz or faster.
Memory: 2 GB or more. Extravagant: 4 GB or more.
Disk space: 500 MB. Extravagant: 1.5 GB.
Bientôt l’été was featured in these events:


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Click the buttons in the picture to browse through screenshots.

Read what the critics are saying about Bientôt l’été.

Fast company - "Bientôt l’été resonates like an accomplished painting or a good piece of music."

The Verge - "Finally, a video game as artistic and hard to understand as French films."

Akimbo - "I was at times elated by the beauty of the sentiments expressed and, at other times, surprised by how dark it could feel.".
Forbes - “Of course, basing a computer game set in the distant future on an examination of the quiet desperation of bourgeois French womanhood in the 1950s is, itself, going to look like non-linear art game weirdness. But there is a plan.”

Game Podunk - “There were many beautiful moments I experienced, as well as a few that disturbed me, but no one can say what impact (if any) the game will have on players.”
Gaming Nexus - "Bientôt l’été's obscure combination of ideas and atmospheric presentation result in a memorable journey of wonder and mystery that must be experienced firsthand to truly grasp the game’s many emotions and imagery."

Bientôt l’été was created by Tale of Tales in Belgium.

Development
Direction
Design
Music
Characters
Character animations
Programming
Female voice
Male voice
Sound effects

Additional Modelling




Software


Assets
Text
Translations









Supported by
Release date
image Tale of Tales
Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn
Michaël Samyn
Walter Hus
Auriea Harvey
Laura Raines Smith
Michaël Samyn
Fabienne Mésenge
Christophe Poulain
Walter Hus
Kris Force
Theresa Schlag
Daniel Hellweg
Lucas Annunziata
Michaël Samyn
Auriea Harvey
Unity3D
Antares Universe
Locomotion System by Rune Skovbo Johansen
Alien Planets Collection by Tronitec Game Studios
collected by Michaël Samyn from several novels by Marguerite Duras
Michaël Samyn
Camille Matéo
Daniel Hellweg
Jaroslav Babich
Bruno de Figueiredo
Matteo Sarnari
Blanca Perse
Tetelo
Erik Svedäng & Albin Bernhardsson
Martin Sobr
Flanders Audiovisual Fund
12 December 2012
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Play in the Bientôt l’été café right here on the web. (Unity3D plugin required).

Wait for a partner or play with the Simulation.
Close Your Eyes using the DOWN AROW key on your keyboard to access other functions, like playing music on the jukebox.

Since you cannot collect phrases on the beach here on the web, some are chosen randomly for you.