‘I Was Exhausted’: The Story Behind Expedition 33’s Famous ‘Whee Whoo’ Moment

Sure thing. Here you go:

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Ever try writing a novel? I mean, it’s like a solo gig most of the time. Kinda nice, right? Contrast that with whipping up a screenplay. Just 120 pages or so—unless, of course, you’re one of Scorsese’s crew. But making a video game? That’s a whole new beast. You gotta fill endless hours, twist the narrative to fit gameplay, and oh boy, there’s usually a team of writers trying to make sense of it all. Picture this: it’s 3 a.m. and you’re hurling words at the wall. Sometimes chaotic brilliance emerges.

And Clair Obscur? It’s a playground of Frenchy odds and ends that caught players’ imaginations. Especially this character Esquie—kind of quirky, right? There’s this campfire chat where Esquie talks about his buddy François with Verso. François, kind of a grump, but Esquie insists once he was more like “Wheeee!” and now it’s more “Whooo.” It’s a hoot. You even get to pick your own whee/woo dialogue path. It’s delightfully absurd.

Svedberg-Yen cracks up about it. “That was me, three in the morning, desperately trying to dream up something,” and she laughs. “I had seven relationship dialogues to whip up for Esquie!”

The script for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is, wait for it—800 pages. That’s not even counting the NPC chitchat or lore docs underpinning the story. This writer, she pulls inspiration from anything lying around. Take Monoco, the floating gestral, inspired by her dog. The pup needed a trim, and it became a story bit.

“So, that became Monoco and Verso’s chat about haircuts. Like, ‘you look like an overgrown mop.’ I literally tossed that at my dog,” she recalls.

This “whee whoo” madness at ungodly hours? Somehow, it clicked.

“I wanted to convey something deep, sad. But here I was, exhausted, speechless. So, why not ‘wheeeeee!’?” muses Svedberg-Yen.

Being a fantasy writer, authenticity is Svedberg-Yen’s jam. Characters must spring from genuine, albeit otherworldly, places. She trusts her gut, even with bonkers ideas. Clair Obscur, mostly tragic, needed light-hearted breaks. Like, real life, right? “Did I overdo it? Occasionally, words fail me. But isn’t that authentic? It’s what I feel.”

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