Creating a video game is a complex process that requires multiple phases of testing and adjustment. At a recent conference, Matthieu Saussaye, founder of the Valais-based start-up Pulse Partners, presented how his Smartinterview technology, based on artificial intelligence (AI), made it possible to quickly and easily gather qualitative feedback following the pre-launch of the game ‘Wizdom Academy’ developed by Kipwak Studio, based in Le Bouveret.
‘90% of consumers have a more favourable opinion when brands give them the opportunity to share their views,’ says Matthieu Saussaye. Therefore, it is not enough to ask ChatGPT for opinions and advice when creating a product. ‘The data from these models is from the past, whereas when creating video games or new products, you have to look to the future.’ Even if language models generate something that seems good, it is not the raw truth of the customer, with often unverified and biased data.
An innovative solution for Wizdom Academy
It was precisely to meet these challenges that Pulse Partners developed its Smartinterview platform, which has been successfully applied to the development of Wizdom Academy, a video game that has already been ‘whislisted’ by more than 50,000 people even before its release.
‘Our approach improves existing feedback, allowing us to better extract what is useful,’ explains Matthieu Saussaye. ‘We replace one-to-one interviews with AI-powered feedback collection software with voice recognition, which allows us to extract very rich feedback and guides the questions until we obtain useful answers.’
For Wizdom Academy, this technology has enabled it to answer crucial strategic questions. ‘We needed to identify key player segments, determine the most popular price segments and features, and analyse barriers to purchase.’
Pulse Partners’ solution radically transforms the way video game developers can interact with their community of testers and future players. ‘The AI integrated into the platform identifies, classifies and sorts in-depth customer feedback.’ This intelligent automation of the process offers considerable efficiency gains. ‘We enable iteration in hours rather than months, as is the case with traditional one-to-one meetings. Classification is automatic, simplifying product launch.’
Beyond gaming: multiple applications
While the example of Wizdom Academy perfectly illustrates the application of this technology in the video game industry, Matthieu Saussaye points out that its use extends far beyond that, to all types of product launches, communication campaigns and market research.
This versatility makes Smartinterview a valuable tool for any company seeking to better understand the expectations and reactions of its potential customers, while optimising the time and resources devoted to this crucial stage of development.
Interview conducted on 13 May 2025 in Monthey during the PRISM Conference
