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

Ever try writing a novel? At least it’s mostly a solo gig. Kinda like, you know, doing your own thing in a world that’s just yours. Now, writing for films? Yeah, that’s like a 120-page dash unless you’re hanging with Scorsese. But dude, video games? Whole different beast. You gotta stretch words to fill hours and make ’em fit into gameplay. Plus, you’re usually on a team, tossing ideas around at odd hours—ever thrown words at a wall at 3 a.m.? Sometimes, that’s exactly when brilliance pops up. Weird, right?

Take this game, Clair Obscur. It’s all dreamy French bits, but there’s this character, Esquie. There’s a campfire chat where he’s got this quirky take on his pal François. Apparently, François used to be a “Wheeee!” kinda guy, but now he’s more of a “Whooo” vibe. Weird how you can pick your own path through these silly chats. I mean, it sounds like nothing, but it sticks.

Svedberg-Yen, the mastermind behind it, admits that, yep, 3 a.m. was her magic hour. Needed seven chats for Esquie. Seven! I would have just slumped over, but hey, she made it work. She says this script for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Around 800 pages. Not even joking. And that’s just the main stuff—not the NPC chatter or geeky lore bits, like the endless piles of them. She pulls ideas from all over. Even her dog inspired Monoco, this floating gestral dude. Dog needed a haircut, so boom, now Monoco’s talking about looking like—wait for it—an overgrown mop.

And yeah, that “whee whoo” chat? Wildly random but made sense in the twilight hours. It hit on something deeper, a mix of heavy and light. Svedberg-Yen was exhausted and, well, just blurted, “wheeeeee!” Isn’t that how art happens sometimes?

For her, authenticity’s the golden rule. Even in fantasy, characters gotta feel, I dunno, real-ish. She rides those kooky instincts, throwing in humor even in a tense story because life’s like that. Did she push it too far? Maybe. But honestly, it’s about capturing what she feels right then and there. Authenticity’s all about that vibe, isn’t it?