Born on 30 January 1953, Bertrand Brocard founded in 1982 in Chalon-sur-Saône, ARG Informatiqueone of France's leading video game publishers, which became Cobrasoft during its association with Gilles Bertin. Bertrand Brocard created several games for microcomputers, including the Murders... (1985-1988), investigative games with real clues, simulation HMS Cobra (1986) or the adaptations of the film Les Ripoux (1987) and the comic strip The Yellow Mark (1988).
While the Cobrasoft label, winner of numerous Tilts d'Or, was bought by Infogrames in 1986, Bertrand Brocard founded the studio Hitech Productions which developed software for the leading publishers of the day, including Full Metal Planète (1989), based on the strategy game of the same name. In 1991, Bertrand Brocard created IWPa subsidiary of Infogrames dedicated to the titles CD-i then CD-ROM; he is notably the author ofInternational Tennis Open (1992). From 1994 to 1996, Studio Bits multimedia department produced dozens of edutainment software programmes before creating InfoKidsyouth centreInfonie.
At the same time, Bertrand Brocard is working on building a City of video games in Lyon and a major prefiguration exhibition. In 1998, with his team, he left Infogrames and created with Patrick Oster online service Kazibaowhich was floated on the stock exchange in July 2000. He was its editorial director until August 2001. Bertrand Brocard then sold his shares to create Daodituan interactive communications and events agency.
In 2007, he set up one of the first local information websites, and then became involved in designing exhibitions. In 2014, he began sharing the many documents he had collected in the "Cobrasoft Fund" on a Facebook page.
The interest shown by the public and academics in these rich archives led him to reactivate the Cité du jeu vidéo project by developing the part linked to the preservation of video game heritage, and in 2016 to found the National Conservatory of Video Games of which he is chairman. The CNJV's mission is to preserve documents relating to the creation and production of video games, from the original idea to the box.
