PixlBit

Deathspank producer, Hamish Millar, answers just a few questions about the development process of their latest title.

Hothead Games, developer of Penny Arcade Adventures and the recent Deathspank answered a few questions for PixlBit about the development process of their latest game. Producer, Hamish Millar, gives us the rundown on making funny games, working with Ron Gilbert, and the future of development for the company.

There's no question that Hothead makes funny games, how do you manage to incorporate humor well, something video game developers often fail at doing?

We work with a bunch of really funny people. The challenge then becomes less about whether we can make something funny, but rather whether we can channel the funny into something that truly complements the game. The Penny Arcade games (and a couple of the better Simpsons games for many here who worked on them at Radical) were fairly straight forward because the brand of humor was already established. DeathSpank was trickier because it was a new property. It seemed to be a process where some great writing, great voice acting and a unique art style all eventually just clicked. From that point we could inject the personality of the team into the game and know we were all moving in the same direction.

     

How was it working with the legendary Ron Gilbert, and what were his main roles throughout the development of the game?

It often seemed like Ron wore more hats than humanly possible throughout the production of DeathSpank. Sombreros aside though, if I had to pick the one thing Ron was best at, it’d be the high level vision for the characters and places in the game and the tone of the overall experience. He was often very particular about how things should appear in the game.

     

Thus far Hothead has only developed inside the downloadable space, why is this and are there plans to expand to retail development in the future?

The downloadable place is a very exciting place to be, and Hothead is better understanding it every day. We are in that space because it is a growth area, and will play an important role in the future of the industry. We remain focused there now, but that doesn’t preclude us from making retail releases too, if that’s what enough gamers want from us.

A big thanks goes out to Hothead Games, Hamish Millar, and Justin Vallejo for coordinating the interview.