Q&A with The Odd Gentlemen on P.B. Winterbottom

Examiner.com recently had an opportunity to chat with The Odd Gentlemen, makers of The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. The game involves the age old quest for pie, set within an inspiring backdrop that calls to mind the work of Edward Gorey and the comedic stylings of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd films. Moreover, Winterbottom  relies heavily on time-manipulation, paradoxes and character multiplication. Originally created by USC alumnus Matt Korba for his thesis project, this promising title has already received a handful of independent gaming awards and media accolades. We asked Matt and Odd Gentlemen CEO, Producer & Janitor Paul Belleza to share their thoughts on Winterbottom, indie game development, and the creative process.

Examiner: Aside from being a 'miserable buttwit', who is P.B. Winterbottom?

Paul: P.B. Winterbottom is a gentleman with a predilection for delicious pastries. He is a man who will go to no ends to feed his exhaustible appetite for succulent sweets. He is also a dapper dresser.

Examiner: From Blinx: The Time Sweeper to Prince of Persia, time manipulation has been one of the more intriguing game elements of the past 10 years. How does The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom push the boundaries of this feature?

Matt: Most time based games are about rewinding or slow motion and use time as a limited power up.  Winterbottom is all about being able to record yourself whenever and however you want. It is about giving the player the feeling of being in more than one place at once.  You can instantly create a clone performing your previous actions, then stand on their head, whack them about with your umbrella, use them to do your bidding, and interact with them in a myriad of ways.  No time game before has really focused on the interactions that can take place with previous selves (save for a simple step on switch formula).  The recording system allows for players to build upon their previous actions, create paradoxes, and solve puzzles however they see fit, throwing traditional puzzle design out the window in favor of multiple solutions.

Examiner: What has been the most unlikely cultural influence on your game that is not obvious or well known?

Matt: Besides the obvious ones (Gorey, Silent Films, and Back to the Future Part II) I would have to say children’s books.  The way we are telling the story is very much like a children’s book.  To fully understand the story, players will need to read the text, look at the illustrations, and pay attention to what’s going on in the background.  Most people will pick up on the simple story, but if you look at the game like a children’s book, you start to pick up other aspects of the tale that are not explicitly told.  I think video games have a lot to learn from children’s books.

Examiner: Composer David Stanton seems to be having too much fun with the rag-time piano. What was it like getting him into that unrestrained mindset? Moreover, how did you go about conveying what you wanted him to compose?

Paul: We were very fortunate to meet a person as talented as David Stanton during our time at USC.  It was one of those magic moments you hear about in interviews.  He looked at the concept art and nailed the music.  He first audition track is the game’s main title.  The big note was always “What if Edward Gorey made a silent film”.  On the professional game, David would come in to look at the level and talk with us about what he was thinking then go off and compose.  The team always was ecstatic when new music came in.

Examiner: If you had the chance to visit your past self, the self that just decided to make Winterbottom your thesis project, how would your younger version react if you knew it would turn into an Xbox Live Arcade game published by 2K?

Matt: I think my thesis project self would be too sleep deprived trying to solve paradox problems to believe it.

Paul: I would have told myself, that while making sacrifices for the greater good of the game is a noble idea…you shouldn’t stop working out because your late night Del Taco diet will catch up with you.

Examiner: In early 2008, you published a thorough post mortem on P.B. Winterbottom. Has the time since allowed you any additional insight on your work that was not covered in your post mortem?

Paul: Coming off the student project provided lessons about iterative design and team dynamics. New challenges for the professional game have ranged from basic company building 101 to technical problems.  In fact, we could write a new longer post mortem just on the past year.  However, all the core design sensibilities we developed as students are still the foundation of the type of work we do.

Examiner: Considering all the time that goes into making a well-crafted game, there are always elements that a team like yours worked long and hard on that the end consumer may take for granted. What is one of those elements?

Matt: We spent a lot of time on the recording system.  Players really wanted the ability to disrupt their past selves and as soon as we went down that path we opened a can of edge case worms.  Little by little we had to solve problems like: What happens if a Winterbottom falls down a trap door and he has two Winterbottoms standing on his head?  What happens if a Winterbottom is about to get smacked, but his smacker gets erased?  What if you record yourself as your jumping on a Winterbottom’s head then overwrite the Winterbottom’s head you’re standing on?  Letting the player create paradox and seamlessly interact with the past was a real challenge.

Examiner: How have your feelings on the state of independent game development changed since you began work on Winterbottom?

Matt: Well… they're still awesome.  Game making tools are becoming easier to use, and new channels are opening up to the indie developer. When we started it seemed like a gold rush to be indie, now I think it’s going to be a lot more about intriguing and personal content than “games with a twist.”  I was a judge for the IGF this year and there are certainty a lot more gems in the rough to be found.

Examiner: How about indie game publishing?

Paul: As long as the Internet exists there will be a place for indie developers to get their work out with little barrier to entry. Avenues like the Xbox Indie Game Channel have allowed indie developers to get into the console space which was never a possibility in the past.  Publishers are even starting smaller independent labels which will be interesting to see pan out.

Examiner: The Edward Gorey influence is quite evident, in a good way obviously. If the Gorey estate approached you today to adapt Gorey's work into a game (or a series of games), what would your reaction be?

Paul: As a company, we generally shy away from the idea of working on licensed content. We decided early on the only licensed property we would work with is the 1996 TV Series Homeboys in Outer Space. It was truly a franchise that didn’t get to spread its wings.

Examiner: What does Chronoberry Pie taste like?

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

is due out exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade on February 17, 2010, published by 2K Games.