Ron Gilbert Returns, One Game Episode at a Time

Veteran designer opens up on his new game, DeathSpank.

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Iconic game designer Ron Gilbert delighted computer game fans two weeks ago with the announcement of a new episodic game entitled DeathSpank. The title is being developed at Vancouver B.C. independent studio Hothead Games, where Gilbert recently accepted a post as Creative Director.

GameTap traveled to Vancouver last week to talk to Gilbert about his new game, and his decision to join Hothead.

Hothead is calling DeathSpank an adventure RPG, describing it as "Monkey Island meets Diablo." But the company skimps on information about the game's storyline and its eponymous protagonist. Asked for more detail, Gilbert would only describe DeathSpank as "an overenthusiastic hero. He wants to help, but he's not a very bright guy."

How Ron Gilbert sees himself? This image is his blog's mascot. His blog is called GrumpyGamer.com.

A parody of a stereotypical videogame hero, when DeathSpank tries to save a town. But by the time he's done "the town is in flames, and half the people in town are dead." Nonetheless, the "not very bright" DeathSpank will leave town pleased with himself, counting the day a success.

Gilbert also spoke about a subtext to the game: The idea of karmic balance, or in Gilbert's words, "getting what you deserve."

"For instance," Gilbert said, "half the people in town may be dead when DeathSpank leaves, but you have the feeling that maybe they got what was coming."

Gilbert declined to detail the game's central plot, but said that each episode would be a separate, self-contained story. He has already written "about 20 little stories," each of which will provide the basis for one episode.

Nor did Gilbert and the Hothead team provide any information about the launch date for the initial episode of DeathSpank or the schedule for subsequent episodes: It seems the studio's primary focus now is completing the first episode of the Penny Arcade game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.

As a matter of fact, it's the Penny Arcade game--scripted and drawn by the creators of the popular web comic strip--that initially brought Gilbert to Hothead. When the game was announced, Gilbert's interest was piqued, and he contacted Hothead. That contact led to a job as a consultant on Rain-Slick Precipice, helping with the fine points of adventure game design and dialogue, Gilbert's specialty.

The collaboration has been fruitful because Gilbert and the other Hothead staff have "very similar" approaches to game design--an interest in humor in games and a belief that episodic games fill a gap in the market. As Gilbert says, "there's not much out there between Bejeweled and Halo."

In his view, downloadable episodic games like DeathSpank--a game he says he's wanted to make for years--can offer more sophisticated gameplay and storylines than the arcade-style twitch games that make up the bulk of downloadable content.

Gilbert's fans around the world are betting that he's right.

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