Home Gaming Working with pre-existing franchises like South Park can be rewarding, says Obsidian

Working with pre-existing franchises like South Park can be rewarding, says Obsidian

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Ermergerd its a sterk!

It’s not always easy to adapt an iconic franchise to a new medium, as having to observe certain guidelines and ideas in order to remain true to the franchise, can be tricky. But according to South Park: The Stick of Truth developer Obsidian, it’s been more rewarding than aggravating so far, bringing to life the crazy antics of the small Denver Town.

M’kay?

Speaking to Joystiq, Creative Director Chris Avellone said that working within that universe, while challenging, was something that the team had come to “enjoy very much.”

The fact that you’re implementing game system mechanics that cater to the South Park franchise, in the sense of rude and obnoxious different weapon types, we rarely get a chance to flex our design skills in those directions, and it’s a lot of fun to do.

We’re actually learning a lot while we’re doing it. That’s another advantage of working on someone else’s franchise. You sort of get inside their head for a sense of how they think, and how that stuff can be converted into game mechanics.

We didn’t actually know what [the South Park creators] were thinking about in terms of RPGs, so we went up there for one day, they ran us this animatic sequence of how they imagined the opening of the game playing. It was hilarious, and we got it: it’s going to feel like the show, it’s going to look like the show.

I would never have thought we’d get a chance to do an RPG like that. When we first heard about it, I seriously thought some other game company was punking us.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what Obsidian has in store next year. South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been really involved so far, and it looks like decent, blasphemous fun so far. Now if only I could convince Geoff to start watching South Park, that would make my day.

M’kay?

Last Updated: October 11, 2012

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