Penny Arcade Adventures' future iffy

By Robert Purchese Published 8 September, 2009

Comic duo torn on game-making.

Penny Arcade creators Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins are divided about the experience of making Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.

"I discovered that I had no desire to make games," Krahulik revealed to Kotaku at his own Penny Arcade Expo over the weekend. "I think it's a lot more work than making comics. I don't think the end result is as entertaining.

"For me, what I like is drawing a comic, putting it up in a few hours and I get immediate feedback. And if you don't like that comic, there's another one Friday.

"With a game," he added, "I worked on that for two years, but my work was all concept, right? None of that work shows up in the game. Nobody sees it. I get no feedback."

Holkins, on the other hand, found the collaboration with Ron Gilbert's Hothead Games very fun, and liked the process "a lot".

"The process is so different from our regular writing process [of the comic strip,] where it's mostly about a process of refinement, of distillation. You can write in a much more broad way in games. I could add as much text as I wanted to," he said.

"And so, for me, a lot of ideas that, under the ordinary strictures of the writing process, would be gone, I was able to keep and then polish up.

"I found that process of characters having conversations in my head that I would transcribe very enjoyable. And I think it's excellent training for other kinds of writing that I might be asked to do in the future," added Holkins.

The pair are apparently "on the cusp" of an announcement about their game development future. So far two episodes of Rain-Slick have been released, although neither fulfilled early potential.

Our Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One and Episode Two reviews will tell you more.

Ron Gilbert's Hothead Games, meanwhile, is up to its eyeballs making DeathSpank, which was revealed proper at PAX this weekend. We'll have our thoughts on that up soon.

Until then, there's a trailer to watch and a gallery to peruse.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Skorms-Boss #1 2 years ago

    Penny Arcade is a hugely popular on line comic and tip of the hat to the chap's for having the nerve to leap in to the world of game production and having a go. Should they make any more? I don't know? If they do will it distract them from the comic? possibly.

    The Penny Arcade games were enjoyable, if not a little too familiar, but that does seem to be a problem with the whole gaming industry at the moment (in my opinion)
    Edited by 1 at 08/09/09 @ 12:32

  • siro #2 2 years ago

    I found the first episode to be highly entertaining and got the second one in the recent XBLA sale of the week. I'd be really disappointed if doesn't get continued (and probably wouldn't have gotten Ep 2 if I knew it won't go on).

    I kind of presumed they would switch genres with the next game, but looks more like it'll be the end, doesn't it?

  • videogangs #3 2 years ago

    Enjoyable enough games, but I think the idea of games commentators/critics with such an esteemed opinion in the games industry making something to be criticised is almost pooping where you eat. Love Penny arcade though, Tycho is probably my favourite writer/journalist of all time alongside Hunter Thompson. I think he has possible one of the most emotive, colourful grips on the English language of anyone I've ever read. He also seems to share my views on swearing in smart writing, it definately has a place for emphasis and comedic value, it's not always crass or unintelligent.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #4 2 years ago

    to not finish the story in episodic content, would just leave me feeling very ripped off and disapointed and if it does happen i probably wouldnt buy anyone elses episodic story based games untill the first seasons was at least finished.

    Dont ever say to be continued on stuff if your not 100% certain your gonna follow up on that promise!

  • Rubarack #5 2 years ago

    Ideally thet'd follow it up with a comic book. If they did that I'd be more inclined to buy the first two games than if they completed it with a final game.

  • menage #6 2 years ago

    I didn't think the first game was very good. It looked good, and did breathe PA, but the gameplay was boring as hell.

    I never bought the second one.

  • miiiguel #7 2 years ago

    Episodic content sucks. I don't want to be at the mercy of the populace. No offense.

  • Doctor_What #8 2 years ago

    So... It turns out that game critics found out that it's actually a lot of work and quite tricky to make a good game? Spooky, I had expected a 100% metacritic score ;)

    The guys at PA do a lot of good things, weirdly their comic is probably one of the less-good things, so I have a lot of respect for them, but this story does seem to be missing a little bit of the humility that developers might have appreciated: 'We now understand a bit more why games turn out the way they do, despite everyone's best intentions. We'll keep criticising bad games and shoddy writing, but we'll do it with a greater understanding now.'

  • ZeroAX #9 2 years ago

    so what he's saying is that it's easier to make fun of other people's work, than to do some honest work yourself

  • JammyPez #10 2 years ago

    "I discovered that I had no desire to make games," Krahulik revealed to Kotaku at his own Penny Arcade Expo over the weekend. "I think it's a lot more work than making comics. I don't think the end result is as entertaining."

    Oh, hang on...I see now. It's far easier to sit back and criticise and LOL rather than do.

    At least Penny Arcade Adventures were original and didn't...oh hang on.

  • Hypercube #11 2 years ago

    Oh, hang on...I see now. It's far easier to sit back and criticise and LOL rather than do.

    In which case, I look forward to your internet comic. Please let me know when it's coming out.

  • FogHeart #12 2 years ago

    I imagine there are precious few game critics who have the stones to make a game since they'd be subject to the kind of criticism they dish out. Fewer still who have the connections, talent and drive to make it happen. I'm torn on Tycho's writing style, mostly works but sometimes too convoluted and florid to scan well, but he often makes very persuasive alternative viewpoints on familiar subjects. I haven't played the games as I loathe turn-based combat with a dark hatred, but I hope they find a way of giving fans of the games some closure.

  • Kazzahdrane #13 2 years ago

    Dammit - I just bought the 2nd episode last week because it was on sale on XBLA. Will be really annoyed if they don't finish the trilogy now!

  • Optimaximal #14 2 years ago

    I loved both games and think the team should at least 'try' and finish the other 2 episodes (I'm assuming that was what was planned from day 1) as they owe it too the community to prove that they aren't just like the industry they consistently critique...

    I know business is business, but once done with it, only then should they write it off as a failed experiment - they a community-driven company who asked an indie-dev to work for them, not EA...

    In retrospect, maybe they'd have been better with an animated series (like CAD) rather than thinking 'we can make good games'...

  • metalangel #15 2 years ago

    Penny Arcade Adventures was very much the game of the strip. In that it was boring and not that funny.

    You know when you're watching a bad comedy - you can see the jokes being set up and the potential of the situation, and then the writers totally fail to pull it off? It's a bit like that. You sort of see the jokes before they happen, whereas good humour will take you by surprise or lead you to believe one thing and then shock you with something totally out of left field.

    That the game was a pretty old-school RPG was an interesting and pleasant surprise, but the Eternal-Sonata-only-not-as-good combat occurred far too often (it was like in the original Dragon Warrior when you had to wander around Rimuldar for hours killing GoldMen to earn money) and just wore me down.

    Certainly neither game justified the price tag for me - I'm waiting for both to be offered together at a bargain price or something before I partake.

    I hope they don't get too disheartened, though - the recent 'Automata' strips could form the basis of a very stylish point and clickspeak adventure.

  • WinterSnowblind #16 2 years ago

    @miiiguel
    Episodic content can work, look at Sam & Max or the new Monkey Island, I think that's a great format for releasing those little adventures in.. But I see what you mean, with those games we know when the future episodes are coming, it's just a matter of waiting a month for the next part.

    But with something like this, we don't know if the next part will EVER come. Which is disappointing, even if they don't want to make anymore games, I hope they at least finish this one off.

  • persus-9 #17 2 years ago

    I don't really know anything about how games are made but surely now the universe a lot of the art assets and the general art style is established the workload for Mike could be reduced for the last couple of episodes so I doubt his dislike of it will be a huge problem for completing the series.

    If this was on sale on XLBA recently then I wonder if they used that to judge interest in the series and try and judge whether it will make ecconomic sense to continue. I also suspect that it will just come down to a simple ecconomic decision, I don't think the PA guys aren't such dicks that they would screw over HotHead and their fans by not agreeing to finish the series if it would be profitable.

    I'm still hoping that we'll see a new episode after DeathSpank is finished. I think the fact they're talking about it again has to be a good sign. If they were going to screw over there fans by not completing the series then surely simple human shame would dictate that they don't talk about it and hope as few people remember as possible.

  • RobotRocker #18 2 years ago

    They mentioned on Kotaku that there will be an Episode 3. They are waiting for the right time to announce it since the way Hothead and themselves are handling it will be quite diffrent. So I dont think theres anything to worry about with the epic conclusion.

  • GreyBeard #19 2 years ago

    I think its more the way that game-making, like film-making is a collaborative process.

    2 guys can make a web-comic as good as anything out there, and do it quick. However in order to make a game that stands with the best out there in terms of scope and scale and you need a large number of talented specialists in a bunch of different fields.

    Yes, individuals and small-teams can still do stuff, but the result is clearly not the same as something that has had dozens of man-years of labour spent on it.

  • Gastrian #20 2 years ago

    It seems most of the comments have no connection to the news article. Neither Mike or Jerry are talking about the difficulty of game making they are talking about their personal experiences with game design.

    Mike didn't like it because it was too alien from the work he enjoys and the detachment he experienced from the final product did not sit well with him. Jerry on the other hand found it enjoyable because he was able to flourish in this setting and expand upon what he enjoys.

    Their comments aren't a statement about the games industry, they aren't a view into game development and it isn't a reflection on the quality of the game. It is one guy saying he doesn't like making games and another saying he does.

  • wellzy4eva #21 2 years ago

    I admit I'm put off by episodic gaming, you can end up like us Valve fans waiting years upon years for a series that they can easily ax for something easier to make and a better revenue spinner (Not that I hate all L4D fans, just most, lol) unless a company is like Telltale Games and has a fast turnover it's not worth it.

  • Shikasama #22 2 years ago

    Honestly, if the experience cooled down a bit of Pretentious Tycho's ego I'd be happy.

    Judging from his comments though, it didn't.

  • Genji #23 2 years ago

    I like the strip, albeit not as much as I used to. The shtick is getting a bit old now, although Tycho still writes wonderfully.

    The first game was pretty average, and that's putting it nicely. Mark me down if you want, but that's what I think. :/