Hi everybody! We've got some big news to share about the release of Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe, and unfortunately, not all of it is good. That comes with the territory though. In game development, you have to get used to hitting these kinds of bumps in the road, while learning to look at them less as setbacks, and more as opportunities to make your game even better. Like Bob Ross once said, "You don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents."
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We were recently contacted by Cartoon Network/Adult Swim about our game. They were concerned that our parody of Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty might look too much like the real thing.
To be honest, getting contacted by them at all was pretty exciting for me, even if I wished it was under better circumstances. We're an incredibly small operation compared to Adult Swim, and their shows have been a big influence on me for a long time. Robot Chicken, one of their longest running programs, brings together parodies of different games and movies in much the same way that we've attempted to do with Streets of Red. Rick and Morty also started out as a parody of Back to the Future, before it grew into its own unique thing and became a huge stand-alone success. That's also something we're hoping to accomplish with our game.
Knowing all this about Adult Swim and their work is part of why we hoped they would like our parody of Rick, as they know how parodies work better than just about anyone else. We put a lot of thought into the way we went about our style of parody, to both make sure that our character didn't look too much like the "real" Rick, and also to put some honest meaning behind the joke. His appearance in the game wasn't random. I don't want to explain it in detail, as explaining a joke is the fastest way to kill it, but our parody of Rick (named Mad Science) had four insect eyes, ant mandibles, wings like a house fly, and a Mega-style Arm Cannon for a reason.
Still, given how wild and unpredictable Rick and Morty is, it's almost impossible to create a parody of the show that doesn't look like something that could appear in the real thing someday. Looking back on it now, making a parody of a parody may have been an impossible mission from the start. Either way, we took out the character and replaced him with something new as soon as Adult Swim asked us to.
We filled our game with parodies because we wanted to make a comedy about the things we love, not to mock them or point out their flaws. If the creators of the things we're joking about don't think our jokes are funny, or if worse, they think the joke is harmful to them in some way, then it's time to take the joke out as soon as possible without hesitation. After all, that's what we'd want them to do for us if the roles were ever reversed. I doubt that would ever be a problem though. If the creators of Robot Chicken ever decided to parody Streets of Red, I'm sure we'd love it.
Something similar also happened with our friends at Choice Provisions. As old time fans of our Bitejacker game would know, the star of the Bit.Trip series, Commander Video appeared as a special character in that game. So when we made Streets of Red, a spiritual successor to Bitejacker, we asked for permission and got their blessing. Unfortunately, the journey to console took longer than expected, and their position has changed and requested that Commander Video to avoid any violent confrontation. However, due to the nature of the game, we weren't able to do that, and we decided to find a replacement for Commander Video's cameo instead. We love the Bit.Trip series very much, and would never want to represent it in a way that its creators aren't 100% happy with.
In addition to all that, we've also taken feedback from you, our potential players, into account while deciding to make these changes. Since announcing the game in early February, we've gotten a lot of comments, both positive and negative, about the parodies that we've come up with. We are confident that Streets of Red would be fun and exciting without the parody characters, but we enjoy them for what they are, and we want to share that enjoyment in ways that don't feel forced or phony. As we come up with new content to appear where the old Mad Science and CommanderVideo used to be, we'll be keeping your comments and suggestions in mind.
Of course, these changes are coming at a cost, in terms of both time and money. It also means we have to delay our release date. Right now we're shooting for the end of March or early April, but when it comes to certification and lot check, there is only so much we can control. Rest assured though, we're doing everything we can to get the game to you as soon as possible.
Again, I don't want to explain any jokes to you today, but it feels right to end this post by talking about where Streets of Red takes place. There is a reason why the whole thing starts at a giant entertainment expo. A lot of our ideas for the game were inspired by my trip from Singapore to PAX East in 2014. It was both scary and exciting to not only be in a foreign country, but to be thrown right in the middle of so many cool and strange things at once. I was constantly overwhelmed and amazed, stationed with my little game right in the middle of a huge expo hall, filled to maximum capacity with thousands of people who loved all the same things that I did. At PAX, it felt normal to be weird, in large part because the weird things that I love were everywhere, in the form of panels, cosplay, and of course, video games.
That's the feeling I hope that I can share with you through Streets of Red. And who knows, if the game is successful enough, maybe we can keep updating it with new content a few times a year, just like Penny Arcade runs conventions every four months or so. That would be a dream come true for us, and we'll do our best to make it happen, no matter what roadblocks and detours come along the way.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We were recently contacted by Cartoon Network/Adult Swim about our game. They were concerned that our parody of Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty might look too much like the real thing.
To be honest, getting contacted by them at all was pretty exciting for me, even if I wished it was under better circumstances. We're an incredibly small operation compared to Adult Swim, and their shows have been a big influence on me for a long time. Robot Chicken, one of their longest running programs, brings together parodies of different games and movies in much the same way that we've attempted to do with Streets of Red. Rick and Morty also started out as a parody of Back to the Future, before it grew into its own unique thing and became a huge stand-alone success. That's also something we're hoping to accomplish with our game.
Knowing all this about Adult Swim and their work is part of why we hoped they would like our parody of Rick, as they know how parodies work better than just about anyone else. We put a lot of thought into the way we went about our style of parody, to both make sure that our character didn't look too much like the "real" Rick, and also to put some honest meaning behind the joke. His appearance in the game wasn't random. I don't want to explain it in detail, as explaining a joke is the fastest way to kill it, but our parody of Rick (named Mad Science) had four insect eyes, ant mandibles, wings like a house fly, and a Mega-style Arm Cannon for a reason.
Still, given how wild and unpredictable Rick and Morty is, it's almost impossible to create a parody of the show that doesn't look like something that could appear in the real thing someday. Looking back on it now, making a parody of a parody may have been an impossible mission from the start. Either way, we took out the character and replaced him with something new as soon as Adult Swim asked us to.
We filled our game with parodies because we wanted to make a comedy about the things we love, not to mock them or point out their flaws. If the creators of the things we're joking about don't think our jokes are funny, or if worse, they think the joke is harmful to them in some way, then it's time to take the joke out as soon as possible without hesitation. After all, that's what we'd want them to do for us if the roles were ever reversed. I doubt that would ever be a problem though. If the creators of Robot Chicken ever decided to parody Streets of Red, I'm sure we'd love it.
Something similar also happened with our friends at Choice Provisions. As old time fans of our Bitejacker game would know, the star of the Bit.Trip series, Commander Video appeared as a special character in that game. So when we made Streets of Red, a spiritual successor to Bitejacker, we asked for permission and got their blessing. Unfortunately, the journey to console took longer than expected, and their position has changed and requested that Commander Video to avoid any violent confrontation. However, due to the nature of the game, we weren't able to do that, and we decided to find a replacement for Commander Video's cameo instead. We love the Bit.Trip series very much, and would never want to represent it in a way that its creators aren't 100% happy with.
In addition to all that, we've also taken feedback from you, our potential players, into account while deciding to make these changes. Since announcing the game in early February, we've gotten a lot of comments, both positive and negative, about the parodies that we've come up with. We are confident that Streets of Red would be fun and exciting without the parody characters, but we enjoy them for what they are, and we want to share that enjoyment in ways that don't feel forced or phony. As we come up with new content to appear where the old Mad Science and CommanderVideo used to be, we'll be keeping your comments and suggestions in mind.
Of course, these changes are coming at a cost, in terms of both time and money. It also means we have to delay our release date. Right now we're shooting for the end of March or early April, but when it comes to certification and lot check, there is only so much we can control. Rest assured though, we're doing everything we can to get the game to you as soon as possible.
Again, I don't want to explain any jokes to you today, but it feels right to end this post by talking about where Streets of Red takes place. There is a reason why the whole thing starts at a giant entertainment expo. A lot of our ideas for the game were inspired by my trip from Singapore to PAX East in 2014. It was both scary and exciting to not only be in a foreign country, but to be thrown right in the middle of so many cool and strange things at once. I was constantly overwhelmed and amazed, stationed with my little game right in the middle of a huge expo hall, filled to maximum capacity with thousands of people who loved all the same things that I did. At PAX, it felt normal to be weird, in large part because the weird things that I love were everywhere, in the form of panels, cosplay, and of course, video games.
That's the feeling I hope that I can share with you through Streets of Red. And who knows, if the game is successful enough, maybe we can keep updating it with new content a few times a year, just like Penny Arcade runs conventions every four months or so. That would be a dream come true for us, and we'll do our best to make it happen, no matter what roadblocks and detours come along the way.
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