When the game industry is
dominated by huge companies
like Electronic Arts,
Activision and other companies,
it seems that there is just
no market for independent
game makers to make any
headway.
Or is there? No surprise
that a few crafty college students
have developed a game
that is getting a lot of attention
at most of the major gaming
conventions.
The team at University of
Southern California’s
Interactive Media program is
really impressed with all of
the press and awards they
have been receiving.
They won awards from the
Independent Game Festival’s
Student Showcase to IGN and
Gamespot.com recommendations.
What is this special little
game created by a handful of
students from USC?
Well, come along and learn
about “The Misadventures of
P.B. Winterbottom.”
Who is P.B. Winterbottom
you ask? He’s a villainous
gentleman with an insatiable
taste for pies.
Producer Paul Bellezza stated
on a G4 interview, “P.B.
Winterbottom from birth has
always loved pies.
And one day he steals pie
from a baker who hates him,
so this baker poisoned his pie
and it made him unstuck in
time.”
How much more original
can you get as far as an idea
for a game goes? So far we
just know that the game is
about a man who loves pies
and stealing pies but what is
the purpose of the game?
Lead Designer Matt Korba
said, “This is a game about
two things, stealing pie and
breaking the space-time continuum
to steal pie.”
What’s a better idea for a
puzzle game?
Well it turns out the only
thing better than stealing pie
is how Winterbottom breaks
the space time continuum to
steal the pies.
He, soon after being
unstuck in time, “learns that
he can make clones of himself
that exist several places in
one time allowing him to
steal pie simultaneously with
lots of himself,” added
Bellezza.
Because of the amount of
pies that will be dispersed on
each level of the game, it will
require a vast amount of
strategy even from veteran
gamers of the puzzle genre.
This gives a vast amount of
different ways to get the pies
and creates an interesting setting
to keep people enthralled
for hours.
Obstacles, which will prevent
you from reaching the
pies, range from multiple pies
on different level tiers to
being on top of several teetertotters.
There are countless ways in
order to get the pies; you can
even knock clones of yourself
across the stage in order to
get to hard-to-reach places.
Later in the game, the
clones that you create will
inevitably start repeating all
of the actions you do, like following
your steps and trying
to trail you to get the pie first.
The game’s quirky setting,
interesting gameplay and
unique styling makes it one
of the most interesting games
that have come out this year.