Adam Cromiskey of Therapist games took some time out of his busy Kickstarter schedule to answer some questions about his upcoming mobile game, Nature Hater.  True to it’s title, Nature Hater is about a disgruntled platypus named Dean that’s angry with his lot in life.  Seeing himself as an ugly abomination of a creature Dead decides to take his rage out on Earths beautiful creatures before a climactic final battle with God.  We asked Adam about the unusual nature of the game, it’s payment model, and what exactly the message is.

Cliqist : Tell me about yourself.  Who are you?

Adam Cromisky : Adam Comiskey, creative director of Therapist Games and Nick Thomas who is the technical brain behind what we do.

Cliqist : What kind of game is Nature Hater?

Adam Cromisky : Nature Hater is a cross between classic space invaders and angry birds with the twist that you play the bad guy.

Cliqist : Is Nature Hater free to play, or will it have a purchase price upon release?

Adam Cromisky : It is free now and the completed game will be free too. We currently have no plans to charge for it and hate adverts. The only potential restriction planned is to include secret easter eggs for our Kickstarter backers. Basically, we are hoping to make the game using crowd funding and then we do not have to punish our fans by making them look at rubbish adverts.

Cliqist : What made you decide to go with actual bands for the games’ music?

Adam Cromisky : I have a long professional career in music video directing so we have this excellent little black book of contacts, some of those contacts are small indie bands who saw the potential to get their work out to a wider audience.

Cliqist : Why all the hate?  Do you really hate nature and God that much?

Adam Cromisky : We the production team love nature and the game merely challenges our preconceptions of what constitutes a ‘hero’. It also draws attention to the destructive nature of ‘jumping to conclusions’ or living your life by a head-line. The ‘Hero’ of this game is Dean. He is a git. Everything else in the game is beautiful…Nature. We consider it impossible to hate nature or God, but for different reasons.

Cliqist : I’ll have you know that I think platypus are cute.  Or is it platypuses, or possibly even platypi?

Adam Cromisky : We love the platypus too. Dean has low self esteem and poor body image though, which is why he hates everything. Maybe if he wasn’t always picked last for basketball, things would have turned out different for him. Love and understanding is always the best path.

Cliqist : Are you afraid people will miss the games’ message and thinking that you’re just some god hating Satanist trying to further his agenda?

Adam Cromisky : Afraid? Absolutely not! Do we think people will miss the point of the game? Absolutely yes! People only read the headlines, rarely thinking for themselves, rarely questioning their sources. Atheists will make the same mistake thinking this is an anti-God game. It is not.

Cliqist : You’re asking for relatively little money.  What’s it going to be used for, and do you think it’ll be enough?

Adam Cromisky : We have a modest first target because we have a multi tiered production plan. We can complete a great game experience for that budget no doubt. Then the stretch goals are in place to allow the game to be as big and complicated as the fans want it to be. The money is being raised to cover costs. We want to focus our time on developing an amazing game and not have to worry about the light going out. We also have some amazing bits of merchandise.

Cliqist : Why should someone give you their money so you can make a game about a platypus with a grudge against the world?

Adam Cromisky : Ultimately because it is a fun game. They do not have to get our subtext about the destructive power of negative attitudes, the game will play the same either way. They should relish the fun game mechanics, cool art and excellent music first.

Cliqist : Can you wrap this up with a Nature Hater inspired Haiku?

Adam Cromisky :

Beauty is nature

Platypus does not agree

So give him a hug

Thanks to Adam for answering our questions, we wish him the best of luck with Nature Hater.

If you’d like to learn more about Nature Hater be sure to check out our previous coverage, as well as the games’ Kickstarter page.  The funding for Nature Hater runs until February 12th.