Oscar Gomez on Classically Styled Adventure, Dog Mendonca & Pizza Boy

with Greg Micek

Adventure games have a special place in many gamers’ hearts, but especially in those that follow crowdfunding.  Although it launched in 2009, Kickstarter didn’t explode into the minds of gamers until Tim Schafer and Double Fine launched their Double Fine Adventure campaign in 2012.  In the past two and a half years we’ve seen a ton of games launch on the platform, but only a handful of high quality adventure titles.  However, The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonca & Pizza Boy appears to be one such campaign, so we spoke briefly with Oscar Gomez, narrative designer of the game, to for his thoughts on the game, Kickstarter, and haiku (of course).

[divider] [box type=”shadow” align=”alignright” width=”0″ ][iframe frameborder=”0″ height=”280″ scrolling=”no” src=”https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/942343365/the-interactive-adventures-of-dog-mendonca-and-piz/widget/card.html?v=2″ width=”220″][/iframe][/box]Cliqist : Can you start us off by telling me a little about yourself?

Oscar Gomez : We’re Okam Studio, a video game developing company specialized in video games. I am Oscar, narrative designer of the team.

 

Cliqist : What about your team?  What sort of game development experience do they have?

Oscar Gomez : The team has worked on different parts of industry, some of them for over 15 years. As a team we’re very young: we have developed two games (a TCD in collaboration with Square Enix and a mobile version of Academy Award Winner’s, José Campanella, first animated movie) and are working on a third game. The project that made us work together for the first time was a demo prototype for the game we’re now Kickstarting to finish.

Cliqist : How would you describe the world of Dog Mendonca and Pizza Boy to someone that’s not familiar with it already?

Oscar Gomez : That’s complicated. To say that it is an irreverent jab at cult movies, comics and video games of the horror and supernatural variety is to sell it short. Let’s just say that if parody is the sincerest form of flattery, Dog Mendonca is an honest homage to those fictions. But it doesn’t end there: the adventures within each book have enough spine to stand on their own. And they keep getting better and better on every book!

Cliqist : Given that the explosion of Kickstarter started with an adventure game, it seems strange that there haven’t been more on the platform. Why do you think that is?

Oscar Gomez : Not everyone is Tim Schafer. But joking aside, there are plenty of adventure games on Kickstarter. And that abundance has made it really challenging to stand out among the different choices.

Cliqist : Looking at the history of adventure games, where would you say The Adventures of Dog Mendonca and Pizza Boy fits in?

Oscar Gomez : You mean compared to other games? Well, it might be somewhere between the humor of Monkey Island series and Maniac Mansion (probably more close to the latter) and the dynamics of newer adventure games, lifting (small) things straight up from TellTale series, Kentucky Route Zero or Broken Age.

Cliqist : The action sequences in the game are a unique aspect of the game.  Can you share a little bit more about them?  Any fear that you’ll alienate core adventure gamers by including them?

Oscar Gomez : Not really. Older games used to have actions sequences as well. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade comes to my mind. And, as in that game, they’re meant to be a sort of seasoning for the game, not the main dish 😛

Cliqist : How big of a game do you expect Dog Mendonca & Pizza Boy to be?  How many hours do you expect it take the typical gamer to complete it?

Oscar Gomez : We are aiming for a medium ranged game. It’s difficult to say how much time it will take: we can’t test it with the assets it has now and we’re still making changes (and we’ll keep making them based on how well the Kickstarter fares). Around 4 hours.

Cliqist : There are a lot of scams and broken promises on Kickstarter. What assurances can you offer potential backers that you can deliver on your commitments?

Oscar Gomez : Our word is our bond. In all seriousness, what assurance can we give that has not been given and broken before? We’d really like to make the game. It would bring us closure and help us move towards new projects of our own. But if that’s not enough, you can find our address on our site, come to visit us and spank us. We all love some good ol’ spanking.

 

Cliqist : Can you close us out with a Dog Mendonca and Pizza Boy haiku?

Oscar Gomez : Ok, but keep in mind that English is not our native language and be gentle:

Blue moon pale as pearl

Smells like werewolf and pizza

Chime the gargoyle’s head

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Thanks to Oscar Gomez for taking the time to answer our questions!  If you’d like to learn more about The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonca & Pizzaboy be sure to head over to the Kickstarter campaign.  If you’d rather play than read you can download the Dog Mendonca & Pizzaboy demo from Steam.