First they have been just a couple of stoners hanging outside a convenience save. Now they could be video game stars.
The characters Jay and Silent Bob have been in a large number of motion pictures, comics, and more when you consider that their debut within the 1994 Kevin Smith film Clerks. Now, developer Interabang entertainment is trying to crowdfund a second brawler in accordance with the characters via the website Fig. With six days left in its campaign, Jay and Silent Bob: continual Blunt Punch has raised $337,901 of its $400,000 goal.
GamesBeat interviewed Jason Mewes, the actor who plays Jay, and developer Justin Woodward in regards to the challenge, the motives they characters have so many fanatics, and the pressures of crowdfunding.
Above: those are some entertaining enemies.
image credit: Interabang leisure
GamesBeat: You guys are crowdfunding at the moment on Fig. Why go there and never Kickstarter?
Justin Woodward: We've completed two Kickstarters. It turned into lots of work for us. i used to be definitely working out of Double fine, of their indie space, and that they introduced us in. That spun out of Double first-class. We have been friends with them already. They've been extremely supportive of our campaign. They helped us get area 5 to shoot the video, fly everyone out. They flew Jason out today to come confer with you guys. and then also employed a PR grownup to aid with the crusade and work out different algorithms for ads.
It simply made experience to have someone there who has your again. We're establishing the game and coming up with the artistic vision, and we have a person else who can support. additionally, it's focused on simply games. They comprehend that space.
GamesBeat: These characters had been around awhile. Has there ever been speak of doing a online game with Jay and Silent Bob before?
Jason Mewes: Yeah, I've basically wanted one for ages. We did sort of do some smaller app games a couple years in the past. i used to be psyched about that. I've always talked to Kevin [Smith] — hey, what do you think we must do? however we had no theory a way to get involved in doing it notwithstanding we desired to. Kevin wasn't in opposition t it. I simply consider he has enough occurring that he couldn't say, hey, let's determine it out, let's discover individuals, let's do this.
however I've always thought — I play a ton of games. i was always like, how awesome could Jay and Silent Bob be? certainly one of their weapons could be pot leaf throwing stars. just foolish things like that. fortunately these guys came to us. Trevor Fehrman, who plays Elias in Clerks 2, and Justin, they came up with a great idea, the idea and the style it'll be played.
i was stoked after they talked about they had been interested in doing this, would you be interested? i used to be like, hell, yeah. I've been brooding about this continuously. truthfully, I've all the time wanted to have a video game. we've comic books, Kevin and i. we've the action figures and the videos. we have cartoons. It appeared like the next factor. The only issue we had been missing became a groovy video video game. I'm blissful it's going on.
Above: That's one fancy mall.
graphic credit: Interabang amusement
GamesBeat: Jason, what form of video games do you play?
Mewes: I play all sorts of games. exceptionally at this time I'm into — if I'm on my Xbox or PS4 — I play greater sports stuff on PS4 for some reason. I play some NHL and Madden and soccer, FIFA. but specially call of obligation. I always go again to call of obligation on Xbox One.
I performs heaps and lots, greater than the rest, of Injustice on my iPad. i like the Injustice app video game. They simply got here out with the new Superman vs. Batman characters. You received wonder woman, Superman, and Batman as new up to date download characters, new apparatus cards. It simply receives stronger and more desirable. I play that a ton. I fly round an awful lot and i'm all over, so it's remarkable to bust out my iPad and i'll play a pair video games and put it away after which open it up once again. So especially Injustice, after which call of obligation once I get to squeeze it in. I haven't had plenty of time recently with the traveling and my 1 year ancient.
GamesBeat: You settled on this ancient-college beat-'em-up vogue for this video game. Why did you gravitate towards that?
Woodward: We like Injustice. We like fighting games. We're big highway Fighter fanatics.
Mewes: Mortal Kombat.
Woodward: large Killer instinct fans. Our first game became a beat-'em-up. We've realized a whole lot from that. We desired to bring it lower back. It appears excellent for this universe. we now have distinctive concepts. It's going to be tremendously animated, hand-drawn animation. We're taking it up a level there.
additionally, there's a nice tag crew element we suppose might be basically cool. I don't comprehend in case you performed Arkham Knight, however we've the tag-team where you swap between them to do combos. We really thought about that a long time earlier than, a 12 months before, after which it became like, oh, shit, after they showed that. You beginning off with Jay or Bob and swap between them throughout combat. in case you play with a pal that you would be able to do combos where you connect together, the place Bob will throw Jay and do a leap kick at them. issues like that.
in case you be aware The Simpsons [arcade game], in the event you get to it, the core gameplay might be all that sort of stuff. We'll think of diverse inventive ideas. We'll have assists are available in like Bartleby and Loki.
Above: Why stroll in the course of the park if you can brawl through it?
graphic credit: Interabang leisure
GamesBeat: i was questioning if there could be lots of references to the complete View Askewniverse.
Woodward: Yeah, we'll throw in a ton. Jason has a bunch of ideas too about characters we wish to put in. We also have a convo combo system, a conversational combat, the place you bounce in — we wish to have those brief quips, truly witty. I don't comprehend in case you're everyday with the Monkey Island video games —
GamesBeat: Monkey Island's my jam. Insult swordfighting.
Woodward: It's like that, but it surely's greater dynamic, fast-paced, where you have got phrases in bubbles above their heads, they grab them and hyperlink up into an insult, and then you attack the enemy with it. We're devising that gadget. We wanted to have a very cool story-driven adventure, be enjoyable for the enthusiasts.
GamesBeat: Jason, you pointed out you didn't know a lot about video game development earlier than. Has this been an enchanting probability for you, to peer how video games are made?
Mewes: in reality. I haven't gotten to go in, however I'm excited to be a part of it. I simply realized nowadays that if you come up with a online game — people say, is it going to be on a console, right here or there? and i didn't comprehend why individuals decided to do console or now not. I didn't be aware of that you needed to be accepted with the aid of Microsoft and be a licensed developer. I see apps every so often where people can simply make it up, like Flappy chicken. You couldn't get Flappy chook on a console, and i didn't recognize why. I didn't be aware of why americans went computing device or Mac or PS4 and Xbox. We had been speakme about that prior. simply learning that up to now has been cool.
The technique with the crowdfunding and how that works, too. I'll get to be a part of it the entire approach. I'm at all times down for stuff like that. the rest that includes art and know-how, which I'm large into. I in reality dig stuff that I don't even comprehend the way to use. i like the Cintiqs. i do know about them, as a result of there's a keep by means of me, Mac Hollywood, and that i'm always in there getting a new iPad case or anything. They're like, the new Cintiq 24HD! and that i'll mess around with it even though I don't be aware of a way to use it. It's simply enjoyable to me. i like instruments. once again, this is cool, as a result of I get to look the technique and all that.
Woodward: We had been at Double satisfactory a number of weeks in the past doing a Twitch stream there. He became clowning — is that a Bamboo, son? Like, who knows what a Bamboo is? It became astonishing.
Mewes: It's cool to peer all these various things and the way they work and the way they get greater and crazier.
Above: that you would be able to combat along with your phrases.
image credit score: Interabang amusement
GamesBeat: Crowdfunding is a thrilling platform. that you could get funding straight out of your lovers with out going through a publisher. but is it a bit nerve-wracking too? Checking in every day to peer the way you're doing.
Woodward: it is, however it's additionally a fine experience, because you see the love individuals have. There are tremendous lovers who're so down and give us respectable comments, inform us what they like concerning the universe and what they want to see in a game format. It's very pleasing. Seeing the numbers and attempting to determine how we can push the numbers up, that's definitely nerve-wracking, however —
Mewes: It's best, too, to see. You see, oh my gosh, someone donated $10,000. That grownup basically likes us. It's fun to sign in daily. throughout the weekend it best went up one %, however on a weekday it went up eight p.c. The diverse days and how it really works, it's fun. however is nerve-wracking, too. I guess for me, ego-clever, greater so than even Justin and them — as a result of I'm part of the Jay and Silent Bob name and universe — being sincere, my ego will say, oh, man, no one wants to play our video game if we don't make it. Of course it's a bit worrying and that i hope it comes out.
GamesBeat: You're putting your identify and face on it, yeah.
Mewes: I'm chuffed with the place it's at. I don't know satisfactory in regards to the method to look, however to me it seems like it's in decent form with two weeks left. It's at 65 percent. We simply want 35 p.c more to the intention in two weeks.
Woodward: an additional wonderful part of it on the backend, seeing the concepts come collectively on the page as a team when we're doing prototyping and doing ideas, displaying americans what it's — it's enjoyable. people say, oh, that's so cool, remember to try this, or this doesn't make feel. We should modify our attitude about how we're pitching the video game to the viewers and deciding what they like.
Above: appears like a good place for a brawl.
image credit score: Interabang amusement
GamesBeat: Does the crowdfunding and never having a publisher assist you to go slightly farther with the content material than you possibly can have in case you had to work with a bigger business?
Woodward: actually. That's one of the vital indie spirit we now have. These games, they're sincere. They're irreverent. They're hilarious. however they have got a certain humor that may additionally not be mainstream, even for a video online game viewers, the guys at the large mainstream publishers.
GamesBeat: It's been a long time considering the fact that Clerks. It's anything, how these characters still resonate. There are nevertheless loads of customary characters from Kevin's movies, however why do you suppose Jay and Silent Bob are the ones everyone is aware of?
Mewes: I suppose like through the years, what it appears to me — lots of people say, hey, I have a friend identical to that. I even have cousins identical to that. americans can relate to Jay and Bob on account of how tight their friendship is. Jay, how he just speaks his intellect and says some thing he's considering.
and also you mix within the marijuana — lots of people like marijuana. "these two guys want to smoke, we want to smoke." Or I've even heard americans say they just like the characters as a result of that's who they'd need to be if they might. Some americans don't communicate their mind. They actually wish to say whatever and that they're afraid to do it. The Jay character will say some thing he's thinking.
americans come up to me and say, I hope I might just say what I'm thinking half the time. people can relate to the persona — they've pals who're like that, or they wish they can be like that. That's what it appears like to me, from what individuals have spoke of to me over the years.
