January 16, 2009

The Maw Q&A: Lead Designer Sean Riley on the Alien Who Eats Everything in Sight
By Louis Bedigian

“The reason Maw is considered so dangerous is that he sees everything as food, without any sort of moral judgments. Maw doesn't eat someone because they are good or bad, he eats them because they taste good.”

What is The Maw? That's a question the game's official site, WhatIsTheMaw.com, has attempted to answer. But to get some real information, you've got to dig beneath the surface and speak to those responsible for creating this new life form.

"Maw wants to eat everything," said Sean Riley, Lead Designer for The Maw, which hits Xbox Live Arcade this month. "Some creatures are too big for him to eat, or have defenses against him, but ultimately that's why he needs your help. You play as the alien Frank, and finding ways to keep Maw fed is one of your main goals of the game, and also figuring out how to use powers he absorbs once he eats a creature. A lot of the challenge of the game is to figure out how to eat creatures, and then to figure out what Maw can do now that he's absorbed their DNA."

WhatIsTheMaw.com opens with the line, "The pinnacle of alien evolution, Maw is a cowardly fat blob concerned mostly with snacking and lounging." Are you trying to poke fun at mankind?

Sean Riley: I think every game you work on you try and put a little of yourself into it. On this game, maybe there's more of me in it then I should feel comfortable with. By which to say, I'm a coward and a glutton, and so I empathize with Maw probably more than I should. He's cute, though, so I think he pulls it off a lot better.

According to the site, Maw "can absorb the traits of anything he eats, is virtually indestructible, and can grow to unlimited size." The first two sound reminiscent of the Kirby games. Did that series provide any inspiration?

SR: Yeah, there's tons of games like Kirby that I think helped inspire us. One title that I remember specifically is A Boy and His Blob, a great game that I played way back in the day. It's funny, I don't remember the level layouts or many of the powers any more, but one that always stuck with me is how excited the blob would get when you tossed him a jellybean, and how sad he'd look if you missed. It was amazing to have that kind of emotional reaction to some pixels on the screen. A more modern example might be ICO, where you had another character that you really cared about. That was one of the most important things to us while we were making the game, we didn't want Maw just to be a tool, we wanted him to be a companion with personality that you really connected to.

Let's dig into the meat of The Maw. It's being called a 3D action/adventure. Is it an open world layout like Mario, a more confined path like Crash Bandicoot, or…?

SR: There's definitely main obstacles and goals within the levels, but they are designed to be open enough to allow for exploration, so I would say closer to Mario than Crash. It's always a challenge in games with puzzle elements to have it open enough that players can explore around and figure things out for themselves, but still remain small enough that there's some guidance about what to do.

Are you eating your enemies in this game? Friends? Other creatures/aliens that have no alliance?

SR: A little bit of everything. The reason Maw is considered so dangerous is that he sees everything as food, without any sort of moral judgments. Maw doesn't eat someone because they are good or bad, he eats them because they taste good. Frank worries a little more about consequences, but he also knows that his own survival depends on Maw getting bigger.

Is there a limitation on the number of traits that can be absorbed at one time?

SR: Maw's a pretty simple creature, sort of an overgrown puppy, so he can't keep much in his mind at one time. So he'll always take on only the characteristics of the last major creature he's eaten.

How do the traits work? Is it a matter of: this thing over here can shoot fireballs, so I eat him and can now shoot fireballs?

SR: It's a little more nuanced than that. Maw gets the DNA of the creatures, but it mixes in with his own and shows itself in different ways. For example, one of the creatures that Frank and Maw meet have the ability to dive into the ground and swim through the dirt. Once Maw absorbs them, he tries to do the same thing, but because he's so fat he ends up belly-flopping really hard on the ground. This ends up being useful for destroying things in the level, though.

Do you get to keep your traits as you progress through the game, or do you start each level with Maw's basic form?

SR: It takes all of Maw's discipline not to finish digesting his food for the length of the level, so he finishes it up as soon as you leave. There's lots of food everywhere he goes, though, so Frank can get him new traits. We've also designed the levels so you are always using new powers, so it all works out.

Maw is said to be virtually indestructible, but that can't be the case or else the game would be easy. Or would it?

SR: Maw can't be killed, but that doesn't mean he's all that successful on his own. If you let him off the leash and watch him wander around, he'll try and sneak up on other creatures, but he's too clumsy to succeed in getting any of them. He'd probably starve if left all alone. That's why Frank and the player are so important – you need to help guide Maw and figure out how to harness his powers. Frank's also a lot more agile than Maw, so he can get to places that Maw can't.

So if he's "virtually" indestructible, what can harm him?

SR: Maw still feels pain even if he can't be permanently harmed. He's also a pretty big wuss. So he can be stopped by things even if they can't destroy him.

What makes Maw grow, and what are the benefits of being very large or very small?

SR: Food makes him grow, just like you and me! Except that we eventually stop (mostly), whereas Maw just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Being bigger is important to Maw, because it means he can eat food that used to be too large for him to eat. Maw wants to make sure every option is open to him on the buffet of life.

Can you control his size? Ex: I want to grow tall and defeat some enemies, and then I want to shrink down and crawl through a tight area. Is that possible or even necessary?

SR: Have you ever had a beloved family dog, one that you spent ever moment with, your constant companion and friend? And then one day you realize you're accidentally standing in a position that looks like maybe you are stopping him from getting to his food bowl, and there's a look in his eyes that's like, I'll forget everything we've ever been to each other and kill you if you don't move right now. And, nonchalant-like, you scoot out of his way? Yeah, Frank's not starving Maw or getting in between him and his food.

Can Maw jump? Climb? Slither? What are his basic mechanics?

SR: 1) Eat
2) Slither toward places with more food.

Jumping and climbing is asking a lot of the poor guy. Sometimes when Maw gets a power he gets more mobile, but on the whole it's up to Frank to do the acrobatic stuff.

There's something about the game that reminds of the artwork from Futurama. Did that serve as inspiration for this game, and if not, what did?

SR: That's maybe a better question for our super-talented art lead, Dave Leung. One small influence I had on the game's art was early on when we were going through revision after revision of the characters, really trying to nail their look. I remember pushing a lot for Maw's mouth to get bigger and bigger, and for his eye to move up higher, because he shouldn't really have any kind of braincase or even really much body function other than eating, so I wanted his whole body to reflect that. Dave's ability to put so much emotion into a character that's not much more than an eye and a mouth is a testament to his talent as an animator.

Winifred Phillips, known for God of War, Speed Racer, and The Da Vinci Code, composed the music for The Maw. Tell us about the experience of working with her for this game.

SR: Working with Winifred Phillips was an incredible experience. Our director, Josh Bear, wanted to integrate music closely into the game, and make it so that different layers of music would come in to signal your progress through each level. So if you solve a section of the puzzle, the horn section might start playing over the base track. Winifred not only composed unique pieces for each level of the game, but also helped us design which layers would be playing at any one time. It's a subtle thing if you're not listening for it, but I think it makes a huge difference in the game.

The Maw is an IGF finalist. What was your first reaction when you heard about this?

SR: Everyone on the project spent nine months spending basically every waking hour at the office. This is our first independent title as a company and a lot of us left better paying jobs and security because we wanted to make something really special. When you just want to go home and sleep but you're still there working, you're going on the hope that what you make will be awesome, will give people experiences they remember. So it's hard to convey how much it means to get honored by the IGF, or even to watch someone play the game and really enjoy it. It makes it all worth it.

For those of us who are unaware (like myself, I must admit!), please tell us about the process of getting your game to the Independent Games Festival. Is it just a matter of submitting your project?

Michael Wilford, CEO and Producer for The Maw: Yeah, both PAX-10 and IGF put out an open call for submissions. We answered the call with a playable prototype of our game. In the case of PAX-10, the game was still quite rough around the edges, but thankfully the judges saw where we were going with it. After you submit a prototype you just wait to hear back the results. Amber Fechko from Penny Arcade emailed to tell us about PAX-10 and I remember I was just about to leave the office for the night and immediately called up everyone on the team to let them know. It was a great feeling to have some kind of tangible appreciation for all the hard work we were doing.

Indie games are slowly gaining acclaim, thanks in part to organizations like IGF. Do you think there will come a day when they get as much clout as indie movies occasionally do, and if so, do you think that will foster more shovelware as it has with Hollywood?

SR: There's some ways that a small studio like ours, working with 10 people to make a game in nine months, will never be able to compete with 300 person studio working for years on a title. But just like an indie movie can still be powerful and speak to you, I think there are some freedoms and opportunities in indie development that you can't get anywhere else. I guess I don't really know know what the future holds for the entire industry, but we're going to continue to do everything we can to show what indie gaming can create.

Anything else you'd like to share about The Maw, Twisted Pixel Games, or some other subject? Maybe a story about your own encounter with aliens?

SR: I'm a vegetarian, so basically everything in the game is an affront to my moral standards. I've also publically shamed myself, admitting to being a coward and a glutton. If I've sacrificed everything I am to make this game, maybe you could at least download the demo and check it out.

Thanks for your time guys!

Share | Digg This | Glink It

---