Hey everyone, I’m Travis Williams, I’m a senior producer for SCEA in San Diego and working on an upcoming title for the PlayStation Network called “PAIN.” In the spirit of this Q&A series, I, along with many other first party developers, were posed with the following questions from the SCEA PR team. Here are my answers…enjoy!
1. What game do you have at E3 this year?
PAIN for the PlayStation 3 PlayStation Network and it’s being released soon. I would love to give myself the “finished game” Christmas present.
2. Tell us more about your game. What’s the story?
PAIN is cool in that there is no story. I could come up with a reason why seemingly “normal” people climb inside of a huge slingshot and fling themselves into dangerous situations, but you wouldn’t buy it.
SO NO STORY FOR YOU, SORRY!
The “more” I would like to say about PAIN is that although PAIN is meant to be funny it’s really a skillful sandbox game. The challenges start off pretty easy but trust me the game gets pretty daunting at the PAINful levels. You can play for five minutes or five hours.
3. If you could sit one person in front of your game for an hour, who would it be?
I dunno. Maybe Super Dave. That dude could take a hit for real.
4. What did you do on this game that you couldn’t do on another platform?
PAIN is different in that it’s made specifically for the PlayStation Network. Before PSN, we didn’t really have a dialogue with the people who play PlayStation games. That’s changed with PS3. That means we’re looking to the PSN community to help us shape future PAIN themes. So there’s a level of interaction with the game players that we couldn’t achieve until now. We’ve got cool ideas, but I’m really looking forward to see how other people play PAIN. We are also always making launchable characters for PAIN so if you guys have some ideas for characters you wanna fling (famous or not) chime in here on the comments thread. Of course, no guarantees, but we’ll do what we can.
5. Do you have any “firsts in this game that have never been done before?
If you can find a game where you can Toss Mimes and Spank Monkeys for points that I can play then I can stop working on this one.
6. What do you think is the coolest aspect of this game?
I’d say the coolest part of PAIN is how I never get tired of playing it. I know that might sound self-serving but it’s true. I’ve made some games that I was just sick of playing near the end. I can actually sit down with Coker (the associate producer on PAIN) and play for hours. When you first start playing PAIN it’s all about the funny. Soon, it’s all about your skillz.
7. What game do you most want an hour to sit in front of yourself (besides your own)?
Killzone. I hear it looks AMAZING.
8. How many E3’s does E3 2007 mark for you?
Been to EVERY one. Man I am old.
9. Describe the pre-2007 E3 experience in five words or less.
It’s hectic, but exciting too.
10. Most overused phrase(s) or expression during E3 Season.
- Dude! Have you seen the new Metal Gear Trailer?
-Huh? I can’t hear you. (Because there are explosions in the background)
-So, what company you working for NOW?
-I’m not waiting in that line to see a demo (and then you go wait in THAT line)
11. You are asked to make suggestions for an E3 survival kit- what three
items HAVE to be included?
Breath mints – To make sure you’re fresh to def
Comfortable shoes – To make sure you’re a Gellin
A Backpack – To make sure you can carry all the schwag
12. What advice would you have for someone who has never experienced E3?
Don’t ask me for Sony Party tickets. I don’t have any!
13. Describe what you anticipate from 2007’s newly formatted E3 in five
words or less.
A lot less booth babe-age.
14. What’s your favorite part about developing games for a living?
My mother told me that my knowledge of elves and magic was would never pay off…Having the last laugh on that one makes my whole career worth while. IN YOUR FACE MAMA!!
Was that disrespectful? Sorry Mom….
139 Comments
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101
rednibia | June 26th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I really want to launch pikachu into a train, I hate that stupid ass rat thingy!
102
pjshark | June 27th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Hi All,
Man looks like a sweet game,
One person I would like to see and correct me if someone has already mentioned it –
My Mother In-law
It dosent have to be mine but at least some sort of representation. And maybe for the girls a Father-Inlaw too.
103
bobbees | June 27th, 2007 at 3:29 am
cmon … spank mimes and monkeys?? everybody has played spank the monkey, it is ages old joke. and check http://www.fun-motion.com there’s some game where you toss some clowns just like mimes and its BORING.
haven’t u heard of stair dismount?? now that was a fun game…
104
Gotenks_GB | June 27th, 2007 at 3:30 am
really have a lot to look out for in the coming months fot the PSN. a lot of original IP is just what we need, to keep us coming back to the PS store.. I cant wait!
105
Kraken | June 27th, 2007 at 3:34 am
Great article.
Looking forward to this game.
Keep it up.
106
The1Weapon | June 27th, 2007 at 3:58 am
I’ve seen the trailer for Pain. That was pretty impressive. I would love to get it. It’s stuff like this, Super Stardust HD, Calling All Cars!, and(in short) original games alongside with stuff like GT:HD that will define the PSN, let alone in terms of PSN vs. Xbox Live. Can’t wait for E3.
107
azad_champ | June 27th, 2007 at 4:05 am
Ok, I got a great idea for a new character-Daxter! He’s always a crazy dude and swining him off is perfekt for his personality.
108
theno23 | June 27th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Throwable character:
The monkeys from Ape Escape.
109
haran_elessar | June 27th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Good interview and good answers…keep up the good work guys.
110
dk3dknight | June 27th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Some might not like my ideas…
1. Fan from Oblivion that people went to great lengths to kill over and over.
2. Fayt from Star Ocean 3
3. Sophia from Star Ocean 3
4. Rena from Star Ocean 2
5. Meg from Family Guy
6. Louis from Family Guy
7. Superman
8. Batman (old batman)
9. CEO of American Airlines
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
11. Those 2 Japaneses guys from the wii commercial
12. Stick Figure
13. A Warhawk
14. A HD-DVD PLAYER
15. A HD-Dvd disc
16. Bob the Builder
17. Dr. Phil
18. One of those strange characters that have a clock inside of fruit..
19. A dancing Banana
20. Ocelot
21. Queen of Naboo (episode one)
22. The old Starship Enterprise
23. A large piece of wood.
24. A plastic doll similar to one seen on the ps3 commercial
25. Tony Montana from Scarface
111
deadxbabiesxinc | June 27th, 2007 at 9:10 am
I think just using all the Playstation characters from the past and present should be added. Crash!!! SNAKE!!! Kratos!!!Ratchet…AND Clank!!! etc, etc :)
112
TerHizzle91 | June 27th, 2007 at 9:46 am
hey how about a Jack Thompson Look-a-like that would make us all very happy
113
RexNox | June 27th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Mr. Williams, could you give us anymore information on the direction you would like to take this game? You may also want to petition for a sub-section on the Playstation forums, it would probably make discourse easier.
114
f1ssi0n | June 27th, 2007 at 10:49 am
@Travis Williams
You absolutely have to include ‘IT Support Associate’ as a throwable character. Who doesn’t get furstrated at their local IT guy? I know I do and I AM ONE!!
Oh, and btw – My Warlock > Your Mage ;)
115
F-minus | June 27th, 2007 at 11:12 am
People Arent thinking very hard on people to suggest as characters… NO WORRIES i got some GOOD ONES!!!
BILL GATES #1
116
F-minus | June 27th, 2007 at 11:18 am
2.Carrot Top
3.Pauly Shore
4.Alf
5.David Hassalhof
6.Michael Jackson
7.Micheal Moore
8.Martha Stewart
9.Tom Green
10.Jim Varney (aka-Ernest)
117
Mimo | June 27th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Tony Blair
118
ARMZ | June 27th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Towelie
119
Jeigh | June 27th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Yes, yes! I realize you can’t put these people themselves in the games but how about people that look suspiciously similar to:
Stephen Colbert
Bill Gates
George Bush
Master Chief
Jack Thompson
Ratchet!
Seriously I’d pay to fling these guys into buildings and whatnot. Maybe some sort of an add-on patch for $3.99 or so. Trophies would be cool too! Something like a T-shirt that says “I flung Bill Gates from a giant slingshot and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!” for a trophy! That would be funny!
120
derrickgott007 | June 27th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Why don’t you make George W Bush a character that we can launch.
121
NewYork214 | June 27th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
i want kratos with his swords flying all over if possible.
and bush,cheney, and donald trump with his hair flying all over.lol
122
makingdamage | June 27th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I would like to fling Ken K. Not that I dislike him but it would by funny if Sony show that they have some selfdistance.
123
backudog | June 27th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
looking forward to this game,looks like being a right larf also it has a monkey in it. all games should have monkeys in em! monkeys wearing hats…in space…yes.
124
WasabiKing | June 27th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Fat and Skinny Jared from Subway
125
Dew87 | June 27th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
This looks like a crazy but fun game, I just can’t help but smile everytime I see the videos. I’m really looking forward to it.
126
perroza | June 27th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
This could be an interesting title. Maybe they could incorporate HOME, were you can play with your own avatar, maybe even bet some of the items you can download from games or purchases. Either way, sounds like some spanking monkey fun.
127
f1ssi0n | June 27th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I would like to see, possibly as a downloadable add-on, the ‘PAIN RAG DOLL TOOLKIT’ so players would have the ability to share their own creations. This way, if SONY decides not to package a likeness of Bill Gates as a projectile for **cough** legal reasons, a member of the community could bring that request to fruition. I would invision simple model manipulation and texture application to create a rag doll. It would also be nice to bind sound effects(or an array of effects) to an event model. Example: event = headCollision() – play ow_my_head.mp3.
128
SDkngsht | June 27th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
CHARACTERS TO LAUNCH:
famous/notable Sony characters
Crash Bandicoot is a no brainer
Jak & Daxter together
Solid Snake
the Crash Test Dummies (remember them?)
President Bush (pretty much anyone from this family would work)
Michael Jackson
Rosie O’Donell
Donald Trump (although he’d probably sue & claim he created the game)
New York from Flavor Of Love (i’d love to shoot her @ss out a sling shot)
Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan
Tom Cruise
or…look a likes (not dead on of course for legal reasons) of Bill Gates and/or Hiroshi Yamauchi. lol. THAT would be hilarious.
basically people we’d love to shoot out of a slingshot into PAINful situations.
129
joelface | June 28th, 2007 at 10:20 am
a pregnant woman ( i know.. im sick)
how about you make someone whose entire insides are applesauce.. so when they hit the ground, its just like an applesauce explosion! with the right physics.. such a thing would be monumental.
a really old person with a walker.
a person in a wheelchair.
(yes.. im extremely twisted)
a really REALLY fat person..
a really attractive woman
a really tall person with really skinny easily breakable bones.
i definetly agree with “your home avatar” (although i know they dont have collision dection normally, so i dont know how much work that would be for you guys)
a kitten
an infant
ahahahahahhaa.
oh man, that would be so priceless.
DEFINETLY George Bush. i dont think i’ll buy this game UNLESS theres a george bush..
if you ever look at those political humor drawings in newspapers, you have an idea of how i would want him to look. :p
130
Travis Williams | June 28th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Applesauce? WTH? Dude… Joel… seriously….
I am not going to say just yet who we will be making launchable but some of the users are on the right track. Haha. Good to know I still know my people!
F1ss10n don’t let me catch you in Battlegrounds. I’ll make ya famous! DoT Boy!
Thanks for your suggestions people. Honestly this makes my week. Now I can go bother people who have more money.
131
Scarecrow | June 28th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I like! I like! One of those games you can just hit play and have a blast with.
Hope there are many things and many levels. I love many levels =).
132
Gord Lacey | June 28th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Travis, I’ve been interested in this title since I saw videos from Gamer Day. It looks like it’ll be a blast, and this is definitely a title that can be extended through low-priced add-ons for environments, characters and game modes. I can’t wait to see more videos of the title from E3.
I want to launch the LittleBigPlanet characters :D
Gord
P.S. Thanks for responding to comments. It’s pretty rare to see.
133
haldalish | June 28th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
hey travis. whens this game come out and how much is it gonna cost? i watched video and im sold already if priced right
134
Lp47 | July 3rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
This game looks really fun. I hope he his telling the truth that Killzone 2 is amazing. I bet it will be.
135
Lp47 | July 3rd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I’ll give a suggestion. Can we fling a 360 console into a building. hahhaha. Or how about sponge bob or even ourselves. hint pseye.
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