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Penny Arcade eager to work with Irrational Games

Chris Watters
By Chris Watters, Editor

Comic-Con 2011: Penny Arcade co-creators talk about potential focus for their next game, a new movie project, and how hard Irrational Games rocks (so hard).

Who was there: Penny Arcade co-creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, and business manager Robert Khoo.

An artist's representation of Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins.

An artist's representation of Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins.

What they talked about: This was a Q&A panel, so the duo spent the whole hour answering questions from the audience on topics including their webcomic, PAX, the creative process, board game recommendations, books, controversy, future ventures, and drinking in a Star Trek-themed bar.

One question led to the discussion of future video game projects. The most recent Penny Arcade game, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode Two, wasn't mentioned, but they did talk about drawing inspiration from other projects (the name "Jim Darkmagic" was bandied about, as well as "a return to New Hampshire"). They also talked about their short comic The New Kid being optioned by a movie production company. Though they stressed that this was only the first of the many, many steps needed to make a movie, Robert Khoo came on and reinforced their dedication to serving the Penny Arcade in more diverse ways in the coming years.

The pair also recounted a strange experience when, after lambasting a game in their comic, they received effusive thanks from the publisher. Apparently the number of account creations skyrocketed with readers eager to experience Mike and Jerry's agony for themselves. When asked about game companies they would like to collaborate with in the future (like they did in creating a comic series for Ubisoft), the two heartily agreed that they would love to work with Irrational Games, citing the E3 demo of BioShock Infinite.

Quote: "It's like having some extra characters that you don't have to license."--Jerry Holkins on including family members in the strip.

"They don't know how to not rock."--Mike Krahulik on Irrational Games.

The Takeaway: Penny Arcade will continue expanding its creative endeavors as long as people keep enjoying them.

Chris Watters
By Chris Watters, Editor

With his Apple IIGS as the spark and his neighbor's NES the fuel, Chris Watters' passion for gaming caught fire early. Years later, you can find him aiming down virtual sights, traipsing through fantastical lands, and striving to be grossly incandescent while desperately avoiding sunburns.

8 comments
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Shadow_Fire41
Shadow_Fire41

this is good, but i wish they'd make the other 2 episodes into games. 2 gods are still waiting on the windowsill, where 2 gods' blood were lately spilt. they must be getting pretty bored with the waiting.

RojoBear24
RojoBear24

They try to make me go to rehab but I should of said YES YES YES. Just something random:)

vaejas
vaejas

That photo caption is utter nonsense, so I have to assume it's intentional? But for those unfamiliar with PA who may not get the "gag": John Gabriel & Tycho Brahe != Mike & Jerry. They're not projections, they're comedic devices and alter egos at the most. Even though Mike probably didn't draw that Hothead Games image, it's still Mike's representation they had to mimic, and his stamp of approval on the final product.

Pickleking23
Pickleking23

@flamingfury its not that they "didn't bother" its because the sales of the games were horrible so they had to pull the plug on the series due to lack of money making. But they continue the story on their website. I for one loved the series and really hope to play more of it.

ColdBeer69
ColdBeer69

wombatofdoom is correct, his last name is spelled Khoo. FlamingFury and Toysoldier34: They didn't finish the series because the games apparently weren't as popular as they had hoped (aka they didn't sell well enough), and also HotHead Games was really busy working on another big game, so both parties decided to just let it go, at least for now. Jerry is still writing the story however, it can be read on the PA website. I do hope they find some way to make another game in the future though.

FlamingFury
FlamingFury

I was gonna get the Rain Slick games on PS3, but finding out they never bothered to finish the saga completely turned me off the game.

wombatofdoom
wombatofdoom

Assuming Robert Kuo is intended to refer to PA's business manager and not some other business manager: Kuo? Really? His name is Robert Khoo, as a five-second Google search could have told you.

Toysoldier34
Toysoldier34

I want them to finish the Rain Slick Precipice series.

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