Interview: Dan Paladin - The Behemoth
“I find myself wondering what the world must’ve been like before the bear crashed into our frail planet,” a voice murmurs ominously from the shadows, “transforming all we once knew into a colorful kaleidoscope of delicious chaos.” Thrown into a world of rampage and destruction, it is up to you to “rally your troops and steel your wits” if you have any hope of surviving through The Behemoth’s latest adventure.
Widely recognized for their unique 2D animated style and quirky characters, not many gaming companies can make you laugh and cry at the same time quite like The Behemoth. Where else can you pilot a UFO, get chased by a rabid antler-wielding raccoon, or have your gameplay halted to watch as an owl shits in the forest? The San Diego-based outfit is an indie video game developer and in-house publisher that’s 100% self-funded, with support from their fans. Founded by John Baez, Tom Fulp, and Press Play interviewee Dan Paladin, their video games are based around everything fun and memorable. With action-packed adventure classic Castle Crashers, as well as other titles BattleBlock Theatre and Alien Hominid HD already a hit among the gaming community, The Behemoth is back in action this year with new title, Pit People.
Paladin is one of the masterminds behind all of the action. Widely known for his cartoony art style, he is art director and game designer for The Behemoth. Prior to his relocation to San Diego, the Ohio-native worked for years alongside Fulp’s media company Newgrounds, making Flash animated games such as Sack Smash 2001, Chainsaw the Children, Dad ‘N Me and Alien Hominid. He was an active contributor to many gaming collaborations for the company, usually making the art while the other person handled the programming. Paladin has also worked for Presto Studios and web-comic Cyanide & Happiness, where he composed the polka-style closing credits melody for the animation. After The Behemoth was founded in 2003, Paladin’s work with Castle Crashers won two awards at the 2007 Independent Games Festival: ‘Excellence In Visual Art’ and ‘Audience Award’.
Sinister robots and deadly vampires and brutally adorable cupcake people! Oh my! As The Behemoth’s first ever turn-based strategy adventure, Pit People employs a cast of unique creatures that populate the “apocalyptic wonderland”. Among some friendly (or not so friendly) faces like Cyclops and Troll Mom from Castle Crashers, fighters also include pixies, mushrooms, and gnomes. The game differs immensely from its predecessors, challenging its players to equip a team of their own creation and engage in a strategy to make their way across the game board. It’s a “fast-paced, turn-based, co-op adventure [where] you'll quest and explore, find awesome loot, customize your fighters, and recruit strange species!” the official website explains. “We’re excited to see the team compositions players will come up with, the strategies people will use in the game, and how they will fight against one another in the Pit!” Paladin states excitedly. Though the game play may differ, he reassures, “we’ve brought back tons of collectible items to customize fighters – even more so than Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater!”
What makes The Behemoth’s games so unique is their mastery of churning out new and fun adventures, yet each with their own unique game playing style. Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid HD play as side-scrolling beat ‘em up and shoot ‘em up adventures respectively, each with their own unique flair, while BattleBlock Theatre is a platformer, using Super Mario Bros. style game play to jump around levels while using your partner to further yourself in the game. “We have to be sure to avoid any “more of the same” kind of vibe a sequel can sometimes fall victim to,” Paladin explains. “One of the better ways to do that is to make completely different types of projects. We’ve learned so much going from a shoot-‘em-up to a beat-‘em-up to a platformer to a turn-based game.”
While Pit People may be the company’s fourth title, it still encompasses the signature 2D animated style that has followed the game developers since their start. This style is largely thanks to Paladin, his drawings and designs breathing life into the large cast of The Behemoth’s eccentric, yet loveable, characters. Paladin assures that straying from the signature design wouldn’t put fans off, as they have such a “solid relationship”. But it is, most definitely, the surest sign of a Behemoth game – always seemingly drawing a spark of interest when the visuals are displayed. “Some may say there is a familiarity to our look which I think helps us establish a link with players,” he explains. “They might even find that they have an interest in whatever genre we’ve delved into next. People never seem to feel too intimidated to pick up and play our games, which also helps a lot. We try to make our games nice to you most of the time (while not being afraid to show some ‘tough love’ here and there, either).”
The Behemoth has always been a company to do things in their own way. Being a 2D-styled game developer in a largely 3D dominated world can’t be an overly easy feat, and on top of that they choose not to release physical copies of their games. This being said, it’s a largely smart scheme, breathing fresh air into a cookie-cutter industry, and one that shows they’re putting the thought necessary into the rapid technological advances of present day. Previous employment of the founders has included 3D work, so Paladin states they’re “definitely not shy from it”, but it just hasn’t seemed like a choice that would have been the best fit for any of the games thus far. The unique designs and funny animations set their games apart from the library of life-like 3D games that mimic the real world virtually seamlessly.
Though straying from 3D for now, the decision of format also brings into question the latest kick of VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) in the gaming industry, as well the popularity of gaming on the go – especially with the announcement of the new Nintendo Switch. Paladin’s take on it is that, “having more ways to play is always exciting. Seeing the phenomenon that was Pokémon GO was almost surreal, and really showed us the potential reach that games have. Such power!” VR technology “is a really interesting beast [that] opens up all kinds of new experiences for players,” he states. “Any specific ideas I have beyond that are going into my “secret” pocket, though, and shall not emerge until incubated (if incubated at all).” As far as future games go, The Behemoth is unpredictable. “We have no idea what we're making next until it is time to sit down and make it. And then when we sit down and make it we don't actually know what it will be until it is time to release it.”
Being able to sell games digitally has been the biggest positive change in technology over the years for the company. With the release of Pit People through the early access schemes earlier this year, as well as regularly selling on both Steam [PC gaming platform] and the Xbox digital store, Paladin explains that selling physical copies is “a large expense that seems less necessary as each year passes… All the shelf space, the truck drivers, the disc burning, the box printing, and the three or four months of time you have to sell the game – [plus] the inability to update those discs out there; all that stuff changed when the digital era hit. Retail was flipped on its head. People paid multitudes less for their copies and developers tend to see more money per sale, even at that lower price!”
Even with the massive success that was Castle Crashers, The Behemoth is always looking onward to the next new and exciting gaming creation. “Each game we’ve made has helped heavily inform elements in the next game in some unique way,” Paladin states. “It’s super exciting to work in a new space that we’ve never explored before. We try to make an effort any developer makes to help adding all the shapes, sounds, ideas, conventions and colors that weren’t there before. There’s a certain sense of duty we have to visit the unexplored.”
Pit People is now available through Xbox One Game Preview and Steam Early Access. A full release date has yet to be announced.
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