Death Spank - Development and Marketing

Development and Marketing

DeathSpank was first confirmed on January 9, 2008 via a press release. The release stated that game designer Ron Gilbert would be joining forces to develop the game. Gilbert described it as "Monkey Island meets Diablo." Three cinematic teaser trailers for DeathSpank were shown at Penny Arcade Expo 2008. During the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo DeathSpank was showcased at the Hothead Games booth, with live gameplay being demonstrated by staff, along with examples of story elements, and dialogue trees. It was announced on March 4, 2010 that Electronic Arts would publish the game.

The game was released on July 13, 2010, on the PlayStation Network and July 14, 2010, on Xbox Live Arcade. It was later released for Microsoft Windows on October 26, 2010, and on Mac OS X December 14, 2010. The PC and Mac OS X versions support a wide range of resolutions, the ability to run the game windowed, input by keyboard and mouse as well as gamepad, alternate control schemes, and a key mapping ability. Gameplay enhancements based on feedback from the console versions include an equipment comparison function, a treasure chest feature in each town and major area, a new streamlined user interface and more. These versions also make use of Steam Cloud and support Steam Achievements and leaderboards.

In an interview with Gamasutra in June 2008, Gilbert stated that DeathSpank would be an episodic series of games. On March 30, 2009, Ron Gilbert confirmed on his blog that the game would no longer be episodic. Gilbert later revealed that the game had once again become episodic due to the game's size. "Towards the end of production it was determined what we had built was too big for a downloadable game, so the decision was made to split the game in half and the climactic battle with Lord Von Prong was the perfect place. That battle is in essence the end of Act I and it had a nice WTF moment that provided a nice cliff hanger" he stated. Gilbert has described DeathSpank as being "Act I" in his story, and Thongs of Virtue as being "Acts II and III".

The title character originated in Ron Gilbert's Grumpy Gamer comics, created by Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric, who they later developed further. The character DeathSpank is voiced by Michael Dobson. Gilbert and Kauzlaric created a rough design for the game and pitched it to publishers for over four years without success. Previously, Gilbert had consulted for Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness at Hothead Games; he contacted them and a deal was struck for the company to develop the game. A more in-depth design for DeathSpank was then produced. Kauzlaric remained involved with the project, consulting on design, story and concept art. Gilbert departed Hothead Games upon completion of the game.