Interview with the Developer of GlitchSPANKR
Our team loves weird ass games. We’re a bunch of weird ass people after all. And isn’t that what being indie is all about? And that’s why we were drawn in by GlitchSPANKR, the comedy narrative adventure from the team at TheClassifiedX.
Even just the demo is already an amazingly fun time so we can’t wait to play the full version when it releases later this year. Thanks to the team at TheClassifiedX for answering my questions!
Tell me more about the team behind GlitchSPANKR and how inspiration for the game came about.
TheClassifiedX is the team behind GlitchSPANKR. It’s made up of Kyle Frost (Mahelyk) as the creator/writer/developer/modeler, Jory Stultz as the voice actor, Cyan as a head modeler/artist, Dawid Wlosinski as the UI artist/designer, Jennifer Frost as a modeler, and Alex Taylor as a QA tester.
GlitchSPANKR was inspired by games like The Stanley Parable, There is no game, and also just created by accident. I (Kyle) was mucking about in Unreal making some mechanics using lesser known features of Unreal for fun and ended up creating a wiggly and wobbly spank stick, and things sort of evolved from there.
The GlitchSPANKR demo had five endings that you could uncover, can you reveal how many more endings players can expect to find in the full game?
Technically the demo didn’t have any full “endings”, aside from one special ending. These are all more of cliffhangers in the full game as the demo branches into different paths. Where the demo showcases 3 branches, the full game currently has 14 branches, and something like 12 “endings”. All the endings lead to one “true” ending as the player uncovers the actual story of the game.
The demo didn’t really touch on any of the dark and sad “actual” story, though some of our newsletters and newsletter minigames hint at some of the puzzle pieces. This is where the real interest in the game is for me, though I do enjoy the top layer of light hearted humor.
As you explore the game you’re able to unlock new slapper wands… spankers? ....wobbly hands? What are some of the other ways that players will be able customize their experience?
The full game will host more secret collectables and unlockables like SpankStick pieces and SpankrHQ decor than the demo, but will also have more Lil’ Jams to find to unlock more custom songs, special spank effects, accessories, pets, trophies, and special memorabilia from levels that you can steal. I, uh, I mean collect.
In the demo players can play a tower defense mini-game, a rhythm game in the club, and even a little bit of a horror game. What are some of the team’s favorite genres of games? Were there any genres that you knew absolutely had to have a part in GlitchSPANKR?
These are our favorite levels! There will be quite a few of these genre blending levels coming. Some examples include a 2D dating simulator, a music video scene with the virus singing while you play the drums, a bunch of carnival games, 90’s styled platformers, dungeon crawl levels with magic, NPCs to talk to, going to the movies to watch a film, and even making food for a date with the virus. This is only scratching the surface to avoid too many spoilers, almost every level is a goof or gag and twist on mechanics.
This doesn’t even go into the crazy secret levels with the “real” story, or the big twist of an ending!
There was a hilarious Dark Souls reference in the game’s demo. Can players expect more silly references like this? Are there any other gaming or media references you can reveal that were used for inspiration?
Oh yeah! The game is a bit targeted at millennials, so many of the jokes and references will be based on older games and nostalgic experiences, but not all of them! There might be some references to things like Pokemon, old school online spam ads, parodies of NPC escort missions, star wars, spy movies, and, well, plenty more. As I answer this I realize how confusing this all seems from an outside perspective.
What is Spunk’s favorite game he’s ever found himself in?
That’s a bit of a hard one to answer. He’s been in so many different programs over the decades, not just games. Once he was in the program of an advanced Japanese bidet. Being an attachment for a toilet didn’t last long, but it made him feel oddly comfortable. Until he set the water to be scalding hot, burning its user. Then he ended up in the trash, which he also found comforting.
What does “indie” mean to you?
To me, indie means making a game passionately with a small team and little resources. Defying the odds to compete against games with hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in budget for development and marketing.