Costume Quest Inspired by EarthBound, Super Mario RPG

Costume Quest, the first downloadable title from Double Fine Software, will be a departure for the studio in more ways than its retail delivery. The game takes inspiration from older console Japanese RPGs, specifically citing EarthBound when talking about the game’s areas.

“There’s a shopping mall. I think that level is awesome,” Costume Quest Chief Architect Tasha Harris said. “In a way it’s an homage to the mall level in EarthBound.”

The inspiration comes from more than just environments, however. Costume Quest uses a turn-based battle system like the RPGs of yore.

“We had some focus tests with kids, and I wanted to make it very accessible for all players,” Harris said. “With kids, it gives them more time to think about things. It’s not twitch-based gameplay where you have to wrestle with a whole bunch of controls. It’s something that’s more accessible for a kid. The Pokémon games are like that. Mario RPG.”

This is an interesting choice given that the turn-based battle system is all but dead in modern game design.

“A friend of mine pointed out, how many turn-based Western RPGs are there? And I was like, oh man, I can’t really think of one. Maybe the new Penny Arcade games?” Harris said.

Of course, Costume Quest will still feature a script written by Double Fine Founder Tim Schafer, employing his unique brand of humor.

“Mostly we work hard on defining our characters and their back-stories and think about where they came from, what they care about. And then, in the moment of writing, you’re like an improvisational actor. You’re acting out the lines as if you were those characters,” Schafer said. “I try to make them real. To me, humour is all about surprise. I try to put in not the line you were expecting, but some surprising line in instead. By keeping the characters real there’s a lot of empathy. We try to write them like they’re real people we care about. That makes a certain tone in the game.”

Of course, never one to miss an opportunity for some delicious drama, Schafer was asked his current opinion on Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

Schafer replied, “He’s a really nice guy.”

[via Eurogamer]

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