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I’m happy to inform all you “Cyanide & Happiness” fans out there that I got a chance to interview Kris Wilson (which I did just recently). So I asked him about everything from the upcoming point-and-click adventure game “The Cyanide & Happiness Adventure Game“, the story and history behind the “Cyanide & Happiness” series to Wilson’s plans for the rest of the year. So without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Wilson =)

Say hello to Mr. Kris Wilson, the creator and one of the author’s of the “Cyanide and Happiness” series.

Robin TGG
We’re going to kick-off this interview with letting you do a brief introduction of yourself. So, be my guest 😉

Kris Wilson
I’m Kris Wilson, creator and co-writer based out of Colorado. I’ve been working on the online dark comedy series Cyanide & Happiness for about 13 years now.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game

“The Cyanide & Happiness Adventure Game” is going to be a point-and-click adventure game for PC (other formats “might” follow in the future).

Robin TGG
What exactly could you tell us about the upcoming Cyanide & Happiness game? And is it correct that the game will be a point-and-click adventure title?

Kris Wilson
It is! Point-And-Click games were big for me when I was young, especially since they were one of the best genres to make you feel like you’re playing inside a cartoon and it’s universe. The mixture of comedy writing and storytelling is perfect for the type of writing we enjoy creating.

Robin TGG
How did the Cyanide & Happiness game came to be? And is it something that you have wanted to do for a long time?

Kris Wilson
It’s definitely something we’ve wanted to do for a long time but never thought making a game would be an option for us. We’d come up with ideas for games over the years, but didn’t really have anything outside small mobile games as an option. We wanted to go bigger and try to give our audience a game they can really sink their teeth into.

The “Cyanide & Happiness” universe offers some pretty crazy humor (the series was originally created back in December of 2004).

Robin TGG
What’s the story behind Cyanide & Happiness? I mean, how did it all start? Because nowadays you got comics, videos on Youtube and soon a video game based that is based on that IP. I’m also curious to know if you ever expected to reach the kind of success that you did?

Kris Wilson
It started as a comic i’d regularly draw in my notebook when I was 14 and still in high school. I had been making animations for various websites like Newgrounds.com and wanted to make comics as a bit of a break from animation. Drawing one comic with a computer mouse is much easier than making thousands of frames of animation. After I had completed a couple dozen strips, I started drawing the comics to digital by drawing them in Macromedia Flash with a mouse. They looked awful, and I loved that.

In 2004, I made my own fancy website called Comicazi.tk and started sharing the comic around the Internet, including a website I often frequented called StickSuicide.com which was known for violent stick figure cartoons (we obviously haven’t changed much in that department.) It was there that I’d often watch Rob DenBleyker’s animations. I started posting my comics on the StickSuicide forum to get a little feedback on the comic series. Shortly after, Rob got a hold of me telling me he liked them, and we started making more comics to send back and forth to each other in an attempt to make each other laugh. Rob, Matt Melvin and Dave McElfatrick were looking to start a new website that’d let them branch out a little more than a website like “StickSuicide” would allow them, and they asked me to be on board to make comics. It’s a lot like how you pass notes and drawings to other students in school, but instead of school, it’s online, and instead of notes they’re comics made by people who might be mentally ill.

We worked together for two years before finally meeting in person at San Diego Comic Con 2007.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game kickstarter

I think it’s safe to say that the game is doing really well on Kickstarter. So I’m curious to see how many stretch goals the game will be able to reach before the Kickstarter campaign ends.

Robin TGG
I could be wrong now, but I’ve been told that the Cyanide & Happiness Game is coming to Kickstarter on the fifth of September? If so, what do you have in stores for us?

Kris Wilson
Where did you get that classified information? Did Wikileaks expose us? It’s true. We have a Kickstarter going to fund what I hope to be our first venture into video games of many. We very often prefer to make a project with our readers and viewers, and this will be our 3rd Kickstarter project. The Kickstarter has a lot of info on the game, some limited tiers that add yourself to the game, and a multiple-choice mini game for people to choose stuff to be added to the game, even if they don’t have money to contribute. We also have a tier where people can stop us from making the game entirely (for only a meager 25 million).

the cyanide and happiness adventure game toxic waste dude

All that Coop wants is to make it to the graduation day without stumbling over an apocalypse. Well. I’m sorry to break it for you bud, but that game plan of yours just went out the window (for obvious reasons).

Robin TGG
Which formats will the game be released to? (does one dare to hope for a Nintendo Switch version?).

Kris Wilson
It is us who doth dare to release our game on thine Switch, if one were to be so bold as to raise the Kickstarter to that special tier. It will first be released on PC through Steam, and with enough funding, we’ll be able to release it on PS4, Xbox, OSX/Linux, tablet and Switch.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game everything dies

The team behind “The Cyanide & Happiness Adventure Game” won’t hold back on any craziness. So we could expect to see and experience a lot of crazy stuff on the game’s release day (which is said to be in November this year for PC).

Robin TGG
Considering the adult nature of Cyanide & Happiness, I take it that the game will be a +18 title right? In other words, you won’t hold back one bit?

Kris Wilson
We definitely don’t plan on holding back, but we’re also not out to get the high score with ESRB ratings. We’re going to write how we normally do, which often ends up pretty dark, but this will also have a good story arc to it that will really bring the entire C&H universe we’ve made over the years together into one cohesive world.

Robin TGG
Will there be any famous voice actors involved in this game project?

Kris Wilson
Absolutely, we have plans to involve voice actors from all kinds of backgrounds, from older C&H voice actors, video game voice actors, to online personalities. Many of them will be announced as the Kickstarter campaign progresses.

$south park the fractured but whole$

Will there be a “South Park: The Fractured but Whole” Vs “The Cyanide & Happiness Adventure Game” showdown later this year? Time will tell.

Robin TGG
“If” the Cyanide & Happiness game had been released this year (or perhaps it will?), then do you think that there “might” have been a “South Park: The Fractured but Whole” Vs “The Cyanide & Happiness” game standoff? (I’m aware that both games are very different, but both South Park and Cyanide & Happiness offers bat crazy-like humor).

Kris Wilson
I’d hope it would be less of a “Vs” and more of an “&” – South Park is obviously a big inspiration for us, and even though we were hugely inspired by how South Park: The Stick Of Truth allowed you to walk through the town of South Park. We don’t look to compete with them. We both make cartoons with dark humor, but we tend to stay away from a lot of current events and politics because we aim to make cartoons that still have a joke years from now for audiences both inside and outside of the US. I want both games to be great, because I really enjoy adult humored adventure games, and find them to be an important part of the game genre spectrum.

Robin TGG
What’s your own personal goals, hopes and expectations for the Cyanide & Happiness game?

Kris Wilson
It’s been really important that we’re telling a good story with characters that grow and change, while also involving the characters we’ve established over the 13 years C&H has been around. It’s also been important for us to try new things in the genre, like customization, multiple ways to answer puzzles, side quests and plenty of secrets to find.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game dead grandma

I really love the fact that trailer played the “I found an item” sound from “Zelda” when Coop picked up the dead grandmother xD

Robin TGG
What have the response and feedback been from fans and the Gaming community so far? (their thoughts on the announcement trailer for the game).

Kris Wilson
It’s been incredibly positive and inspiring all at once. It’s also interesting to see how many people think this is an elaborate setup for a prank. We feed off the excitement people have for the game, and we’ve already received lots of great feedback on what to include in the game that we’ll definitely add to the experience.

Robin TGG
What can the fans expect to get out of the Cyanide & Happiness game?

Kris Wilson
A new approach to point-and-click adventures filled dark comedy, drama, weirdness, and an apocalypse in the suburbs.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game crazy teacher

Newgrounds Roger Barr and Skeleton Crew Studios (“Abobo’s Big Adventure”, “Bionic Chainsaw Pogo Gorilla” and “Grave Chase”) is working on the CAHAG project.

Robin TGG
Will the Cyanide & Happiness game be the kind of game that anyone could pick up? Or will it be the kind of game that’s mainly suited for the fans?

Kris Wilson
It’s been tailored to be both. Luckily, a lot of our characters easily explain themselves. When you hear “Purple Shirted Eye Stabber” or “The Butt Shark” or “The Man Who Could Sit Anywhere” it doesn’t take long for someone new to the series to understand the characters and the odd things they represent.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game shark attack

I don’t know if people still remember the good ol’ SCI point-and-click adventure game “Kingdom O’ Magic”, but this picture made me think about that game (the crazy characters, inventory, dialogs and humor).

Robin TGG
There are plenty of different kinds of adventure games out on the market already. So could you perhaps explain why people should support and play this one particular adventure game? Furthermore, will this be the kind of adventure game where your character can die? (like you do in “Kingdom O’ Magic”, “Space Quest” or “The Walking Dead”, for example) Or is it the kind of game where the player’s character (s) can’t die?

Kris Wilson
We plan to weed out some of the things we didn’t enjoy about point and click games while adding things we wanted to see. We also don’t intend for this game to reflect off the nostalgia people have for older point and clicks, which is a large portion of the point and click games coming out these days. We want to bring back the feeling of a cartoon to the genre, but bring a new spin to the genre as well as a brand of humor that is hard to find in video games.

the cyanide and happiness adventure game toxic waste

This guy thought that it was a really good idea to rub his face with toxic waste, what could possibly go wrong there?

Robin TGG
What’s your plans, hopes and expectations for the rest of 2017? And is there anything that you would like to say to our readers?

Kris Wilson
I hope to be buried up to my grundle in-game development for the remainder of the year, and use this opportunity to establish a foundation for us to create more games in the future. We love games, and when we’re not making cartoons we’re often playing or talking about games. It revitalizes a lot of what we love about making cartoons and comedy when we get to stretch our legs in a new arena.

To any readers new and old, the support has been beyond incredible and we’re extremely grateful. I have a hard time considering this an indie game since we get to make this alongside our audience and even include them in the game, which is an opportunity that creators and fans don’t often get.