[Xavier]

4PP: Chickens are horrible. They have beady, soulless eyes, and I’m not sad that people eat them. What were the challenges in making the chicken people so damn funny and likable?

LL: That’s funny, and I don’t disagree. Here’s the story…

I was in this nature store one day and came upon a postcard with an angry as hell looking bald eagle photo on it. This bird was so condescending looking. I mean, it really gave that impression that it was far better than you and I and didn’t give a damn about what we thought of it. It’s face said everything. This bird was a real prick, it knew it, and it didn’t care. It had this elitist air that looked grumpy and tenacious, and a bit of a conservative thinker. I just loved it. To me, it perfectly represented early American settlers. That’s what the townsfolk were about and were inspired by, American and Australian settlers that didn’t give a shit about who’s land they stole, so long as it served their own purpose. So…

I brought this eagle image into Silvio’s office and said, “These are what our townsfolk should feel like, but they need to retain absurdity and goofball qualities.” That picture spoke a million words, and really that’s what we’re always trying to achieve in character design. Designs that communicate much more than just character designs, but embrace communicate attitude, irony, and audaciousness. If you can get that right, you can get some engaging characters that have the potential to be fun to flay with, but also fun to mess around with. “Mess with their minds” was a theme throughout the production of the game amoungst the game design team. Personally, I suspect I’m a cruel game player. I want characters that I can bat around and abuse for some good laughs. I admit, its messed up, but we’re a messed up species and I’ve never claimed to be an exception.

http://4playerpodcast.com/2009/07/06...ath-interview/