"Funniest. Game. Ever"

Scot Amos, the Executive Producer at Electronic Arts for The Simpsons Game, talks about working with one of the most talented writing teams in the comedy business.

What was it like working with a writing and voice acting team as talented as those on The Simpsons?
Exceptional! These folks are star talents of professional calibre and without them, we’d have never reached the level of quality we did. They’ve known what funny is for so long, it’s infectious getting to work with them.

How does writing a Simpsons videogame differ from writing an episode of the show?
Games being interactive don’t have the guaranteed timing of a linear media like a show or movie. So we have to plan for players to do things out of the order we intended and have to be real-time reactive to players’ actions. Also, show-watchers enjoy the half-hour in one chunk; some players may play for 15 mins, leave, come back later and we have to keep them on track with the story!

How do you think the writing in the game compares to the writing on the show or movie?
Fans and press have given the game huge praise as the “Funniest. Game. Ever.” Which speaks for itself.

Are you a fan of any of the genres parodied in the game?
As a diehard gamer, I love everything we parodied … from old school arcade classics to more contemporary selections like the WWII shooter genre, the fantasy RPG, etc. I’m a game addict and play everything I can get my hands on…

How do you come up with scenarios that will make for good game levels?
The writers initiated the storyline then the game design team would map out what mechanics [moves] each character had, how to parody either classic games or reference other Simpsons history, and start tying it together. Because we’re inside a video game we have the ultimate leeway to make anything happen.

Do you feel good storytelling is at odds with good game design?
Not at all… many great videogames from recent first-person shooters to open-world RPGs to our action/platformer have proven you can have great storylines that compliment good game design.

Do you have a favourite character?
Hmmm… I think Lisa’s powers in the game, once she’s fully unlocked, are really impressive! However, I’ve always enjoyed Monty Burns as a character … he’s just so simply evil.

Did you gain any new insights about the characters while working with the actors and writers?
We had to immerse ourselves into the franchise’s history and lore to understand where to take the characters and what inside jokes we could make for the family. It was a very fun stint of R&D!

Did the Simpsons actors ad lib a lot?
Actually, the actors were consummate professionals and would periodically rewrite things on the fly for extra takes they felt were truer to their characters. But more often than not, especially with the writers generally directing their own scripts, you could see the great rapport and collaboration between all of the creative talents and respect for each others art.