14 DAY TRIAL // Danny Bilson, the ex-leader of the core games division at now defunct studio THQ, says that the recently launched South Park: The Stick of Truth delivered on the promise it made when his company worked on the title, and explains that the experience took time to develop because of its unique nature.
Speaking to VG247, the former executive explains that despite Obsidian’s reputation the game was never riddled with bugs and problems, and the delays it suffered were linked to the mechanics and narrative that the development team was working on.
THQ was initially in charge of publishing duties for South Park: The Stick of Truth, and after the company went under the title was picked up by Ubisoft, which promptly delayed it by one full year.
Bilson states, “There was a lot of rewriting, I’m sure. Those guys have done brilliant work for something like 18 years, and they really wanted this game to be the South Park game, their South Park, their work, not some interpretation. There was a lot of creative development that went on over the course of the project.”
Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of the South Park animated series, were heavily involved in the creation of The Stick of Truth and the quality of the experience, and the hilarious situations and dialog reflect that.
The former executive adds, “Obsidian had a plan, and the South Park guys had a plan, of what they could do and how they could do it and when. And to make it awesome, as I absolutely believe it is, it took a lot more time than anybody had planned up front.”
South Park – The Stick of Truth was launched earlier during the month and attracted mostly positive reviews.
Most gamers praised the way it brought the world of animated show to life and the quality of the overall writing.
The weakest area of the Obsidian-made experience is the combat system, which aims to keep the player focused by using an action system but fails to remain exciting in the long term.
Ubisoft sought to avert controversy by censoring some elements of the game before launch, which prompted Matt Stone to say that video games and cartoon series have different standards when it comes to what is offensive.
Modders created an unlock for all the censored elements, but Ubisoft explained that it might ban those who use it.