E3 2008: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

Thu, Jul 17, 2008

I have a soft spot for independent games, and this year's E3 summit placed a few on display at the IndieCade booths on the show floor. I had a look at a few as-yet-unknowns, but my favorite this year was unquestionably a charming little puzzle-platformer called The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. A few of the game's creators were on hand to guide me through this quirky brain-teaser, which they are hoping to publish "in the near future" via Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare, or otherwise. Read on, you mischievous rapscallions, for a glimpse at this promising game based on silent film, time paradoxes, and delicious mincemeat pies.

At first, I admit, I was skeptical when the Winterbottom team started to show off their game. The game's primary mechanic, you see, revolves around traversing short levels through simultaneous incarnations of one's own character, using time travel to repeat events as necessary. This may certainly be a very clever gameplay element, but I've already played that game -- it was called Chronotron. I would quickly discover, however, that Winterbottom manages to execute the time-travel platforming puzzle in fast-paced, quick-platforming-reflexes ways that Chronotron's measured, precise pacing could not. Furthermore, it also turns the entire mechanic on its ear, exploring the premise in three separate game modes that force the player to constantly reinvent his strategy.

PB Winterbottom The most basic of game modes is a simple matter of level traversal. P.B. Winterbottom, an umbrella-wielding ne'er-do-well, is at one end of the level, and waiting at the other end is a nice warm pie. Winterbottom, obviously, would like to consume said pie with all haste, but it is invariably placed in impossible-to-reach locations. Foiled again? Not quite; Winterbottom's misadventures are taking place in a turn-of-the-century silent movie, and P.B. has the mysterious ability to roll back the film at will. This allows him to inhabit the game world at the same time as an existing recording of himself, and interact with his doppelganger(s) in various helpful ways. At its most basic, this can involve standing patiently underneath a pie that is out of jumping range, rewinding the film, jumping on top of his previously-recorded self, and using the extra height to finally reach the pie. From there, the levels begin to require increasingly clever solutions -- perhaps even purposefully hurling oneself onto a bed of spikes, so that upon rewinding the film, a recorded clone will hurl himself to his death, thus leaving behind his corpse as a handy, spike-free landing zone for subsequent travelers. The most nefarious of levels may involve half a dozen Winterbottoms, all working in tandem for a chance at the delicious taste of pie.

WB Tower These mechanics, again, are fairly familiar to players of similar games such as Chronotron, but where Winterbottom brings it home is in the simplicity and immediacy of the "film rewind" action. Rather than having to act out a complicated series of events long in advance, going through the length of the level for every "clone" incarnation, Winterbottom players can hit the rewind button at any time, for as short a time as is needed. A quick stab of the button while standing still will provide the aforementioned clone-platform, but a quick hop and second rewind later, your tower of clones has raised you up even higher, and so on down the line. Instead of measured, slow-paced time manipulation, P.B. Winterbottom manages to combine the planning and puzzling of time paradox with quick-moving gameplay, which allows players to experiment quickly and easily with the levels, without getting frustrated.

From there, things only get trickier. A second gameplay mode restricts Winterbottom to a single clone, and the goal of collecting several pies within an extremely short window of time. Winterbottom can see the pies but not collect them at first; having him jump on a button in the level will allow the pies to be grabbed, but only for a few seconds. Players are forced to plan out the level well in advance in this mode, figuring out how to get two (and only two) Winterbottoms to several locations practically all at once.

Winter1 The most fiendish version was saved for last, during my demo. It starts out simply enough -- Winterbottom needs to cross the level and grab the pie. From there, however, a second pie appears, and Winterbottom must reach it next, except that the recording of his journey to the first pie is now playing on an unstoppable loop -- and this time around, the clone is deadly to the touch. Dodging one clone isn't hugely difficult, but then the second journey starts playing as well. Soon, the screen begins to fill up with Winterbottoms, all dashing around the level along differing routes, making it extremely tough to get around. The object is simply to get as many pies as possible before a faux Winterbottom inevitably crosses your path.

The Winterbottom team has explored the "time paradox" mechanic in exciting new ways -- as it was described to me, P.B. Winterbottom is, all at once, the game's hero, the game's villain, and portions of the game's level. To top it all off, the game is hugely charming and hilarious. The graphics, a strictly 2D affair, consist of sprites which look like plasticine sculptures, and backdrops resembling the humor/gothic motif of Tim Burton or Charles Addams. I should also point out that I'm a sucker for 1920s-30s jargon as humor material, and I burst out laughing every time a full-screen "silent film" caption appeared with lines like "Horsefeathers to Time Portals, I say!" or "Dangnabit Winterbottom!" This game is clearly a project that the team had a wonderful time creating.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom will, with any luck, find its way to a casual distribution medium near you some time soon. We congratulate its creators on an excellent IndieCade submission and wish them luck in the future.