Hector: Badge of Carnage Q&A

Richard Morss, CEO of Straandlooper Animation, discusses how meddling potty-mouth Hector has managed to inspire such a following, and discusses their plans for upcoming release Hector II: Badge of Carnage.

1. Hector’s a cult hero, and no doubt a lot of fanboys will have their own ideas of where to take him next…did you take any of their suggestions on board for Hector 2?
The outline of the story was already in place, so we knew where we were going with it. In terms of the character, it was pretty well established, and we placed him in predicaments where his non-pc. reactions would be most fruitfully provoked. We hope that the new games are bigger and better than the first.

2. The controls are perfect for iPhones’ small screen…how have they been adapted for medium screen platforms? That’s a good question. And like most good questions must remain unanswered.

3. Hardened players who flew through the first game will surely have concerns about longevity this time around – is the new version much bigger? Yes, we took on board the criticism from some that the last game ended abruptly and added more characters, more humour, more of everything to the tune of about 30%.

4. Have you felt cowed into toning down Hector’s lewd manner, or has the mild controversy spurred you on to greater feats of crudeness? No we haven’t; and we’ve actually always been fairly careful to tread a line that is gross but acceptable. We like to think that we’re witty in the use of grossness rather than just gratuitously gross. Suffice it to say that lavatory humour plumbs new depths in these games, and Hector’s right down there plumbing.

5. A wider audience this time around means the potential to offend is even higher. How did this affect your approach to Ep.2? It didn’t. We figure that the game publicity sets out its pitch quite clearly, so people will know pretty much what they can expect. We hope the game is as funny as it is gross; we don’t set out to offend but to entertain.

6. How are you looking to improve on the game’s bold, stylised look? Naturally the design develops as a project matures, we were keen to make the cut scenes in the new games better than last time, and to maintain the inventiveness around the creation of outlandish new characters and locations. We employed a larger animation team this time.

7. Where will the new storyline take Hector to this time around?
The new storylines pay off the story set up in Episode One, so the games are set in the now familiar dingy world of Clapper’s Wreake. We visit many new locales there and meet some extraordinary characters ranging from a Dickensian street urchin to an unfrocked Nun.

8. Has Hector learnt anything from his previous assignment? Is he less bumbling, more considerate, more altruistic? Or is he even worse? Hector is way beyond learning anything- learning is for wimps. A problem has to be beaten into submission. Altruism as a concept is alien to Hector and makes him feel ill. As for considerateness- he does consider his behaviour, it’s just behaviour- numpty!

9. Will Hector ever be given any overseas assignments, such as teaming up with the French forces for instance? How might such an obviously cultured figure respond to directions from our Gallic cousins? Nothing definite as yet. Obviously the skills that made Hector the ‘ All Forces Negotiator’s Negotiator 2006’ are much in demand from our European enemies-er-partners. And Hector’s smiling comment “No garlic munchin’ snail gobblin’ cobjockey’s gonna give me the runaround…” coupled with Lambert’s multi-cultural credentials “I did go to a Lambarda class with Philomema so I suppose that makes me bi-lingual…” mean that it’s only a matter of time.

10. Does Hector get a sidekick in Ep.2? Or a love interest? If not, are there any plans to introduce such characters into the series? Hector has always had a sidekick! How could you have missed Lambert? Hector and Lambert are as fond and inseparable a pair of buddies as Dave Cameron and Nick Clegg! As for lurve- Hector doesn’t do lurve- but lust inevitably rears its ugly head, but for an officer as dedicated and frequently drunk as Hector maintaining a romantic relationship is as likely as Pope Benedict sponsoring the Marie Stopes Foundation. Inexplicably though, Hector is something of a mutton magnet – women of a certain age and desperation often throw themselves at him. Generally he throws them right back.