Bill Tiller – Duke Grabowski, Mighty Swashbuckler!
[b]Jack[/b]: Could we consider Duke a kind of anti-Guybrush? Guybrush was a meek, mild-mannered lad who desperately wanted to be taken seriously as a pirate, whereas Duke seems like a gruff, rough-and-tumble buccaneer who wants to be taken seriously as a gentleman. Would you say that’s a fair assessment?
[b]Bill[/b]: Yeah, though they are both good guys and heroic, so they aren’t exactly opposites. They have the same overall goals, but their personalities are very different. Duke is socially awkward, kind of quiet, and quick to take offense. The big guy also has pretty low self-esteem, which causes him to try hard to get approval from his peers. What Duke needs to learn is that his peers – the ship’s crew – are a bunch of low-life scum and he doesn’t really need them as friends. They don’t like him anyway. They think he is too dangerous and dumb to be part of the crew: stupid, strong and angry is a bad combination in cramped quarters. Duke is easily swayed by charismatic people, and during the game Duke will learn that smooth talkers can be liars, and despite what they say, they don’t really have his interests at heart.
[b]Jack[/b]: What are some of the fine messes he’ll be getting himself into in his travels?
[b]Bill[/b]: To trick him off the ship, smooth-talking Slewface convinces Duke that not any pirate can be a captain. Only swashbucklers can be captains, and swashbucklers have many talents and one of them is being smooth with the ladies. If Duke can get three women on the island to fall in love with him, that would prove he is a swashbuckler. Once he is a swashbuckler, the crew will vote him as the new captain. So Duke, being easily swayed, thinks this makes sense and goes off to prove he is swashbuckler material. Slewface and the crew know that there is no way this monosyllabic knuckle-dragger is going to get anyone to fall in love with him. They think they are scot-free. Duke is nervous and has no idea what to say to the fairer sex and just makes a mess of things.
Some other messes involve a wrestling match with a 500-pound gorilla, a fort full of wicked Vooju Raiders, and an unexpected lesson about the power of Vooju.
[b]Jack[/b]: What can you tell us about some of the other colourful characters he’ll meet along the way?
[b]Bill[/b]: First, he gets to know Sheriff Nancy Steele real well, because she realizes Duke is trouble and is constantly watching and arresting him.
Now, Duke’s mom taught him to be respectful to the police and women, so Duke generally does what Nancy says. At first, Nancy thinks he is a dumb oaf who is going to ruin her town, but then as she gets to know him better, she begins to sympathize with him more, and even to like him a little. She slowly pieces together the whole story and figures out that his crew has sent him on a wild goose chase. At first this just annoys her that they sent him to her island, but after a while she starts to kind of root for the big guy.
Duke will also meet Jane Starling, one of the main characters from Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island. She is on a secret mission again, and has finally met her match, an as-yet-to-be-named 500-pound gorilla. Jane thinks Duke might just be the perfect man to help her out.
He will also meet and help Lady Aziza, a North African lady who is trying to escape with her two girls from her wealthy and powerful husband. The kids were captured and are being held for ransom by a gang of Vooju-worshiping pirates called the Ogu Raiders. Can Duke help save them?
Duke will also meet the pirate ladies of the Gnarly Narwhal tavern, and the beefcake that parade around as the island’s firemen.
[b]Jack[/b]: That’s quite the lineup. Can we count on more traditional adventuring that we’ve come to expect from you over the years? Any (gameplay) surprises up your sleeve?
[b]Bill[/b]: Lots of traditional gameplay, for sure, but to simulate what it’s like to be Duke, we have added a few wrinkles that will vary up the gameplay quite a bit. I like to add new wrinkles when I can, like Mona’s vampire powers, or the ghost powers from Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island. In this case, I want Duke’s strength, anger issues, and slow wits to be represented in the gameplay and puzzles. They can be a boon at times, and a real burden at others.
Duke’s prodigious strength will factor into the gameplay, but an insult swordfighter he is not
[b]Jack[/b]: You’re once again working with Gene Mocsy, your partner-in-crime on Ghost Pirates. What makes you and Gene such a good team?
[b]Bill[/b]: Gene is patient and pretty indefatigable. He is also very well-read and knowledgeable. Plus, he is an actor, writer, artist and filmmaker. So we have a lot in common. But most importantly, he has a great sense of humor. I love stand-up comedians, especially the more controversial ones like Dave Chappelle, Lisa Lampanelli and Greg Giraldo, and they have influenced my humor. But that also means I’m inappropriate at times, and Gene is good at keeping me on the straight and narrow.
He also has a great imagination and comes up with a variety of ideas, very quickly. I tend to focus on plot and characters, and Gene can take the skeleton I come up with and completely flesh it out, taking what was fairly thin in concept and making it real. That is basically the way we complement each other.
Gene also has a pretty level head, whereas I am all over the place, from super high to apathetic low. He is this solid steady force that keeps the train rolling down the track.
[b]Jack[/b]: How did the two of you meet and end up working together originally?
[b]Bill[/b]: He and my wife, and Jeremy Koerner (the voice of Froderick the Bat) were all part of a theatre company. Gene found out that I was looking for a scripter and writer for A Vampyre Story and another unnamed game. We hit it off right away, and have been helping each other’s projects ever since.
[b]Jack[/b]: So who’s responsible for what in particular on Duke Grabowski?
[b]Bill[/b]: Jeremiah Grant, Gene Mocsy and I share responsibility. We all have our areas of focus, but have input on the whole company and project. I concentrate on story and art, as well as contribute to puzzle design. Gene focuses on writing and puzzle design and contributes to art and scripting, as well as organizing the voiceover work. Jeremiah focuses on technology and business development, and also does the rigging and scripting. If our Kickstarter succeeds, we will hire Romero Alves to lead the animation, and we’ll contract out our character modeling, though we hope Ed Brilliant will do most of the important character work. We hope to have all new music for the game and that is one of our first reach goals with the Kickstarter.
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