Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL

Derek Yu — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:46:00 +0000

Thanks to Hideous for scanning/translating for us an interview with Petri Purho in Swedish gaming magazine LEVEL! Petri is the creator of countless experimental games, including the IGF 2008 Grand Prize winner, Crayon Physics Deluxe. He also summons demons onto Earth when he undoes his ponytail and starts wailing on the guitar.

Here’s the scan, and here’s the translation:

In Finland, there’s a guy playing with crayons and physics on a computer screen. How can you not love something like that? Time to talk to Petri Purho.

So who is Petri Purho?

Well, I was born in 1983 in Kouvola, Finland. For almost 16 years I’ve had game programming as a hobby and I’ve worked on different projects. During fall 2006 I started Kloonigames with the idea of releasing a new game every month on the internet. Except for when I had a months vacation, I managed to do that.

How did you get the idea of Crayon Physics Deluxe?

I got the idea when I heard about a children’s book named ‘Pelle and the red crayon” and it’s about a kid who draws the world with crayons. That’s the basic concept of what I’m working on right now. You can draw whatever you want instead of just rectangles, and that opens up new possibilities and a free, interactive world.

What’s the hardest thing about designing a world like this and the endless amount of variables that you have to predict?

First I thought the biggest problem would be the open nature of the game, and that people would cheat through the levels. Then I found out that that’s not a problem since Crayon Physics Deluxe is not about finding a specific solution, but more about getting the players to find creative solutions. Personally, the most fun thing about it is finding unnecessarily complicated solutions to solve very simple tasks. So the biggest challenge is to create challenging puzzles without at the same time limiting the player’s creativity.

Will you be able to create your own levels?

Absolutely, the game will include a level editor that you can play around with, so if anyone hates my puzzles, they can create their own.

Crayon Physics Deluxe looks like it’s the Nintendo DS’ best friend. Do you have any plans on trying to create the game for different platforms?

The problem is that it’s hard to find a publisher, money and so forth to be able to publish the game on the Nintendo DS, but I would love to play it on that machine.

You released the prototype for free, but what will you do with CPD?

I’m going to try to sell it on my website for about $20 and there will of course be a demo that you can download and try first.

And finally, will I be able to draw penises in the game?

Absolutely. That’s what I do all the time. And if you’re like me and you like to draw penises, you can make that your goal: To clear all the puzzles in CPD just by drawing penises.

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Hideous

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:13:46 +0000

Looking through my translation… It needs polishing :P

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Andiaz

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:36:23 +0000

Yeah, like if your penis is too big (zing!).

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Eclipse

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:25:47 +0000

So Petri like penis? :O

i think it need to limit the gameplay in some manner, the crayon physic test was very simply to cheat.. maybe something that ends your figure if too big

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Andiaz

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:01:54 +0000

Awesome, I love that magazine. :D

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Hideous

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:54:05 +0000

Awesome!

For some reason, this magazine keeps ending up in my mailbox, even though my subscription ended last year. I’m very happy about that now :P

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Corpus

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:36:43 +0000

Whatever, mainstream man. Whatever.

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by mainstream man

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:22:12 +0000

“He also summons demons onto Earth when he undoes his ponytail and starts wailing on the guitar.”

I find that highly unlikely.

TIGSource: Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL

Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Hideous

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Andiaz

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Eclipse

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Andiaz

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Hideous

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by Corpus

"Petri Purho Interview in LEVEL" by mainstream man