Don't Shit Your Pants

Don't Shit Your Pants

Developer(s)
  • Teddy Lee
  • Kenny "Rete" Lee
Publisher(s) Decade Studios
Engine Adobe Flash
Platform(s) Browser
Release date(s)
  • WW February 19, 2009
Genre(s) Text-based
Mode(s) Single-player

Don't Shit Your Pants is a text-based browser video game developed by Teddy and Kenny "Rete" Lee for Cellar Door Games (formerly Decade Studios). The only objective of the game is to use a text prompt to prevent a man standing beside a closed door from defecating himself. It was the first title released by the Lee brothers, becoming popular as well as receiving positive critical reception.

Gameplay

The game is presented in a single room, featuring a bald man standing beside a closed door in his pajama bottoms and undershirt. The only objective is to prevent the man from defecating himself, using a text prompt to enter in commands;[1] the game starts upon entering the word "start".[2] Up to ten achievements may be rewarded for players experimenting with ways to defecate.[3]

Development

Don't Shit Your Pants was the first title that the Lee brothers released on the Internet, as well as their under their company, Decade Studios, before changing the name to Cellar Door Games.[4][5] Kenny Lee explained that he had only started developing games seriously around the time of its release, although he had toyed with the concept for a while. The two were the sole developers of the game upon its creation; after receiving "incredible feedback" on it, however, this soon grew to several, with individuals working on both sound and design.[4] Meanwhile, Lee was responsible for art and design. The game, programmed in Adobe Flash, was originally developed with just a text input, but Lee decided to make it "a Hugo's House of Horrors-type game."[4]

Elaborating on the art style of the game, Lee was inspired by adventure games produced in the Enhanced Graphics Adapter display standard.[4] He encountered difficulty emulating the 16-color palette due to newer applications being enforced, such as anti-aliasing and a widened color palette; Lee also stated that he had no experience in visual arts. Because of this, he had to consult Deluxe Paint in order to force the limited palette and screen resolution.[4] On its premise, Lee explained that it came from an email at work that made him "laugh out at work."[4] The protagonist, intentionally left nameless, was not based on anyone in particular, but Lee based the design off Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island series since he could not draw himself.[4]

Production of the game took about two weeks; Lee commented that it could have been shorter, but he had no prior experience with ActionScript, and the game could only be worked on evenings. Its title was the only one worked with; Lee said that, while they had reservations on changing it, they decided to keep it the same as "vulgarity would get people to click it though".[4] He added that, despite the name, they wanted to keep it "keep it as clean as possible", in particular, minimizing the display of excrement.[4]

Release and reception

The game was released as freeware onto the Internet on February 16, 2009.[6] The game was jokingly categorized as "survival horror" by co-developer Teddy Lee. It has since received popularity for its subject matter;[4][7] Andrew Groen of The Penny Arcade Report called it the company's tour de force.[8]

Writing for Esquire, Ben Collins called it "best video game in existence" and "much more difficult than it sounds" while on the topic of an interview with Jennifer Lawrence on the Late Show with David Letterman.[9] Owen Good of Kotaku opined that it had "surprisingly strong replay value" despite its premise.[3] IndieGames.com placed it third of the "best freeware experimental games" of 2009.[10] John Walker of Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it "the sort of immature 30 seconds of nonsense" that only his colleague Sam which referred him to the game could have found.[11] Multiple reviewers for The A.V. Club wrote that it "will elicit laughs from anyone still capable of appreciating a quality shit joke" and dubbed it "a digital companion piece" to the book Everyone Poops.[1] Discussing the company's later title, Rogue Legacy, Chris Kohler of Wired felt it was a "micro-sized game" at first, but "through cleverly encouraging repeated replays, it provides more entertainment than a game of its scope otherwise would."[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wolinsky, David; Fischer, Russ; Teti, John; Heisler, Steve. "March 29, 2010". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ W., Tim (February 17, 2009). "Browser Game Pick: Don't Soil Your Pants (Rete)". IndieGames.com. UBM Tech. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Good, Owen (February 21, 2009). "Saturday Timewaster: Don't Shit Your Pants". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 W., Tim (December 11, 2009). "Interview: Kenny Lee Tells You Not to Soil Your Pants". IndieGames.com. UBM Tech. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ Martin, Michael (January 27, 2014). "Rogue Legacy: PlayStation's Rogue-'lite' in the cellar". PlayStation Universe. 7578768 Canada Inc. p. 1 (paginated). Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Don't Shit Your Pants". Cellar Door Games. September 30, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ Davison, Pete (June 21, 2013). "Greenlight, Genetic Flatulence and 'Roguelites'". Gamer Network. USgamer. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  8. ↑ Groen, Andrew (May 21, 2013). "The sins of the father: building a lineage of brave, flatulent, giant heroes in Rogue Legacy". The Penny Arcade Report. Penny Arcade. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Collins, Ben (November 21, 2013). "Jennifer Lawrence Talked About Pooping Her Pants and Now We're All in on Jennifer Lawrence". Esquire. Hearst Magazines. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Best Freeware Experimental Games 2009". IndieGames.com. UBM Tech. January 18, 2010. p. 3 (paginated). Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ Walker, John (March 2, 2009). "Useful Advice: Don't Shit Your Pants". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  12. ↑ Kohler, Chris (July 19, 2013). "Why Games Like Rogue Legacy Should Terrify Big Publishers". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.

External links