Iconic nerd Kevin Smith is at it once again, but this time, it's not a movie with which he's involved. Instead, it's a video game currently seeking crowdfunding based on the adventures of Smith's characters Jay and Silent Bob, who debuted in the 1994 film Clerks.
It's called Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch, and so far, it looks to capture exactly what fans love about the two lovable drug dealers. The setup is that Jay and Bob's customers have mysteriously gone missing within a new mall simply known as "the Galleria." It's a massive complex filled with apartments, shops, restaurants and more, and once a customer enters, they never leave.
Of course, it's up to Jay and Silent Bob to save the day, and they'll do that with a stylish combat system designed by developer Interbang Entertainment. It's a classic 2D brawler with tag team elements inspired by games like Donkey Kong Country, meaning two players can jump in to play at the same time and can help each other perform combos.
However, Jay and Silent Bob don't just fight with their fists. The characters are known for slinging profanity and insults, and the game's proposed "Convo Combo" system will let players do just that.
"With the Convo Combo mechanic, players alter a branching story line and shape the outcome of boss interactions through fast-paced, dirty dozen, insult-driven combat," Interbang says. "It feels like a fighting game, but instead of breaking your opponent's body your aim is to break them in a much more permanent psychological way. Or, if flattery and persuasion is more to your taste, you might try to avoid the fight entirely, perhaps even making an ally in the process. We are putting together an intricate facial animation system to articulate the expressive nature of insult combat."
Interbang says it's been working on the game for roughly a year, and if funding for the campaign is a success, expect the game to arrive in February of 2018 for PC, with the potential for the game to also release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch is currently seeking $400,000 on Fig, the video game crowdfunding site recently made famous by Psychonauts 2. In addition to standard backer rewards lie T-shirts, action figures and, if you contribute enough, a walk-in on Kevin Smith's next film, investors can also contribute to the campaign and potentially reap some of the profits when the game officially releases.
