PeBeFri

Who loves orange soda?

Does your own opinion of stickers more closely align with that of Louise Belcher, or that of Mabel Pines?

In a recent interview, you discussed why you no longer perform on college campuses:

...[T]hey’re way too conservative... in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody.

This reflects a common sentiment among First Amendment advocates who claim the modern student body values the safety of not being offended over their right to free speech, which has led to campus "speech codes" — even in public universities.

What do you think this new attitude means for the future of comedy? And what would you say to someone who is reluctant to allow you to perform on their campus because of the topics you are known to discuss and lampoon?

The controversy surrounding Big Bird's guest appearance in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood offered a solid case study of a clash of educational philosophies. Mr. Rogers, famous for his hardline approach to teaching children to differentiate between fantasy and reality ("Wishes don't make things come true"), apparently saw no problem with shattering the illusion of Big Bird, while you wished to let children maintain their belief that he was real, while their innocence still allowed for such things.

How do you feel about the disagreement nowadays? In an age of panic over video games and other media teaching impressionable children that violence is an acceptable solution to interpersonal conflict, and even some rather convincing arguments against teaching children about Santa Claus, do you have a greater understanding of Mr. Rogers' viewpoint? And would you argue that a philosophy of preserving childhood innocence can be reconciled with Big Bird's learning about what happened to Mr. Hooper (who notably did not "go to a better place")?

Adventure Games

1. I read an interview with you somewhere — it must have been Computer Gaming World or that promotional magazine LucasArts used to package with the games — where you talked about designing Ben Whatsisname's character as someone the player could be proud of (as opposed to a character like Bernard). Are you still influenced by this philosophy? Do you believe a playing character like Ben is the most relatable and interesting? Or would that be a more flawed character like Manny, who must have done something really nasty to have to work at the Department of Death (and got detention a lot)?

2. There are some mechanics of old adventure games I found interesting and unique. For example, in Sam & Max Hit the Road and The Dig, dialogue options were shown as icons rather than the lines of dialogue themselves, so you had no way of knowing precisely what your character would say. Do you wish any such features that have since fallen out of favor would make a comeback?

3. One thing I've noticed about modern adventure games is that they tend to have more simplified commands than the adventure games of yore: Left-click on an object and the game will determine whether your intent was to take it, inspect it, talk to it, or otherwise interact with it. This is, of course, a far cry from a bank of commands from "Talk to" to "Give" to "Open" to "Close." Do you find such simplification restrictive?

4. Likewise, modern games' preference for minimal interfaces prove problematic at times. For example, having Manny remove inventory items from his coat one at a time looked elegant, but it rendered him unable to use items in his inventory together. And, of course, there were times when he needed to, like the severed hand and the grinder, so he had to place the grinder back where it was if he already picked it up. Do you have any regrets about sacrificing ease for aesthetics?

The Video Game Industry

1. Given your recent Kickstarter success, do you believe we're now in a new era of community-funded games that eliminate the middleman and provide entertainment to the masses directly, aided by technology such as online downloads and payments?

2. What's your take on DRM? Do you believe that a DRM-free honor system is feasible?

3. Do you believe that indie games will ever be able to take on the major publishers, market share-wise?

4. I assume someone like you believes video games are art. As such, are you invested in the movement to "preserve" old games and port them to modern formats for new audiences?

5. So I have this friend, see? And he believes he has an idea for an indie game that will be unbelievably groundbreaking and innovative in terms of game mechanics and interactive storytelling. This in spite of the fact that his education and career path have nothing whatsoever to do with the gaming industry. Assuming my friend has any chance whatsoever to have his plans come to fruition in his lifetime, what advice would you give him to make his dreams a reality?

Specific Games

1. Why did you introduce Hoagie and Laverne as new characters rather than bring back Dave or any of the other original characters from Maniac Mansion? Did you find Bernard to be the only interesting/funny one?

2. How many people besides me would you reckon have noticed the fine print in Suzi's plans to recapture the restored hardtail?

3. What do you think about the cancelled sequels for Full Throttle? Do you agree with me that Full Throttle's ending was a logical endpoint in the narrative?

4. If you're sprouted (or shredded to pieces, or whatever) in the Land of the Dead, what happens to your consciousness? Does it cease to exist, or does it just stay there next to your immobile remains, forever? O_o

5. Are you as disappointed as I am that they retconned Herman Toothrot's backstory in Escape from Monkey Island, rendering it incompatible with the narrative supplied by the captain's log Guybrush finds in the Sea Monkey?

Personal

1. Given Full Throttle and the Bonewagon, I've always assumed you were something of a motor vehicle enthusiast. True?

2. So what, exactly, do you have against cats? You realize, of course, that you are now in what is firmly established as cat lover territory?

3. Just one more thing. When I was a teenager, one of my teachers handed out a form where you wrote your ideal career and a person from that career you'd like to talk to about how to get in said career yourself. The school or some other agency would supposedly try to set up an interview with you and that person. I was somewhat naïve back then, to put it gently, and my responses were "PC game designer" and "Tim Schafer," respectively. What do you make of that?

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Edit:

Thanks to everyone for their constructive criticism. For the record:

• I believe I understand the concept of IAMA: You can ask someone anything if they say you can, though they aren't necessarily obligated to answer anything. Thus, I don't expect TimOfLegend to answer all my questions (though of course I'd be delighted if he did).

• I'm not a stalker. I just have an unusually good memory, and was an optimistic teenager and a fan of adventure games when Grim Fandango came out.