The Indie Game Magazine May 2014 | Issue 37 | Page 9

INTERVIEW

PARANAUTICAL
Interview & Reflection
w/ Mike Maulbeck
Bonnie Burgette
Paranautical Activity is a unique rogue-like
game with visuals and action that are reminiscent
of the early Doom and Quake series, but a gaming
structure and power-up system that’s more like The
Binding of Isaac. Its bright colors and rage-inducing
enemies have made it a favorite with many gamers,
and we spoke with Mike Maulbeck, the game’s
developer (AKA “SpooderW”), to ask him how it
came to be, and what we can expect in the future.
Pauranatical Activity’s development came
about on lark, while Maulbeck and Travis Pfenning
(the game’s artist) were working on another project,
and decided they needed a break. Rather than take
that break, they began work on a “just-for-fun” side
project. Maulbeck thought a Cubeworld-like game
made with voxels would be great, while Pfenning
argued that something with a more complex art
style was the way to go. They compromised by
emulating the style of those older FPS rogue-likes,
leading to the game we see today.
While some might be confused about the
comparisons of Paranautical Activity to games
like The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky, Maulbeck
explains, “I think they’re really similar in some
ways and different in others… they’re all really hard
perma-death and randomly-generated. If you put a
first-person camera in Isaac, it would look a lot like
Paranautical Activity.”

a large influence on the game we see today.
YouTuber Green9090 suggested an invincibility
timer (activated upon damage being taken); this
is now a key feature. Matthew Swauger, an artist/
gamer, drew a turtle wearing a rocket launcher -this enemy will be in the next update. The in-game
crossbow was influenced by a Let’s Player simply
asking for it in a video.
Regarding the official release, Maulbeck says
that he is, “looking forward to working on something
else totally different,” and that doing so, “is going to
be really cool.” He hopes to only release two more
updates before the official release. There won’t be
anything large in either update, but the tendency
toward adding more user-inspired content will
definitely be a part of it.
You can follow Mike Maulbeck on Twitter @
spooderw, and Travis Pfenning @Vallisca3x3x3.
Look for the final version of Paranautical Activity to
be released this Summer. It’s currently available on
Steam for $9.99.

Certainly, the maps and item system/collection
in both games are strikingly similar. But one major
difference between item collection in Isaac and PA,
however, is that while you must collect a magnet
in Isaac that draws items to you, magnetized
collection is automated in PA by design, due to
a player’s suggestion. Player feedback has been

9
The Indie Game Magazine | www.indiegamemag.com