Matt Stone talks South Park game: Being censored a 'badge of honour'

A scene from the game South Park: The Stick of Truth.

South Park co-creator Matt Stone discusses is role in the new South Park computer game and what he and Trey Parker were trying to achieve.

Read TimeOut's review of the game South Park: The Stick of Truth here.

In the game, you play as the New Kid in town. Why do you think this was important rather than playing as the four boys?

When we first started talking about a game, it didn't feel right if you could play as Cartman because you wouldn't be able to control what he says. The cool parts of an RPG would be to be able to play your own character, and then meet the boys. You want to hear the boys talk to you. You want to hear Cartman and Butters. It would be weird to play them, to assume them and make them do things they might not do. So when we decided to make you play a new kid who moves to South Park, the first thing that confronted us was "How do you talk? What does your voice sounds like?" Trey has always been a vocal opponent of RPG story-based games where your character talks, where you are assuming the character of Max Payne or whoever and then you have to watch this person say something, and you are like "I wouldn't say that, I would say something different!" So we actually tried to make this a device in the game: an RPG where you don't talk, and your actions and interplay with people are what drive the story forward. We tried to make a joke of it. People in the real word think like: "Why doesn't this kid talk?" But really, it started from the question: "What does the kid sounds like"? And we decided not to answer this question.

In essence, the kids are playing a kids make-believe game with its own set of rules. What attracted you to this sense of "kids playing"?

We have had a lot of success in episodes where we have the kids dress up like someone and play that game or show, like Star trek, or Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones. It just lent itself to "kid logic". We also love when our kids get to talk with heavy tones like in Lord of the Rings. I love these big, epic movies like Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones, or video games that try to imitate them but don't have quite the dialogue writers for it. I always picture Cartman talking like he is in these movies. In Lord of the Rings I always picture Cartman saying every Gandalf line. It is way funnier, and Cartman would totally do that. At the end of the day it is funny to hear the boys talk like that, and it gives them a level of reality that is sort of funnier. It's supposed to work on different levels when you play this RPG. You are supposed to build your character, and that part of the game within a game worked out very well. You build your character and get stronger and stronger within the kid's game. At the same time it is also happening to you as yourself in South Park playing the New Kid. It's like in a Grand Theft Auto: you moved to a new town and you have to sort of prove yourself. Hopefully when the game works well it's working on both levels: for the character's personal story and for the game within a game.

What is the significance of the Stick of Truth itself?

We set up the stick in the Black Friday trilogy, at the end of the last season. It was always meant to be a kid's game. They just look on the ground, and say "Hey what's this?" "Oh, this is the Stick of Truth that controls the whole universe." So much of what they are playing in the video game is a game within a game. Their little game they are playing around the neighborhood is based on a shared reality, a shared illusion. They all agreed this is a stick that controls the universe, so this is a stick that controls the whole universe. But, you know, that's what a lot of video games or movies do too. So they have all agreed that whoever holds the stick controls the game, and those are the ground rules.

Why do you think there is such a focus on "making friends?"

The idea of making friends lines up with our version of Grand Theft Auto, of becoming a "made man" but in a sweet way; you're the new kid in town and you get to build your character and become a citizen of South Park. Besides, being the new kid allows everybody to introduce themselves and the world to you.

How did the RPG genre help for you to tell this story? Did you ever consider any other genre?

It was supposed to be an RPG from the start. Since it is a game within the game, we have an excuse to do whatever we want. In the real world, kids don't have all these powers and items, but in this world they do. The idea originally came from Trey. He is an RPG fan. In doing this game, I've come to appreciate the genre, and comprehend how difficult it is to put together, so I'm looking up to RPG games with a lot more respect now. You get to see a lot of the South Park world; it gives the opportunity to create a more open world. It is cool to be able to run around South Park and check it out. Plus, you get to make all these RPG jokes and D&D jokes, about different kinds of swords, and populate the town with these weapons and characters that are all a part of the joke. Plus, it puts you in kids' shoes, and the kids' logic controls the game.

What were the challenges in creating an interactive city of South Park?

We had a few challenges. One of them was that we never had a map of South Park, so we had to make one for the first time. In the TV show, we have never had a map before. We just do whatever makes sense for that moment or scene. If the kid needs to run down to the Chinese restaurant from Kyle's house, we'll make them really close. If they need to go to a mall, we'll just build a mall. We need a wrestling ring, there is a wrestling ring. So for the game we had to make the whole town, but not with everything we've ever done in the show. We've put the most important parts in it, and laid it out geographically to show what the town really looks like. That was probably the biggest challenge. The other challenge was to make that town dense enough for a video game. We needed to add tools, loot, characters to meet, puzzles... We had to make it a town satisfying to unfold in a video game. There is some stuff in the town that wouldn't be in the show as it is a video game version of the town. That was a challenge, but that's the coolest part of the game: you're just running around South Park, and the city feels alive the first time you play.

There have been a number of South Park games before, but the Stick of Truth is the first that you worked on through the entire process, beginning to end. What has been your goal from the beginning?

Some of the first games, released long ago, were just licensed products. We weren't involved at all. We were much more involved in this one. We created the main story, wrote the dialogue. We had to record 180 million lines. Us doing our own voices has always been a great thing, but with the game you have to account for every condition that could happen. We spent so much time in the booth recording so many voices. It's a lot different than the last video games we did.

What is the first moment that comes to mind in the game that makes you laugh out loud?

My favourite part of the game is still the Photo Dojo. There are a lot of mini games in the game. They are not really innovative in terms of graphics, or sound or 3D or anything, but these moments in the game where it really feels like you are in the show of South Park. The girls quest is another one that is simple but really immersive in a South Park way ... you're running around and it feels like being in the show. If someone walked in the room while you're playing, it looks like an episode of South Park. For me it was super cool to feel I was in an episode of South Park.

You have been doing this for 17 years now. Are you concerned that some parts of the game will offend people?

There will be a few things that will offend people. We've been pleased to see some parts were censored in some territories. We were surprised to find out about this, but of course when you do South Park there is going to be one territory you are going to be censored in. If anything, we took it as a badge of honour.

Finally, years from now, what do you hope fans will remember about the Stick of Truth?

If you could make them feel like they are in the show, it would be a long show. That's a long episode. It feels like, "I went to South Park, made friends with a bunch of kids, and they accept me as one of the boys". That would be a cool thing for people to experience. It is an interactive South Park experience, and that's so enjoyable. Some jokes in the game feel so South Park. They just feel wrong in a great way.