Even though Day of the Tentacle was a sequel to Maniac Mansion, it was radically different from its predecessor. How did the idea for DOTT develop?

We started with the thought that we wanted to make a sequel to Maniac, which gave us a particular set of characters and a location to work with, but we really couldn't imitate the style of the original in the way you normally would with a sequel—too much time had passed and the state of the art was radically different. We stopped thinking of it as a sequel almost immediately and just did our own thing, slathering our own personalities on top of that of Maniac Mansion. But we refered back to the original whenever we could, and I think DOTT still resembles it a lot more than that TV show did.

Many regard DOTT as one of the most non-linear adventure games due to the time travel element and the multiple characters. Was it difficult keeping the puzzle logic on track?

I don't think so, not more than usual. I mean, it's complicated, and you always have to consider how the thing you're adding will affect the stuff already in place. But hey, we're professionals.

Can you think of any jokes or unused ideas that for some reason never made it into the games?

No joke was ever too weak for the likes of us, but how about unused characters? DOTT originally had SIX kids, and you were going to get to choose three, just like in Maniac Mansion, with different puzzles and stuff depending on who you chose. We cut it down to three in order to maintain our sanity, mainly from an animation standpoint. Razor, from the original Maniac, did not make the final cut, along with two of the new kids: Chester, a cadaverous poet/artiste, and Moonglow, an earthy girl with sandals. Chester, with a bit of makeup, was eventually recast as Red Edison's twin sons, but poor Moonglow wound up robbing 7-11s in a low-rent action game.

How do you look back on the projects you did at LucasArts? Any great memories you can share with us?

I don't actually remember which game this was for, even, but one day some character or other needed a selection of atrocious pick-up lines, and I went around the building asking people "What's the worst pick-up line you've ever had used on you?" And I remember thinking I must be pretty lucky to have a job where I get paid to do this.

What circumstances led to change your career into making kids games and toys?

I didn't actually do that on purpose, it was a combination of opportunity and laziness. I wrote my first script for kids (Pajama Sam) just because someone asked me to. I really enjoyed doing it, and it turned out well, so we did a couple more, by which time I was getting a reputation as a "children's game guy." So people call me about these sorts of projects and I do them because I like to, but I never made any sort of conscious decision to take my career in that direction—it just sort of happened.

How do you approach a creative project? Where do you get your ideas from?

I approach all creative projects with a cup of coffee in one hand, a pencil in the other, and a large eraser held between my teeth. As for the ideas, let me describe that in rhyme:

Do you see yourself working on games for 'grown-ups' again in the future? I seem to recall you mentioning a project with Ron Gilbert a few years ago.

Absolutely. The particular project I think you're talking about vanished when Cavedog shut (mostly) down, but even now there are some other trees that may yet bear fruit. Stay tuned.

Do you foresee any particular trends in the games industry that you find interesting or worrying?

My foresight goggles appear to be broken, but I do think the multi-player online games we're seeing right now are pretty interesting. I like hearing about the sociology—economies and languages and other things that crop up without any deliberate action on the part of the designers. Of course, the tricky bit is for a writer/designer like me to figure out how to approach his job in order to be useful in an environment like that.

Tell us about your poem mailinglist. Where can people sign up for it?

The Poem of the Week is one of my favorite and longest-lasting side projects, ongoing since 1995. I sit down once a week and write some sort of a goofy, rhyming poem about, say, toast, hats, zombies, or the number 12, and then I email it to the people on the list (it's one of a dwindling number of things on the web that's still free). It started as a public service and a way to force myself to keep writing all the time, but has now led to one book and I'm currently working on a second.
People can see the current poem and sign up if they wish at my web site.

Do you have any advice for those aspiring to become game designer? (And is there anything else you want to say to our readers?)

The first thing I always tell aspiring game designers is this: study computers and games but pay attention to other media as well. I always hear guitarists talking about how they learned things by listening to saxophone players. Game designers can learn from music, comic books, theater, literature, film, stand-up comedy, even politics. Game design is like building a robot out of things you find in your neighbor's trash—it requires imagination, flexibility, and as many tools as you can lay your hands on, because you never know what you might need.

Oh, and definitely buy my book. It won't help you make games, but it's fun.