The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a puzzle platform game for Xbox Live Arcade and Windows PC developed by The Odd Gentlemen.[2] Reviews of the game praised its unique puzzle mechanics, comparing them to the likes of Portal and Braid.[3][4] It was released for the Xbox 360 on February 17, 2010.[5] It was originally a student's graduate thesis at the University of Southern California.[6] It was published by 2K Play.[7] The PC version was released exclusively via Steam on April 20, 2010.[1]

Developer(s)The Odd Gentlemen
2K China (PC)
Publisher(s)2K Play
Platform(s)Xbox 360 (XBLA), Windows
ReleaseXbox 360 (XBLA)
  • WW: February 17, 2010
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: April 20, 2010[1]
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
P.B. Winterbottom features 2D gameplay and a unique art style.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a puzzle platform game. The player controls the titular character, P.B. Winterbottom, in an attempt to gather pies. Winterbottom has the ability to manipulate time and replicate himself into multiple clones. The player may record an action and a clone will repeat that action, serving as a platform, pie-fetcher, or other puzzle-solving device.

The game is visually presented in a manner reminiscent of a silent film, reminiscent of art nouveau or films from the late 1800s/early 1900s. As such there is no spoken dialogue, as all speech is instead shown through title cards in between stages. The game is also shown in mostly black-and-white and features a score primarily composed of piano-centric arrangements bearing a style similar to those of silent-era films.

Reception

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom has received very positive reviews. 1UP.com gave the game an A+ stating "Without the world that The Odd Gentlemen created around their pie-collecting platformer, Winterbottom would still be an addictive adventure with playful physics. But the carefully crafted setting, the intertwining of ingenious puzzles with a portly, gluttonous protagonist, makes this a terrific game that I wholeheartedly recommend you play immediately."[8]

Destructoid.com gave the game a 9.5/10 stating "All of the art is downright beautiful to look at and levels feel like paper dioramas. Both dirty yet refined, there's a simple elegance to every detail in the levels and story frames that draws you in."[9]

GamePro Magazine gave the game a 4.5/5 stating "Wonderfully imaginative premise and puzzles; excellent visual design and stellar original soundtrack. The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a quirky and utterly lovable game but its true value is this: it strengthens the idea that DLC is a viable way for smaller development houses to get their content to market. It also reinforces the idea that it isn't the size of the budget or the team but rather the ideas and concepts that serve as a game's foundation. But that's just us waxing poetic -- at the end of the day, P.B. Winterbottom is fun, and really, that's what it's all about."[10]

Awards

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom was a showcased nominee and received the Story/World Design award at IndieCade (the International Festival of Independent Games) in 2008.[11]

References
  1. "2K Play's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Coming to Steam April 20, 2010". Steam (Press release). Valve. April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  2. "The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom Preview: Me, Myself And Pie - The misadventures of p.b. winterbottom". Kotaku. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  3. Buchanan, Levi (2008-07-16). "E3 2008: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom - PC Preview at IGN". Pc.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  4. "The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom Preview for the Xbox 360 from". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  5. "CBR Games Roundup: February 2010". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  6. "The Challenges of Designing in an Academic Context - Academia". Kotaku. 2008-04-05. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  7. Keane Ng posted on 26 Aug 2009 19:25 (2009-08-26). "The Escapist : News : 2K Bringing Two Indie Games to XBLA". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  8. "Review: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". 1UP.com. 2010-02-17.
  9. "Review: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". Destructoid.com. 2010-02-23.
  10. "The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom". GamePro Magazine. 2010-02-16. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24.
  11. "IndieCade 2008 award winners". IndieCade. Oct 2008. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
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