Palworld Developers Reject 'Pokemon With Guns' Label

When you think of Palworld, the immediate association for many is "Pokemon with guns," a label that propelled the game to viral fame. This shorthand, while catchy and easy for newcomers to grasp, has been a point of contention for the game's creators at Pocketpair. According to John 'Bucky' Buckley, the communications director and publishing manager at Pocketpair, the team never intended for this to be the game's defining feature. During a talk at the Game Developers Conference, Buckley shared insights into Palworld's initial reveal in June 2021 at the Indie Live Expo in Japan, where it received a warm reception before Western media quickly branded it as "Pokemon with guns."

In a subsequent interview, Buckley elaborated that Pokemon was never part of the original pitch for Palworld. Instead, the team drew inspiration from ARK: Survival Evolved, aiming to create a game that focused more on automation and unique creature abilities. "A lot of us are huge ARK people, and our previous game, Craftopia, kind of has some stuff in it that we really loved from ARK and some ideas from ARK," Buckley explained. The goal was to expand on ARK's concepts, giving creatures more personality and distinctiveness, rather than directly mimicking Pokemon.

Despite their initial resistance to the "Pokemon with guns" label, Buckley acknowledged its role in Palworld's success. "Yeah, I mean, that was big," he admitted, referencing how the phrase even led to the trademarking of 'Pokemonwithguns.com' by Dave Oshry from New Blood Interactive. While the label helped boost the game's visibility, Buckley expressed frustration over misconceptions about the game's gameplay. He emphasized that Palworld is not just a superficial mash-up of Pokemon and firearms, and encouraged players to experience it for themselves before drawing conclusions.

Buckley also dismissed the notion that Palworld directly competes with Pokemon, suggesting that their audiences don't significantly overlap. He likened Palworld more closely to ARK and even mentioned that many Palworld players also purchased Helldivers 2 upon its release. He critiqued the idea of competition in the gaming industry as often being artificially constructed, stating, "I've gotten in trouble for ranting about the 'console wars' before, but I think the competition in games is kind of manufactured for the sake of it."

If Buckley had his way, he would have preferred a different tagline for Palworld, something like, "Palworld: It's Kind of Like ARK if ARK Met Factorio and Happy Tree Friends." He acknowledged, however, that this doesn't have the same immediate impact as "Pokemon with guns."

In our broader discussion, Buckley touched on the potential for Palworld to come to the Nintendo Switch 2, the possibility of Pocketpair being acquired, and more. You can delve into the full interview for further insights into Palworld's development and future.