Warren Arnold, Game Director of The Jackbox Naughty Pack’s Let Me Finish, Talks the Studio’s First M-Rated Game, the Creative Process, and What Didn’t Make the Cut (INTERVIEW)

The Jackbox Naughty Pack is the studio’s first venture into adult-based content, signaling a new era for Jackbox Games. Although this title may be divisive among fans for its mature rating, many have praised the company for trying something new, and stepping outside of the Jack…box.

Among those who have pioneered this new age for the studio is Warren Arnold, Game Director of Let Me Finish and Dirty Drawful. He recently spoke with us about the title’s inception and discussed the fun he and the rest of the team had working on something so different from previous packs.

It was a pleasure to get his thoughts on the game, and it sounds like it was a lot of fun to create. Please enjoy this interview with Warren Arnold as he provides some insight into the development of The Jackbox Naughty Pack.

Hi Ezekiel! Well, obviously, my name is Warren Arnold and I’m a Senior Creative Director here at Jackbox Games. I started at Jackbox when it was still Jellyvision Games as a contract writer for the Facebook version of You Don’t Know Jack. That would’ve been in January of 2012.

Before that, I had spent the previous decade working as a Pharmaceutical Research Chemist, so a bit of a career change for sure. After Facebook YDKJ, I worked on parts of the first Party Pack and the first Quiplash. My first directing gig was Patently Stupid, which was a ton of fun and I’ve gone on to direct Push The Button, Quiplash 3, The Poll Mine, and more.

It was a great time. With any creative pursuit, you’re always looking to do something different and my coworkers at Jackbox are just so talented and enjoyable to work with. As far as the day-to-day stuff, it was pretty much the same just with a lot more swearing.

I started on Dirty Drawful, then tagged out early in the process to hand things over to Brooke Breit so I could move over to Let Me Finish. For Dirty Drawful, the first days were very exciting since we wanted to see what a new approach to an old favorite would be like.

We already knew what fundamentally works for Drawful, so I was interested to see if anything was gained or lost simply by adding adult themes. The first play test had us all crying from laughter because players could write something mature and not give away their answer as incorrect. So, it led to some truly spectacular responses and drawings.

The first thing we try to do is really isolate what the core of the game is and what it’s asking of the player. If it’s a trivia game, we’re obviously asking you to demonstrate your knowledge base. From there, we try to find a twist or two that adds an interesting wrinkle.

Anything we add or discuss really needs to go back to the core of the game and either naturally add or elevate what this game is all about. That really helps our communication because as a team, you can give or receive feedback through that lens. Someone may have a great idea, but if it doesn’t serve the core of the game, then everyone can agree why it may not be right at this time.

I’ve only ever directed a Jackbox game but for me, what makes directing at Jackbox different is not only making sure the game is fun but also making sure the player feels creative and possibly funny. We want players to enjoy the mechanics of a game, to generate some great laughs and at the end of it, feel like we brought their group together.

It was pitched by one of our writers, Rammel Chan with the working title of “Where’s The Butt?” The first version of the game was a picture asking where a mailbox’s butt might be.

We instantly had a lot of animated arguments and it just felt like a natural way to spur conversation about some really silly ideas.

There are a few hundred total images with different questions attached to each image. So, if you’re asked about the love life of a farm tractor in one session, you might get a different question about that tractor the next time you play.

The pictures that didn’t make the cut are ones that don’t naturally spur a feeling before you even see the prompt. I think one we tried was a basket of bread and while we had solid prompts written for it, it was hard to take an opinion about the photo.

I worked with Rammel and the team up front to set the basic tone up front and then provided notes to Rammel and our wonderful host Tyler Meredith along the way. I really credit the two of them for maintaining such a sultry and constant tone while such ridiculous things were being read.

I don’t think there was any pressure that was out of the ordinary. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to deliver a solid game experience with anything we do. We ask our players to do some pretty silly things and we put pressure on ourselves to make sure they love playing our games as much as we do making
them.

I respect your opinion and we had an interesting challenge of exploring what M-rated titles meant for us. We had a lot of fun creating this pack and sometimes games don’t resonate with everyone.

It was a lot of fun and the teams working on these games were such a joy. It’s always a pleasure to try something new and yeah, I’d love to make more adult-themed content!

Space! But honestly, we just want to be where our players are and bring them as much enjoyment as possible. We’re gamers as well, so we’re always thinking about new mechanics or ways to make people smile. Unfortunately, I can’t give any hints about the future except keep your eyes out for The Jackbox Survey Scramble coming soon!

Just that we at Jackbox are always grateful for the players who play our games and keep coming back for more!

The Jackbox Naughty Pack released to players on September 12th, 2024 and the studio is planning the launch of The Jackbox Survey Scramble on October 24th.

Have you had a chance to try out The Jackbox Naughty Pack for yourself? What do you think of this adult-focused version of the game? Make sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.