Interview with Kevin Ærie Kevinson

by Wil Wallace a.k.a. 'haQ'

I was 14 years old when I found out I wanted to be a game developer.

I remember the moment when it happened. I was playing an old videogame called "BLOOD OATH" on my dad's PC. My character was entering the final stages of monstrosity, so I could only go out after dark (or else somebody might see me, and summon the hunters).

I'd found a villager who was walking through the little town on their own, and I was trying to sneak up on them to devour them (as you do when you're an Oath-Taker)... but at the last second a street lamp flickered on, and illuminated my character's 12 limbs against the darkness! This caused the villager to totally freak out, so now I'm chasing them around and around the streetlamp as it flickers on and off.

Finally I cast 'freeze' on the villager and I've got them down to 3 HP, but then something funny happens: The villager says "Wait, please! I've got to... someone's got to put the children to bed..."

In that instant I realized the horror of my actions. I'd led my character on a mad quest to become more powerful than Darzigod, so that we could easily defeat him; I'd devoured NPC after NPC until every remaining character became permanently afflicted by grief and fear. I wound up destroying the very communities I set out to protect! (And all of this while Darzigod sat idly in a wizard tower doing nothing especially evil himself.)

I let the townsperson go, and then I quit the game permanently. I never played again; it was the only way to prevent my character from losing what remained of their humanity, and becoming something worse than Darzigod ever dreamt of.

Kevin Ærie Kevinson is the man who made that experience possible. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with him about BOATH as well as his newly-announced project "UNBECOMING", and I could not be more thrilled to share that with you guys today!

WW: With "BLOOD GOD" on indefinite hiatus, would you say "UNBECOMING" is definitely gonna come out first?

KÆK: Yes, 100%. "BLOOD GOD" is still coming! But "UNBECOMING" will come out first.

WW: Today BOATH is recognized as a horror genre classic, despite being categorized as an 'immersive sim' on launch back in 1994. Would you say that "UNBECOMING" is more of a pure horror experience?

KÆK: I would say that "UNBECOMING" is an experience that transcends genre. It's something universal. It's a 'push me, pull you' adventure story like we all know, but told in a way nobody's seen before. It's "Silent Hill" but without the bad graphics; it's "Deus Ex" but without the cyberpunk bullshit. If that's what you people wanna call a 'pure horror experience', then sure. Go ahead.

WW: Fans have been speculating as to the meaning of your latest trailer! It's quite evocative when the hand shoots out of Adam's mouth to grab the rest of his face. Is there a significance to the black nail polish on the hand?

KÆK: I guess you figure you're being really observant, eh Wil? Well, yes there is. If you must know, I got the idea from these dreams I've been having lately. It's late at night, it's dark, and I'm in my bathroom... checking myself in the mirror, y'know? Except something's wrong. I look in my eyes, but they aren't my eyes.

Then I get nauseous. Then I get scared. And then she crawls her way out of me.

WW: Who?

KÆK: Your mom. lol. Next question.

WW: Some people around the industry have been quite shocked by your new identity as Kevin "Ærie" Kevinson. Readers might be confused about why you're doing it or what it means, so I just wanted to take some time & ask: What does this new identity mean to you?

KÆK: Wil, I'm gonna tell you something I never told anyone before. Okay? I. Hated. Being. Kevin. Kevinson. Do you know how many 'Kevin Kevinsons' there were in New York State alone when I was a young man? I guess my deadbeat father (ALSO a Kevin Kevinson) didn't give a shit what he named us, because I got to be Little Kevin only until my brother was born (and do you know what they named him?? 'Kevin Junior'. I swear to god.)

Other guys, they go through life having easy names. 'George W Bush'. 'Ronald Wilson Reagan'. 'Lyndon B Johnson'. 'Kevin Junior Kevinson'. Three initials, right? As a young man I had no idea how I was supposed to achieve lasting greatness with only two initials to my name; it was a curse that my father left to me. When I made "BLOOD OATH" I had a bullshit two-letter name (and both those goddamn names were 'Kevin'! What kind of family does that to a child?)

There were thousands of KKs in the world but there's only one KÆK, okay Wil? People will understand that after I'm finished moving a million copies of "UNBECOMING". They're gonna get real quiet then.

WW: Something happened to me when I was playing BOATH years ago... I was about to devour an NPC in the game but they pleaded for their life with me! They said something like "Wait, please! I've got to... someone's got to put the children to bed..." and it really caused me to reflect on my actions. I decided to stop playing the game after that but in a good way, it was sort of a meaningful experience for me. Could you talk about how that feature came about?

KÆK: Ah yeah, I remember writing that exact line! It's genius, right? I thought it'd be so funny if they pleaded with me right before I got 'em, because... I dunno, it's like, I'm strong and they're not, y'know? So that's funny and it's exciting, and it brings the gameplay experience to a whole new level.

WW: Thanks for your time!