Hi, I'm Robin.

Recently, I was given the chance to talk to Mike Jaret of RunningWithScissors, the creators of the infamous Postal franchise. I was definitely really nervous going into this interview, since Mike is probably the biggest name I've interviewed to date, but once the interview started I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. I'd like to thank Mike for agreeing to this interview and without further ado, here's our conversation!

(Screenshot from Postal 2 courtesy of RWS' official website.)

Robin.: "Thank you for agreeing to the interview! My first question of the day for you is this: What made you interested in becoming a game developer and why?"

Mike: "Well, I'd love to say I played video games throughout my childhood and always strived to be in the industry but that's just not true. I actually met Vince by chance during high school because I was in a class with his son. Years later in 2001, my brother was working for Vince's fiance and he said to send me in to say hi, so I went to the office and had a good laugh with Vince and he asked me to work there.... the rest is history."

Robin.: "And that company was RunningWithScissors?"

Mike: "Correct, Vince is Vince Desi, the man that started this madness."

Robin.: "Right. So, you joined after the first Postal game had released then? Had you played the first Postal by that point?"

Mike: "oh ya, i went in to visit Vince with his son sometime around 97-98, and he gave me the game and had the whole team sign it, of course I had played it quite a bit before I started working there, funny story tho, when they released the addon to POSTAL 1 I had emailed Vince for a hookup, and he said come on in and ill hook you up, so I drove to the office and he gave me like $5 off LOL" (Editor's note: I didn't bother to clean up this one because this sentence is art.)

Robin.: "That's really funny, haha. So by that point the first Postal had gotten a lot of coverage. What do you think of the reception of the first game? More specifically, what did you first think when you learned the United States Postal Service had sued RWS over the name?"

Mike: "That is something I, of course, learned immediately when I met Vince, because they had it printed it and blown it up at the office right at the entrance. It is beyond silly to think that the USPS was suing a company in a total different industry for trademarking a word, and of course they lost the lawsuit with prejudice... LOL" (Editor's note: I'm not removing anymore of his "LOL's.")

Robin.: "And did Joe Lieberman give you guys some trouble as well?"

Mike: "Well in a perfect world, his grandstanding about Postal would have helped us sell millions- and in a sick way it may have over time- but instead it scared the publisher silly and they ended up pulling the game off store shelves and basically burying the game."

(Joe Lieberman in the 1993 Video Game Violence Senate Committee Hearings.)

Robin.: "Ah, no wonder you guys put a jab at him in the voting section of Postal 2 then! Actually, speaking of Postal 2, that game was much more comedic than the first game. What motivated this shift in tone?"

Mike: "Can't say specifically as I wasn't there for the early design of P2, I just know the team wanted to laugh more, so they made a game they could laugh at quite a bit more."

Robin.: "That makes sense. Postal 2 has been criticized by some outlets in the past for being immature, crass and offensive. What do you make of that?"

Mike: "It is immature and crass, we just make games we want to laugh at. If our humor isn't for a particular person they shouldn't play our game, pretty simple."

Robin.: "That makes sense to me. Do you know where some of the more outlandish 'weapons' in the game came from, such as the ability to use cats as a silencer on guns or the ability to pee on people?"

Mike: "The original designer was a huge cat lover, using cats on the gun was just his way of showing love for his furry friends, and mostly just to make everyone laugh. Peeing...well we all just thought it was time for a game to have first person urination......"

Robin.: "Honestly, I'm surprised more games haven't implemented 'FPU' gameplay."

Mike: "Agreed, pussies."

Robin.: "Why did you guys decide to put RunningWithScissors as an actual company in Postal 2?"

Mike: "Because we wanted everyone to be able to kill and pee on us. It's important to show that you're not just being crude to others, you're even being crude to yourself. I love when I get messages from fans telling me how often they piss on me."

(Screenshot from this video by Juggerbyte on YouTube.)

Robin.: "Right, you actually are a boss battle in Apocalypse Weekend. Where did the idea to turn you into a giant demon cow man come from?"

Mike: "Josh, our current art director and former 3d artist, came to us one day with a cool mutated giant cow monster he created. He said he wanted to put my head on it and since we were working on a zombie addon for Postal 2, it was the perfect final boss. Not sure how I won the lottery and became the final boss, but it was truly a humbling moment for me. Didn't even really think I'd ever make video games and within 3 years I was a final boss in a game. LOL"

Robin.: "Ok, I can see that happening, that makes sense to me. What doesn't make sense to me is you guys somehow got Gary Coleman in the game! How'd you do that?"

Mike: "Just a random idea in the office that we should get the 'Watchu Talkin' 'Bout' guy to sign autographs in the mall, so we called his agent expecting a huge 'FUCK NO' and instead we got a 'HELL YA!' He was always such a fun guy to be around and did a great job at trade shows with us."

Robin.: "You really never know who's gonna be down for what until you ask, do you? I was expecting a 'no' from you when I asked for the interview, and here we are!"

Mike: "Haha, we're shameless. So if your rag was literally on a piece of toilet paper we would do the interview."

Robin.: "Fair enough! Speaking of toilet paper, I heard you're not a big fan of it these days. Where'd your recent fixation on bidets come from?"

Mike: "Welp, I still use toilet paper. After you spray for a while, you need to still check for any danglers, and then after that a wet wipe to get a little deeper. But 10 years ago my roommate got one for our house and it converted me instantly. I have never looked back....."

(Editor's note: This is literally his description under the "Our Team" section of their official website, you are not allowed to tell me this was a weird question to ask.)

Robin.: "Well, while we're talking about shit, let's just not talk about the thing people probably want me to ask you about and instead talk about Paradise Lost! I don't think I've ever seen another company go back and release such a big expansion to an old game after it's sequel's failure. What motivated you guys to add a whole second week to Postal 2? Was it as a way of getting back at Akella, and apology to the fans, both, or something else entirely?"

Mike: "Well the real reason for PL had nothing to do with P3, we had gotten P2 and P1 onto Steam and were selling tons and tons of copies so it was just a natural desire to give the new owners some actual new content for the game they just found. We had a small team of P2 devs and we just sent them on a mission to make a worthy sequel."

Robin.: "And it was a big hit! Were you surprised at how well it did?"

Mike: "Yeah, we definitely didn't know how well it would do and were pleasantly surprised with how well it sold and the reception it got!"

Robin.: "And Postal 4: No Regerts started off as a remake of Postal 2 from what I understand. What made you guys decide to make it a new entry instead?"

Mike: "We just spent months working on a remake of P2 to realize how much work it was versus making an entirely new game, so we shifted gears and changed it to P4. We will remake P2 with the P4 assets eventually, this was just the project that needed to happen first."

Robin.: "Do you think Jon St. John makes a good Postal Dude in place of Rick Hunter?"

Mike: "I do, and it does take a little time for it to settle. It's jarring at first to hear Jon's voice, but over time most people realize that it sounds just right. We love Rick and his deep radio voice, we even love Corey and his similar voice, but this time around Jon got the call and he killed it."

Robin.: "It is kind of fitting to have the voice of Duke Nukem also voice Postal Dude, I will admit."

Mike: "exaclty" (Editor's note: I burst out laughing when he sent that, I don't have the heart to correct it.)

Robin.: "But I think we're forgetting someone in this mix. What do you think of Zack Ward's portrayal?"

Mike: "He did a great job. The films faults lay in its editing, everyone in the film did a great job. I just wish it actually came out, instead it was released after Uwe's In The Name of the King and it was buried."

(Poster for POSTAL by director Uwe Boll.)

Robin.: "What was it like working with Uwe Boll? That man certainly seems... interesting, to say the least."

Mike: "He is a good man, eccentric and wild, but a good man! He went a little batshit with POSTAL and the rest of his catalogue, but we stand by his film. Just needed to be a little shorter and tighter AND ALSO COME OUT!"

Robin.: "Would you ever try and make another movie some day? And presumably have it come out?"

Mike: "We'd love to. We've had a lot of talks over the years about a movie or streaming series. One day it will happen."

Robin.: "I look forward to it! Now here's a question from a friend of mine: Do you see video games as a form of art?"

Mike: "Absolutely. Every piece of game development is art, from the design, to the code, to the actual 3d and 2d art, to the animations and especially the sound and music."

Robin.: "I couldn't have said it better myself. Alright, just one last question for you: Do you have any regrets?"

Mike: "Hah! Naw, gotta look forward. Can't think about the stupid mistakes made in the past."

Robin.: "Well said. Thank you for the interview!"

(A shirt with Postal Dude's famous quote sold on the RWS website.)

I gave the man the perfect opportunity to to end the interview with "I regret nothing" and he didn't say the line. I'm a little disappointed, but the answer he gave essentially that with more words, so it works. In all seriousness, I'd like to once again thank Mike for the chance to interview him! This was definitely one of the most difficult interviews for me, but I think it turned out alright in the end. I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you have any feed please leave it in the replies. Will all that said, I'll see you all later.

-Robin.

(If you like what I do and you and want to see more, please consider a one-time or monthly donation to my Ko-Fi. Every little bit helps!)