The quick turnaround is the result of Hothead beginning development on Thongs of Virtue well before the release of the first game, and despite creator Ron Gilbert's departure from the studio in April. (You might recall that DeathSpank was originally proposed as an episodic endeavor, but that plan was supposedly abandoned during development of the first game.) Thongs of Virtue still reflects Gilbert's influence and looks to expand on the foundational elements of the original game; even if it doesn't address all of the post-release fan feedback.
"DeathSpank 1 was an introduction to the universe for people and it was very much a fantasy action RPG," producer Hamish Millar tells GameSpot. "For the second game -- and this is a reason it was a separate product, too- -- we just wanted to redefine what that could be. We just wanted to blow people's expectations out of the water as far as what kind of weapons DeathSpank can have, what worlds he can travel to, and what sort of creatures and characters and enemies he can face."
