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Thursday, October 2, 2014

Adventure Time Time: Pen Ward Doesn't Control Adventure Time?

Wow, we've been away... oh wait, we totally told you about the poorly named Adventure Time launch party at Iam8bit Thursday, Oct 2. Though, none of the things at it are launching when it happens, check the site for another post about the art at the event incoming.

First up we have a big reveal from Rolling Stone, which I thought covered music, it's an article on how shockingly Pen is no longer showrunner on Adventure Time. He stepped back to be a writer and storyboarder. I assume Adam Muto, long time friend of Ward and part of the crew took the position. Credits for the series usually don't give the intimate details of whose really in charge of production.

Many fans have been unhappy with how Adventure Time has been going of recent, this might be the reason. You could also argue a lot of the original staff has moved on to other shows. Fan favorites Rebecca Sugar and Natasha Allegri are on their own projects now.

Some of the best excerpts from the Rolling Stone article and the notion of Pen Ward taking improve comedy

"Dealing with people every day wears on you," Ward says, squeezed into a desk chair in the Burbank, California, Cartoon Network building. A four-day-old bowl of Fruity Pebbles lies neglected at his elbow, the milk evaporated to leave just a rainbow of crud stuck to the sides of the bowl.
"To spend that extra energy and time you don't have, to make something that's worth making, to make it awesome, wears you out," he says. A backward red cap hides the top of his head; a checkered shirt buttoned to the top conceals his plump body; and on his face, there is not so much a beard but a hair force field, keeping anything from penetrating the world he's created for himself."

"Recently, Ward signed up for improv classes because he thought they would be a fun distraction. But, it turns out, all they did was make him even more uncomfortable. "I didn't think that I had a bunch of walls until I started taking that class and then I was like, 'Whoa, this is forcing me to get out of my comfort zone,'" he says. "I realized I love my comfort zone. I spent a long time building my comfort zone. It's precious to me, and I love it and I want it."
Read the whole fascinating article, Pen Ward might just be somewhere sitting behind you in LA, just don't make eye contact with him

Though Pen says he's tired of dealing with the show on such a high level that's not stopping him from going outside and doing stuff, though he'll probably keep wearing the same outfit. The article mention wanting to do and AT movie and an original game. That original game idea might be causing him to check out IndieCade.

Pen Ward will be a a keynote speaker at IndieCade, the independent games festival, this weekend. I've spotted him at it numerous times and it only makes sense he would like to talk a bit at it.

The cast also recently celebrated Pen's birthday and the 200th episode of AT.