Borne out of mishmash of Eastern European fairytales, pop art and fatherhood, Nathan Jurevicius’ Scarygirl’s one of those indie art success stories that manages to warm the coldest of hearts. Scarygirl started off as cartoon strips chronicling the the adventures of a monstrously adorable girl who washes up on a remote peninsula as she tries to hunt down the man who haunts her dreams. Since her creation in 2002, Scarygirl has become a graphic novel, a series of collectible vinyl toys and a free multilevel Flash game on scarygirl.com. Scarygirl has been featured in numerous art exhibitions including “Forests Have Feelings Too” (Magic Pony 2004) and “Reformation” (Magic Pony 2008) and is an visually stunning graphic novel published by Last Gasp in 2010.

Now Square Enix is publishing an all-new downloadable game developed by TikGames. Look for Scarygirl to hit Xbox Live Arcade on January 18, with a PlayStation Network release on January 24 — click here for latest info.

MP: How does the game differ from reading the graphic novel or exploring the scarygirl website? How was the experience of creating a platform videogame?

NJ: The console game is a re-imagining of the Scarygirl journey where the main character is required to find out why the Tree of Knowledge is dying and eventually meet Dr Maybee. It’s a far richer universe than I’ve ever created before though there are still many familiar characters that have been seen in the graphic novel and various limited edition toys. The overarching goal for her quest still remains relatively true to the book/original comic etc.

The experience of creating a platform game proved to be quite difficult but rewarding. It was hard not to be daily in-house helping on the project and time as always was a factor in finessing. That being said, it’s another milestone in the Scarygirl jouney and something I’m sure will spark a new direction soon.

MP: You began making ltd ed Scarygirl toys with Flying Cat in 2002. How does the videogame fit within the world of Scarygirl characters & products?

NJ: I really wanted to incorporate some of my favourite characters into the game and actually show off their abilities. The Ghostsquids feature often in various levels, showing off how deadly they can be on land and in water. The Swampelder, Treescavenger and various other vinyl figures also make their game-debut.

Probably the most exciting character that you can play in 2 player mode is Bunniguru - it makes the game really enjoyable and compliments Scarygirl’s abilities perfectly.

MP: Can you tell us any spoilers? cheat codes? secret levels?

NJ: In many of the early levels there are alternate paths giving you different ways to explore an environment. You’re also presented with multiple endings for the final level - I’d suggest trying to collect as many gems as possible! Not really a spoiler but an interest tip - when in 2 player mode there are special functions if timed right that allow Bunniguru and Scarygirl to do super moves.

MP: What’s next? New toys? A movie? “Scarygirl on Ice”?

NJ:An animated feature film is definitely in the works for Scarygirl (have been working on visual development for a while now). There’s also part 2 of the graphic novel and we recently released an extremely limited edition porcelain Bunniguru handmade in France with K.olin tribu.

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More at www.scarygirl.com