The Postal Dude - Character Development

Character Development

When designing the game Postal in 1995, Art Director Randy Briley designed Postal Dude as a dark, brooding character to match the design style of the game. It was intended from the start that the character had no back story at all so to give the player the ability to impose whatever back story or personality onto the character they desired. He is voiced by Rick Hunter. Hunter returned for the sequel and its expansion pack Apocalypse Weekend, which was released in 2005 and included some small redesigns of Postal Dude.

Postal² was released in 2003 as a fully 3D first person shooter. The increased graphics capability allowed for Postal Dude to be presented in more detail. The final design for the character (visible in mirrors and some pre-rendered third-person sequences) was completed in 2001 by art director Josh Leichliter.

Running With Scissors CEO Vince Desi describes the character as "like Clint Eastwood" in that he wants to mind his own business but people won't leave him alone. Unlike Postal, in which killing is necessary to complete a level, Postal Dude is not required to kill anyone to complete an errand in Postal 2. However, when trying to complete the errands of each day, he constantly faces opposition from several groups, including protesters, rednecks, terrorists, agents of law enforcement organizations, and a toy mascot resembling a giant scrotum named Krotchy. Desi indicated in an interview that the character's actions are completely down to the player. There is the option of nonviolence if the player chooses.