“One day I just saw the words Barkley Shut Up and Jam — I’d never played the game before, and I still haven’t played the game — and I just thought it would be really, really funny if the word ‘gaiden’ was at the end of that,” says Tale of Game’s Studios’ Eric Shumaker. “I really didn’t give it much thought.”

And that's how development of one of the most ridiculous video games ever began. Released as a freeware title in 2008, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is a post-apocalyptic role playing game set in a future where basketball is illegal, and the sport’s stars are hunted down as outlaws. Charles Barkley is a fugitive, Lebron James is a ghost, Vince Carter is a cyborg, and Michael Jordan has switched sides to become head of the B-Ball Removal Department. The game managed to strike a chord with players thanks largely to its sheer dedication to such a ridiculous premise, and now the team at Tale of Game’s is working a sequel. They aren’t skimping on the crazy.