PAUNCH, in essence, is not a game but a lesson. A lesson that teaches us about what it is to be human, and our inherent flaws. The actual meaning of the word 'paunch' is a large stomach (like the belly of Bob, the being we play as), however it is more obviously a play-on-words of the word 'punch.'

The duality of the title is representative of what the game stands for, showing us that as humans, we have two sides to us. One being the side that we like to display to others - the one we are proud of. Our other face is the one we keep to ourselves, as it is far too twisted to be deemed acceptable. The goal of PAUNCH is to bring that second personality to light, acting as a microcosm for society and showing the true evil of mankind and its innate ability to seek out violence.

Similarly to William Golding's Lord of the Flies, PAUNCH exposes the true savagery of the human race when left unchecked. Similarly to the boys on the island, we are first bewildered by the lack of authority or rules and quickly descend into a barbaric, untamed situation.

Bob
The idea of self-denial is further portrayed by our opponents, which are mirror-images of ourselves. In triumphing over them, we conquer our darker instincts and convince ourselves we are unlike them; they are in the wrong, they are other, and we are better than them. This illusory beast that we confront is evil, not us. Reflected once again in Lord of the Flies, the boys invent the Beast to blame their actions on, refusing to accept responsibility for their actions and ignoring their true selves. However in Simon's encounter with the Beast, the pig's head replies with a crucial statement - “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” The Beast is merely an invention that we create to fool ourselves into denying our true nature.

Evil Bob is not something you can defeat with rocks.

Boulders
A powerful message is conveyed through the boulders that devalue the meaning of violence and war, thus demonstrating the thin boundaries of the latter. Yes, the stones may dissipate throughout the course of the battle, yet more turmoil is birthed from these stones, such as the birth of a phoenix from hollow ashes, giving the sentiment of beauty, deformity, vice and virtue, in effect emphasizing the deep and thoughtful symbolic meaning of the rocks. In trying to rid ourselves of our own personal Beast, we throw at them the very thing we come from, we throw our being at them. Ironically, one throws away their humanity to fool oneself into thinking they have defeated their inner demons. The stones are tossed so easily by the men, this statement depicts the microcosm that is Paunch, and shows that the theoretical water has only been disturbed by the internal sentiment of the Bobs.

Conclusion
Paunch is a gift from the gods, a problem so complex and deep that it has astounded the greatest minds humanity has to offer. Throw rock at bald man make win oo oo ooo ah ah