Craig Stitt (2025-08-02 interview): Difference between revisions
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|date=2025 | |date=2025-08-02 | ||
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'''Alexander Rojas: | '''Alexander Rojas: Hi! Good morning Mr. Stitt! First off, it's an absolute pleasure to speak with you. You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little nervous in speaking with you.''' | ||
Craig Stitt: | Craig Stitt: No worries. It's my pleasure. It really, really is. | ||
'''Great, I've noticed that. Thank you just so much for having that mindset because it means that not only does a lot of your work get shared and more well known, but others' as well. | '''Alright, and again, thank you so much for giving me your time like this. That's very kind of you.''' | ||
Oh no, I enjoy sharing knowledge and history and trying to get all this stuff out there for people to hear and see and know and keep it alive. | |||
'''Great, I've noticed that. Thank you just so much for having that mindset because it means that not only does a lot of your work get shared and more well known, but others' as well. [Sharing] information; that's a great mindset to have.''' | |||
Yeah, it makes me wish I had taken better notes back in the day. I've got a whole box of stuff at Sega that went missing. You know, a move, either when I left Sega or a move somewhere, so a lot of my sketches and all that stuff back at my time at Sega are gone, which is unfortunate. | Yeah, it makes me wish I had taken better notes back in the day. I've got a whole box of stuff at Sega that went missing. You know, a move, either when I left Sega or a move somewhere, so a lot of my sketches and all that stuff back at my time at Sega are gone, which is unfortunate. | ||
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'''Right | '''Right.''' | ||
Now you've got people that have the ability to pull the information off there and then get to it. Like, "Ah, man, I wish I still had mine." Oh well. | Now you've got people that have the ability to pull the information off there and then get to it. Like, "Ah, man, I wish I still had mine." Oh well. | ||
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'''Well, maybe this interview can act as a sort of verbal version of that.''' | '''Well, maybe this interview can act as a sort of verbal version of that.''' | ||
I hope so. | |||
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Illustration, you know, magazines and book covers and magazine illustrations and stuff. It's very competitive and very limited, the market. On top of that, my brother's a little afraid to go and, you know, ruin his art, ruin his enjoyment of art because it was a job. He became an accountant, which I don't understand. [laughs] Anyway. So I'm in school and… actually my high school art teacher is one of the hugest impacts of my life because she wasn't family, and she said, "You can make a living at this." She pulled me aside one day early on and said, "Craig, you could make a living at this." | Illustration, you know, magazines and book covers and magazine illustrations and stuff. It's very competitive and very limited, the market. On top of that, my brother's a little afraid to go and, you know, ruin his art, ruin his enjoyment of art because it was a job. He became an accountant, which I don't understand. [laughs] Anyway. So I'm in school and… actually my high school art teacher is one of the hugest impacts of my life because she wasn't family, and she said, "You can make a living at this." She pulled me aside one day early on and said, "Craig, you could make a living at this." | ||
That clicked. That clicked something in my brain. Even then I was still "OK, you can make a living as an artist?" | That clicked. That clicked something in my brain. Even then I was still "OK, you can make a living as an artist?" I was a biology major and finally I ended up switching over to art and then finally switched over to art education, was going to teach art. Then that's where the timing of everything kicked in. Just as I'm in college, the computer graphics industry explodes. I come out of school, I get pulled into the early computer graphics industry and then from there into video games. I've never taught art, because I got sidetracked in making games. | ||
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'''Actually floppy.''' | '''Actually floppy.''' | ||
Yeah, and I can't remember the memory on those disks. It was… it wasn't called vector graphics… It was designed to do… like you did a lot of text graphics and like business meeting stuff. Like pie charts and boring stuff. You could do artwork on it. It was just a pretty complex problem. It was very interesting way of creating art on them. You can do some beautiful stuff. | Yeah, and I can't remember the memory on those disks. It was… it wasn't called vector graphics… It was designed to do… like you did a lot of text graphics and like business meeting stuff. Like pie charts and boring stuff. You could do artwork on it. It was just a pretty complex problem. It was very interesting way of creating art on them. You can do some beautiful stuff. That's what I was doing, and I had gotten to the point, though, where I was really not happy doing it. | ||
I guess complaining too much. I was married at the time. Every time I come home from work, my wife at the time would have the wanted section of the newspaper spread out on the table with circled job opportunities. Looking for a job for me. She was tired of me complaining. She called one day while I was at work and she said, "I found your job." I know I kept this clipping, and I can't find it. But it's "Wanted: video game artist and game designer wanted, no experience necessary." That was Mark Cerny at STI, putting together his group at STI for Sega. | I guess complaining too much. I was married at the time. Every time I come home from work, my wife at the time would have the wanted section of the newspaper spread out on the table with circled job opportunities. Looking for a job for me. She was tired of me complaining. She called one day while I was at work and she said, "I found your job." I know I kept this clipping, and I can't find it. But it's "Wanted: video game artist and game designer wanted, no experience necessary." That was Mark Cerny at STI, putting together his group at STI for Sega. | ||
''' | '''Were you hired directly by Cerny? Like, was he the one who was in your hiring interview?''' | ||
Yeah | Yeah. I still do have the little scrap of paper where I wrote down his information and his phone number and his name really quick, the first time he called and said, "Yes, we'd like to talk to you and get more information from you." Yeah, so that was him. It was the very first time I met him. I assumed he was somebody's secretary or whatever, because he was so young. Very quickly I realize, "Oh, no, that's him, that's the boss." I was just thinking about him the other day because I lost touch with him. I'd love to get a hold of him again and just catch up because I was realizing what a huge impact he had on my life because he hired me at Sega. | ||
Then he left Sega and did a couple things, but he ended up in L.A. and I wanted to work with him again when I wanted to leave Sega. I called him, and then he's how I ended up at Insomniac Games. That was my career, Insomniac Games. That's all knowing Mark. Huge impact of my life. | Then he left Sega and did a couple things, but he ended up in L.A. and I wanted to work with him again when I wanted to leave Sega. I called him, and then he's how I ended up at Insomniac Games. That was my career, Insomniac Games. That's all knowing Mark. Huge impact of my life. | ||
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I remember Brenda Ross was having a hard time and she was talking to Mark and Mark says, "Well go ask Craig." Because Brenda was hired before me but not by… I'm not sure how long she had been there. Not very long, but long enough, and Mark said, "Go ask Craig." I really didn't know what I was doing. I was just making it up on the fly and so when she asked me "Can you show me how to do this?" I went, "Yeah, but I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to teach you because I don't know. I'm just making it up," I think she took that wrong and this is where I feel bad. I think she thought I was blowing her off or something. I always look back at that and I think that just got… I don't know why that's something that's always stuck in my head is that initial conversation. | I remember Brenda Ross was having a hard time and she was talking to Mark and Mark says, "Well go ask Craig." Because Brenda was hired before me but not by… I'm not sure how long she had been there. Not very long, but long enough, and Mark said, "Go ask Craig." I really didn't know what I was doing. I was just making it up on the fly and so when she asked me "Can you show me how to do this?" I went, "Yeah, but I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to teach you because I don't know. I'm just making it up," I think she took that wrong and this is where I feel bad. I think she thought I was blowing her off or something. I always look back at that and I think that just got… I don't know why that's something that's always stuck in my head is that initial conversation. | ||
Yeah, so once you got into it… I remember thinking the initial interview was for the Sega arcade systems, which I was very excited about. Then I find out that it was for the home system, and I'm like, [disappointedly] "Oh really?" For some reason I'm like, "Ah." | Yeah, so once you got into it… I remember thinking the initial interview was for the Sega arcade systems, which I was very excited about. Then I find out that it was for the home system, and I'm like, [disappointedly] "Oh really?" For some reason I'm like, "Ah." I also went, "Oh crap." My neighbor had an Atari 2600, and that was the last time I had played any home video games. I had to run out and borrow a friend's NES to play- I had my first conversation with Mark saying, "Yeah, we want you talk to you again." I had better go play some home games. | ||
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'''I was going to ask if you had any involvement in Dick Tracy, but it sounds like that happened just before you got there.''' | '''I was going to ask if you had any involvement in Dick Tracy, but it sounds like that happened just before you got there.''' | ||
Correct. I thought I was going to be working on Dick Tracy. I got there and they were already, I don't know, pretty close to shipping it. I didn't work on it. They were working on it when I got there, but yeah, I didn't have anything to do with it. I remember being bummed because at the time, the movie was a big thing. It was like, "Oh, that's really cool. That's exciting." | Correct. I thought I was going to be working on Dick Tracy. I got there and they were already, I don't know, pretty close to shipping it. I didn't work on it. They were working on it when I got there, but yeah, I didn't have anything to do with it. I remember being bummed because at the time, the movie was a big thing. It was like, "Oh, that's really cool. That's exciting." I was bummed. | ||
'''Kid Chameleon was following Dick Tracy, which was Disney's, Touchstone's thing. It seems like Kid Chameleon was the first chance that STI's artists and staff got to really flex their creativity.''' | '''Kid Chameleon was following Dick Tracy, which was Disney's, Touchstone's thing. It seems like Kid Chameleon was the first chance that STI's artists and staff got to really flex their creativity.''' | ||
Yeah | Yeah. At the time, Sega was looking for a mascot. Nintendo had Mario and Sega didn't have anything. Mark… one of the things on Kid Chameleon was… we wanted to be Sega's mascot. Cause there was no Sonic yet. We're doing it and it was loosely based… There was another… who was the "Kid"? There was another "Kid" game that was in Japan on the Genesis, and it was strange. | ||
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'''Dylan Charles.''' | '''Dylan Charles.''' | ||
Dylan Charles! Yes | Dylan Charles! Yes. Where did you get that name? That was- did Brenda remember that? | ||
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'''So on Kid Chameleon, how much artistic freedom were you given on the project?''' | '''So on Kid Chameleon, how much artistic freedom were you given on the project?''' | ||
A | A lot. I don't remember anything other than trying to work out of whatever the art bible was for, "What is the look of it?" It was whatever we wanted to do and could do. Well, all of us, it was our first game. That was Mark's whole thing. That was that ad in the newspapers: "Wanted, artists and designers with no experience." Mark wanted to build a company with… he didn't want to bring people from other companies that had their way of doing things. He wanted to train people in his way of making games and his way of thinking. None of the artists… I don't know about the programmers, but none of the artists had ever made a video game and never done anything like this. It was all brand new. | ||
I remember Paul | I remember Paul Mica. Another one of the artists, incredible artist. Some of his stuff was gorgeous. I remember him just really beating his head against the wall and just always having to go back and make things smaller or… "Paul, you've got way too many colors. You can't use that many frames." He really had a hard time working within the limitations. I remember him being really frustrated by that. I remember learning some little tricks about how to make eyes look alive when you've only got four pixels. Like, "How did he make his eyes look so cool? Oh, okay. He's got one little white pixel right there." Which is actually something I still think of every single time I draw something or I'm painting something and I've got an eyeball. Thank you, Paul. [laughs] | ||
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'''So you were mentioning that tile identification program. It might not be the same one but I wanted to run a "Do you recognize this name?" question by you. Yuji Naka had made a tool called the Super Character Maker or CMM. Does that one ring any bells?''' | '''So you were mentioning that tile identification program. It might not be the same one but I wanted to run a "Do you recognize this name?" question by you. Yuji Naka had made a tool called the Super Character Maker or CMM. Does that one ring any bells?''' | ||
Vaguely. | |||
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'''Right. Yes | '''Right. Yes.''' | ||
Yeah Naka. "I'm going to take my ball and go home" was his go-to plan on everything. You'd give him a big bag of money and give him what he wanted and he'd stay. But he was the exception. The other guys, Yasuhara and… Yamaguchi. | Yeah Naka. "I'm going to take my ball and go home" was his go-to plan on everything. You'd give him a big bag of money and give him what he wanted and he'd stay. But he was the exception. The other guys, Yasuhara and… Yamaguchi. | ||
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'''You still keep in contact with Yasuhara and Yamaguchi?''' | '''You still keep in contact with Yasuhara and Yamaguchi?''' | ||
Yasuhara, we're friends on Facebook. Occasionally I have asked him questions here and then, occasionally. I do occasionally see him comment or click a like on something I post. The last time I contacted him was… I just digitized the resume videotape I made when I was leaving Sega. This was like maybe five, ten years ago. I was going to say a couple of years… No, it's probably more like 10 years. I had put it up on YouTube and a friend was watching it and says, "What is Treasure Tails?" | Yasuhara, we're friends on Facebook. Occasionally I have asked him questions here and then, occasionally. I do occasionally see him comment or click a like on something I post. The last time I contacted him was… I just digitized the resume videotape I made when I was leaving Sega. This was like maybe five, ten years ago. I was going to say a couple of years… No, it's probably more like 10 years. I had put it up on YouTube and a friend was watching it and says, "What is Treasure Tails?" I went, "What?" Cause I hadn't thought of this in like forever. He goes, "Yeah, it's one of the games you said you worked on" and all of a sudden these memories start coming back. I pulled out the tape quickly and looked at it and sure enough, here's this Sonic universe game with Tails. It's this… not ortho… the weird three quarter angle view… | ||
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Yeah. It'll come to us later. It was a puzzle adventure game for Tails. I had forgotten completely, I completely forgot I'd ever worked on that. It was the one of the last things I did at Sega before leaving. I remember doing all the research and all that got done for it was like three mock-up screens. Just static. I actually contacted Yasuhara cause I was trying to find out who was designing this, who was working on this. I got a hold of Bill Dunn to see if he remembered anything. I wrote to Yasuhara and he got back to me and Yasuhara says, "I don't remember anything from that time." His brain is so burnt from that period in time, he just said, "I don't remember." | Yeah. It'll come to us later. It was a puzzle adventure game for Tails. I had forgotten completely, I completely forgot I'd ever worked on that. It was the one of the last things I did at Sega before leaving. I remember doing all the research and all that got done for it was like three mock-up screens. Just static. I actually contacted Yasuhara cause I was trying to find out who was designing this, who was working on this. I got a hold of Bill Dunn to see if he remembered anything. I wrote to Yasuhara and he got back to me and Yasuhara says, "I don't remember anything from that time." His brain is so burnt from that period in time, he just said, "I don't remember." | ||
Then I got digging into my journals and found a little bit of information, so I was able to put some times, some dates down and that stuff on it and found out the designer on it was Hoyt Ng and there was a programmer's name written down as far as I remember. We worked on it for… I think a few months. I don't remember how long now, but it got cancelled. Like so many things at STI. That's the reason I left STI | Then I got digging into my journals and found a little bit of information, so I was able to put some times, some dates down and that stuff on it and found out the designer on it was Hoyt Ng and there was a programmer's name written down as far as I remember. We worked on it for… I think a few months. I don't remember how long now, but it got cancelled. Like so many things at STI. That's the reason I left STI: all these potential games, some of them almost finished, that would have been A plus, incredibly beautiful games that got cancelled just because of incompetent management. | ||
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'''Was not being given enough resources to work on a project a recurring theme at STI?''' | '''Was not being given enough resources to work on a project a recurring theme at STI?''' | ||
Absolutely | Absolutely. The one game that did ship was The Ooze, which… I have no idea how it made it out the door. I think it's because it had a very, very, very small team. I think it was me and Tom… Did Brenda- I can't remember Brenda worked on that. Me and Tom were doing the environments, which were pretty simple. I actually did the Ooze. I remember, that game, is way back. The primordial stage of that game was Mark Cerny asking me to do a set of little tiles for animation that were just the Ooze, of every different little shape that you could have, so that the program group would then do the animations. There would be no animating the Ooze. You would just have every conceivable shape in a eight by eight little square that would make any curve. | ||
Cause he was doing a test with- was it Dave Sanner and Jason Plumb, were doing- cause I think they had this idea for a game and this little test ended up becoming The Ooze. It was funny, I bumped into Dave Sanner just a couple of weeks or a month or two ago, cause I was over at the Video Game History place scanning the last of something in with those guys. We got talking about The Ooze and they [the VGHF] went, "Oh wait, one of the guys that worked on it is like, right upstairs." It's a very small world. | Cause he was doing a test with- was it Dave Sanner and Jason Plumb, were doing- cause I think they had this idea for a game and this little test ended up becoming The Ooze. It was funny, I bumped into Dave Sanner just a couple of weeks or a month or two ago, cause I was over at the Video Game History place scanning the last of something in with those guys. We got talking about The Ooze and they [the VGHF] went, "Oh wait, one of the guys that worked on it is like, right upstairs." It's a very small world. | ||
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'''I wanted to ask a bunch of Sonic 2 questions and these are going to be a little more specific. If you have to say, "I don't remember that", no worries, I completely understand. A lot of us in the research community find the project especially fascinating. For editorial reasons, I'd like to thank one of our top Sonic researchers, | '''I wanted to ask a bunch of Sonic 2 questions and these are going to be a little more specific. If you have to say, "I don't remember that", no worries, I completely understand. A lot of us in the research community find the project especially fascinating. For editorial reasons, I'd like to thank one of our top Sonic researchers, Katsushimi, for providing some of these questions. To begin, could you describe your personal approach to drawing graphics when it came to the Sonic 2 project?''' | ||
I can remember thinking how it had a very computer generated look. It's all pixels, but it looked like it was made out of polygons. If you look at the palm trees and stuff, it has this very polygon-based look. That was my foundation, especially on the Hidden Palace artwork, was that this is made out of polygons. Trying to think of what else… that's the only thing that's coming to mind right now. | I can remember thinking how it had a very computer generated look. It's all pixels, but it looked like it was made out of polygons. If you look at the palm trees and stuff, it has this very polygon-based look. That was my foundation, especially on the Hidden Palace artwork, was that this is made out of polygons. Trying to think of what else… that's the only thing that's coming to mind right now. | ||
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'''More lack of resources.''' | '''More lack of resources.''' | ||
So I think that's where maybe the hodgepodge aspect of it comes in is it's in bits and pieces. It could also just be just the nature of… I'm trying to compare Sonic 1. It's been so long since I played the other one. Y'know, how homogenous was Sonic 1 versus Sonic 2? I remember thinking levels like Casino [Night] Zone were beautiful! But it didn't fit. "Where's this in the world? Why is this in the world? What is this?" | So I think that's where maybe the hodgepodge aspect of it comes in is it's in bits and pieces. It could also just be just the nature of… I'm trying to compare Sonic 1. It's been so long since I played the other one. Y'know, how homogenous was Sonic 1 versus Sonic 2? I remember thinking levels like Casino [Night] Zone were beautiful! But it didn't fit. "Where's this in the world? Why is this in the world? What is this?" Then deciding it didn't matter because it's pretty and it's fun and who cares? | ||
So, yeah, I can definitely see how there's this hodgepodge… The worlds don't have a lot of throughput into each other in a continuous story way. There's some of them that were a little story driven, but a lot of them are just like "What's cool looking?" Maybe I should say… that would be a good question for Yasuhara. | So, yeah, I can definitely see how there's this hodgepodge… The worlds don't have a lot of throughput into each other in a continuous story way. There's some of them that were a little story driven, but a lot of them are just like "What's cool looking?" Maybe I should say… that would be a good question for Yasuhara. | ||
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So Bruce Dunn [Bill Dunn] was the designer on it. I was doing that… That must have been before Kid Chameleon. Cause it seems like they were at the same time, but that makes no sense, so it hadn't been before, because they got cancelled… We were at the little office in San Jose. By the time we got to the office in… is that Menlo Park? I'm not sure where you actually are on the freeway, where that building is, halfway up the 101 [freeway], halfway to Sega headquarters. I think by the time we got there, Dark Empires was dead. | So Bruce Dunn [Bill Dunn] was the designer on it. I was doing that… That must have been before Kid Chameleon. Cause it seems like they were at the same time, but that makes no sense, so it hadn't been before, because they got cancelled… We were at the little office in San Jose. By the time we got to the office in… is that Menlo Park? I'm not sure where you actually are on the freeway, where that building is, halfway up the 101 [freeway], halfway to Sega headquarters. I think by the time we got there, Dark Empires was dead. | ||
Yeah, it was, cause we were doing Sonic 2 during… We were doing Kid Chameleon, cause I remember going in to Mark and saying, "Hey, I get some extra time to work now cause I'm going through a divorce. I'm going to be spending a lot of time at work." [laughs] No real reason to go home anymore. It almost had to be before [STI moved]. It wasn't a type of game I typically played much of, but the style and… William, he's a really nice guy. A pleasure to work with, really easy going… Bill. Bill Dunn. The style was right up my alley. This fantasy Dungeons & Dragons | Yeah, it was, cause we were doing Sonic 2 during… We were doing Kid Chameleon, cause I remember going in to Mark and saying, "Hey, I get some extra time to work now cause I'm going through a divorce. I'm going to be spending a lot of time at work." [laughs] No real reason to go home anymore. It almost had to be before [STI moved]. It wasn't a type of game I typically played much of, but the style and… William, he's a really nice guy. A pleasure to work with, really easy going… Bill. Bill Dunn. The style was right up my alley. This fantasy Dungeons & Dragons [style] - monsters and weird stuff. I remember just working up a whole bunch of different ways, different things to build. Did a lot of sketches that didn't… | ||
Ken Rose, who was the programmer, just sent me like a month ago that playable version. That's another thing that's in that box that is missing is my actual ROM card for Segapede, and I had one for Dark Empires. Luckily Ken still had the code for those. I wasn't able to get it to work, and then my son was supposed to come over and help me figure it out, and we never got that done. It'd be interesting to play it again, cause the only thing I have is to watch that videotape of my resume. But yeah, that was Bill's baby. | Ken Rose, who was the programmer, just sent me like a month ago that playable version. That's another thing that's in that box that is missing is my actual ROM card for Segapede, and I had one for Dark Empires. Luckily Ken still had the code for those. I wasn't able to get it to work, and then my son was supposed to come over and help me figure it out, and we never got that done. It'd be interesting to play it again, cause the only thing I have is to watch that videotape of my resume. But yeah, that was Bill's baby. | ||
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'''Speaking of another cancelled STI project, this one we actually know less about than Jester: What was SpellCaster?''' | '''Speaking of another cancelled STI project, this one we actually know less about than Jester: What was SpellCaster?''' | ||
SpellCaster! Okay, so it never got beyond a pitch. So after Sonic, they said, "Okay, you can pitch ideas." The head people from SoA would come down… Toyoda… I can't remember the name. It was a Japanese guy, was really nice guy. | SpellCaster! Okay, so it never got beyond a pitch. So after Sonic, they said, "Okay, you can pitch ideas." The head people from SoA would come down… Toyoda… I can't remember the name. It was a Japanese guy, was really nice guy. Tom Kalinske, another really nice guy. | ||
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Then Dave's big thing is he wanted the spells to be a sound-based, music-based. As you push the buttons, it would play a sound. You would hear notes as the players were mashing their buttons. That would do two things. One, you could hear the other player. Once you got playing enough, you could recognize songs, recognize a short tune, and you'd get a little heads up as to what the other guy was going to do. We did up a document, I did up some artwork, and we pitched it to Sega and that's as far as I got. They said, "Oh, thank you, but no." | Then Dave's big thing is he wanted the spells to be a sound-based, music-based. As you push the buttons, it would play a sound. You would hear notes as the players were mashing their buttons. That would do two things. One, you could hear the other player. Once you got playing enough, you could recognize songs, recognize a short tune, and you'd get a little heads up as to what the other guy was going to do. We did up a document, I did up some artwork, and we pitched it to Sega and that's as far as I got. They said, "Oh, thank you, but no." | ||
That's as far as that got, just the documents you see there and a single pitch meeting. I also came back after that and just myself put together Segapede and pitched that. | That's as far as that got, just the documents you see there and a single pitch meeting. I also came back after that and just myself put together Segapede and pitched that. That's the one where Sega went, "Hey, we like that. But we want to see a proof of concept." So that's when Segapede ended up coming about. | ||
The foundational idea for Segapede was it was initially it was supposed to take place in the Sonic universe. The core concept was that… the memory I talked about, that very first time I ever played Sonic and there was no Ring splash and then playing it again and there was a Ring splash and how much the Ring splash made it fun was, that was the core. The base idea that started Segapede was the character was going to be the centipede that each of the body segments was this little ball bearing, a little unicycle thing, with your power-ups sitting on top of that. It could be an extra engine to go fast. It could be rocket launchers. It could be spikes. It could be whatever gameplay characteristics, things you needed, would be these different body segments. | The foundational idea for Segapede was it was initially it was supposed to take place in the Sonic universe. The core concept was that… the memory I talked about, that very first time I ever played Sonic and there was no Ring splash and then playing it again and there was a Ring splash and how much the Ring splash made it fun was, that was the core. The base idea that started Segapede was the character was going to be the centipede that each of the body segments was this little ball bearing, a little unicycle thing, with your power-ups sitting on top of that. It could be an extra engine to go fast. It could be rocket launchers. It could be spikes. It could be whatever gameplay characteristics, things you needed, would be these different body segments. | ||
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'''Do you recall the name of that fine artist and the Japanese artist? Can you recall either of those names?''' | '''Do you recall the name of that fine artist and the Japanese artist? Can you recall either of those names?''' | ||
I can see her [Marte]. | I can see her [Marte]. Then Alex Niño. Alex Niño was the older guy that had drawn the Tarzan comics, like back in the fifties or sixties. Really nice guy. His sketches were just gorgeous. But just kinda useless when it comes to making video games. Mark may have wanted to hire people outside the industry in the beginning. That's not what we needed then. We needed the people that could hit the ground running, and a producer that would actually produce. | ||
What was her name… It was frustrating because she was often calling in sick. She'd say, "I had an anxiety attack and I had to turn around and go home." I didn't understand at the time. I'll say, maybe you know this, but I left the game industry in 2005 and am on disability still because of anxiety and depression. I totally get the anxiety thing now, how it just shuts your brain off. "Oh, I get it now." I wish I was more understanding back in the day. What's her name? I can see her. | What was her name… It was frustrating because she was often calling in sick. She'd say, "I had an anxiety attack and I had to turn around and go home." I didn't understand at the time. I'll say, maybe you know this, but I left the game industry in 2005 and am on disability still because of anxiety and depression. I totally get the anxiety thing now, how it just shuts your brain off. "Oh, I get it now." I wish I was more understanding back in the day. What's her name? I can see her. | ||
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Yeah. We got along wonderfully and he was very supportive, it felt like, on putting together Segapede. When he came in it would have been called Astropede. So once it was actually a game in production… He seemed very supportive but he didn't ever actually do anything. Looking back at it… Once again, we needed a project manager. We needed somebody that would actually knew how to schedule and knew all the things that have to be known to make a game and keep things on schedule and keep things moving and all that business end of it. | Yeah. We got along wonderfully and he was very supportive, it felt like, on putting together Segapede. When he came in it would have been called Astropede. So once it was actually a game in production… He seemed very supportive but he didn't ever actually do anything. Looking back at it… Once again, we needed a project manager. We needed somebody that would actually knew how to schedule and knew all the things that have to be known to make a game and keep things on schedule and keep things moving and all that business end of it. | ||
I guess he was expecting me to do that and I was trying to do it. I wanted to do that, but that's not what I did, it's not anything I actually knew anything about. This was in, what, my third game, fourth game ever? When time came and Sega realized that they needed to… Cause I think they had like five games running simultaneously. He didn't support keeping Segapede going. | I guess he was expecting me to do that and I was trying to do it. I wanted to do that, but that's not what I did, it's not anything I actually knew anything about. This was in, what, my third game, fourth game ever? When time came and Sega realized that they needed to… Cause I think they had like five games running simultaneously. He didn't support keeping Segapede going. Didn't give it the resources it needed at all, ever. As I said, he got me a couple artists, but that weren't fit for the job. According to Ken, a programmer that was not fit for the job. At that point I realized like, "Oh, this is why Brenda and Rick didn't care for Dean." They knew this was going to happen. | ||
There was another programmer, a woman. I do not remember her name at all… Once again, she had her own thing going, had projects that she wanted to do. When she came in, you could feel things shift. Her and Dean were there at the same time. I was also butting heads with Roger Hector, because morale at this point was low. They had Spinny & Spike, Steve Woita's game. Segapede, my game. Spinball, which was Peter's game. The Ooze was going on also. They were trying to do Sonic on for the Mars, 32X, or whatever that chaotic transitional crazy thing that Sega screwed everything up on. | There was another programmer, a woman. I do not remember her name at all… Once again, she had her own thing going, had projects that she wanted to do. When she came in, you could feel things shift. Her and Dean were there at the same time. I was also butting heads with Roger Hector, because morale at this point was low. They had Spinny & Spike, Steve Woita's game. Segapede, my game. Spinball, which was Peter's game. The Ooze was going on also. They were trying to do Sonic on for the Mars, 32X, or whatever that chaotic transitional crazy thing that Sega screwed everything up on. | ||
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'''Yeah [laughs].''' | '''Yeah [laughs].''' | ||
You had least five games going simultaneously in a company that really, at best, could do two or three, as far as manpower. The morale was in the crapper. I remember going into [the office of] Roger Hector, who had taken over after Mark left, and saying, "Hey, morale is just really crap right now. Everybody is just miserable." | You had least five games going simultaneously in a company that really, at best, could do two or three, as far as manpower. The morale was in the crapper. I remember going into [the office of] Roger Hector, who had taken over after Mark left, and saying, "Hey, morale is just really crap right now. Everybody is just miserable." I spent probably an hour in his office. I remember I got about three steps out his door and realized I spent the last half hour or 45 minutes apologizing to him because the morale was 'my problem'. It wasn't the company's. I got about three steps out and I went, "What the fuck?" Because that was Roger's superpower. He's a nice guy, very charismatic. His nickname was Teflon Don. Nothing stuck to him. If anything bad happened, it was never his fault. | ||
I guess that followed him from his time at Disney. He was really good at avoiding blame. He had to add this power of when you're with him, of… he just had incredible charisma or something. At that point, I literally walked to my desk and called Mark Cerny. " | I guess that followed him from his time at Disney. He was really good at avoiding blame. He had to add this power of when you're with him, of… he just had incredible charisma or something. At that point, I literally walked to my desk and called Mark Cerny. "Sayyy, Mark, I understand you're looking for someone, you're putting a new team together." I mean, that was the transition. Like, "Oh, crap, it is time to get out of here," and called Mark. | ||
Although when Sega didn't get a Sonic for the 32X Mars slash Saturn… that bullet, even Roger couldn't avoid that one. He ended up leaving Sega shortly thereafter because I think he finally couldn't dodge that bullet. That's how I ended up in L.A. with Mark was "OK, it's finally time for me to get out of here." | Although when Sega didn't get a Sonic for the 32X Mars slash Saturn… that bullet, even Roger couldn't avoid that one. He ended up leaving Sega shortly thereafter because I think he finally couldn't dodge that bullet. That's how I ended up in L.A. with Mark was "OK, it's finally time for me to get out of here." | ||
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One of the things, when I when I moved back up here, is I drove over and didn't know Sega had moved. I drove over because I hadn't been there in 20 plus years and hardly recognized it because there's so many new buildings and everything. I looked at the building, I wondered who's in there. Same thing when I drive past the STI offices that are off the 101 here, if there's any gamers in that building that know what was created in those rooms… If you had a Sonic fan and they're actually sitting in the room where Sonic 2 was made or where this is made or that was made, I always just wondered, "Do they know or would they care?" | One of the things, when I when I moved back up here, is I drove over and didn't know Sega had moved. I drove over because I hadn't been there in 20 plus years and hardly recognized it because there's so many new buildings and everything. I looked at the building, I wondered who's in there. Same thing when I drive past the STI offices that are off the 101 here, if there's any gamers in that building that know what was created in those rooms… If you had a Sonic fan and they're actually sitting in the room where Sonic 2 was made or where this is made or that was made, I always just wondered, "Do they know or would they care?" | ||
My favorite celebrity story was for the big release for Sonic 2. So it's a huge party at… a Toys "R" Us or FAO Schwarz? It was a big toy store in New York City. They flew the team out. The morning of the event, I go downstairs from the hotel and there's a limo waiting. I get in the limo and I've got a denim Sonic 2 jacket [on that] they'd given the team. I get in the car and there's Dylan Taylor Thomas [Jonathan Taylor Thomas], the middle son on the TV show Home Improvement, in the car. Home Improvement at the time was a big show and Sega had brought in a bunch of the big kids TV celebrities to play Sonic 2 for the cameras. So he was there. He was already in the car waiting and I go in and I get in the car with him and his mom's there, and he looks at me and he goes, "Oh, are you security?" | My favorite celebrity story was for the big release for Sonic 2. So it's a huge party at… a Toys "R" Us or FAO Schwarz? It was a big toy store in New York City. They flew the team out. The morning of the event, I go downstairs from the hotel and there's a limo waiting. I get in the limo and I've got a denim Sonic 2 jacket [on that] they'd given the team. I get in the car and there's Dylan Taylor Thomas [Jonathan Taylor Thomas], the middle son on the TV show Home Improvement, in the car. Home Improvement at the time was a big show and Sega had brought in a bunch of the big kids TV celebrities to play Sonic 2 for the cameras. So he was there. He was already in the car waiting and I go in and I get in the car with him and his mom's there, and he looks at me and he goes, "Oh, are you security?" I went, "No, no, I'm one of the artists." And he's like, "Really? Can I have your autograph?" | ||
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I flew down, I met Ted and the Hastings brothers and really liked them. [I] wasn't overly impressed with Disruptor, the game they were working on, it was just a Doom clone. There's no way I would have gone down to work with these guys, who've never made a game, on a Doom clone, except I really wanted to work with Mark again. Mark's one of those people who I think either you really enjoy working with or you really don't like him. I really enjoyed working with him, luckily. | I flew down, I met Ted and the Hastings brothers and really liked them. [I] wasn't overly impressed with Disruptor, the game they were working on, it was just a Doom clone. There's no way I would have gone down to work with these guys, who've never made a game, on a Doom clone, except I really wanted to work with Mark again. Mark's one of those people who I think either you really enjoy working with or you really don't like him. I really enjoyed working with him, luckily. | ||
I went down for three months, and we're doing Disruptor. I was learning 3D, learning Maya, Alias on the fly. I'm kinda learning Photoshop on the fly, because I really didn't know Photoshop very well yet, and then flying back and forth. Disruptor was originally for the 3DO platform. | I went down for three months, and we're doing Disruptor. I was learning 3D, learning Maya, Alias on the fly. I'm kinda learning Photoshop on the fly, because I really didn't know Photoshop very well yet, and then flying back and forth. Disruptor was originally for the 3DO platform. Mark's superpower is seeing the future and knowing what the future needs. You can start work on it now so that it's ready when the future needs it. That really is his superpower. He says, "Okay, at 3DO… this is not going to work. Let's go start talking to Sony and the PlayStation." We didn't have to do much art change, but we had to rework some stuff. | ||
At some point, shortly thereafter, Ted asked me if I wanted to go permanent with them, as opposed to just my three month contract. Flying back and forth was fine. I talked to my son about it. Like, "Okay, we'll just keep doing this. I'll just keep flying back and forth." So that three months flying back and forth… ended up [as] 25 years in L.A. Ten of that with Insomniac. I never planned on moving to L.A. | At some point, shortly thereafter, Ted asked me if I wanted to go permanent with them, as opposed to just my three month contract. Flying back and forth was fine. I talked to my son about it. Like, "Okay, we'll just keep doing this. I'll just keep flying back and forth." So that three months flying back and forth… ended up [as] 25 years in L.A. Ten of that with Insomniac. I never planned on moving to L.A. | ||
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Then I pitched this game where you get to be a dragon, as opposed to riding or slaying a dragon. You are the dragon. In the original pitch, you started out as a hatchling, you started out as an egg and it hatches, and the premise is that as the game progresses, you get bigger and bigger and bigger and become more powerful. The gameplay is you need to leave your little den and go out and gather gold and gather treasure and bring it back, but then you also have to protect it, it's your lair, and you've got to protect it against various people coming in to try and steal your treasure. Then that changes throughout time as you live to be… you can live for thousands and thousands of years. The world, so to speak, would change through eras in time. | Then I pitched this game where you get to be a dragon, as opposed to riding or slaying a dragon. You are the dragon. In the original pitch, you started out as a hatchling, you started out as an egg and it hatches, and the premise is that as the game progresses, you get bigger and bigger and bigger and become more powerful. The gameplay is you need to leave your little den and go out and gather gold and gather treasure and bring it back, but then you also have to protect it, it's your lair, and you've got to protect it against various people coming in to try and steal your treasure. Then that changes throughout time as you live to be… you can live for thousands and thousands of years. The world, so to speak, would change through eras in time. | ||
I pitched that idea to Ted and the Hastings and everyone said they liked the dragon idea. We polished it up and then pitched it to Mark Cerny and Universal Studios. | I pitched that idea to Ted and the Hastings and everyone said they liked the dragon idea. We polished it up and then pitched it to Mark Cerny and Universal Studios. This is where Mark's superpower comes into play is… Universal liked it. Mark liked it. But he said, "Two suggestions. Keep the dragon the same age. Because sequels will be easier." Wow, yeah, never occurred to me that we'd be making two of these. Then the other one was him looking ahead knowing it's going to take two years to make this game. In two years, who's going to be buying and playing the PS1. He said, "Keep him the same age and keep the game cute and a little more family friendly," because your average player age is going to drop a couple of years by the time you guys get this game out. | ||
That's when we did another rework and we ended up with this little dragon named… once again, never his real name. People always think it's his real name. His working title name was Pete because it was a play off Pete's Dragon. It just drives me nuts, where people say, "If you named him that Disney would sue you." It's like, "No, the dragon in Pete's Dragon is named Elliot. That's the little boy named Pete. That's the joke here, people. We're not going to name him Pete." But by the end of it, I really did want to name him Pete, cause after 18 months… once again, that naming thing, it took forever to find a real name. By the time we got around to it, I liked Pete. | That's when we did another rework and we ended up with this little dragon named… once again, never his real name. People always think it's his real name. His working title name was Pete because it was a play off Pete's Dragon. It just drives me nuts, where people say, "If you named him that Disney would sue you." It's like, "No, the dragon in Pete's Dragon is named Elliot. That's the little boy named Pete. That's the joke here, people. We're not going to name him Pete." But by the end of it, I really did want to name him Pete, cause after 18 months… once again, that naming thing, it took forever to find a real name. By the time we got around to it, I liked Pete. | ||
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'''Oh, that's nice!''' | '''Oh, that's nice!''' | ||
"Okay! Oh, okay." Then I'd go back to work. Then like a year later, another late night, I'm at my desk, I'm behind schedule, like everybody always is. Ted says, Hey, "Can I see you at my desk?" | "Okay! Oh, okay." Then I'd go back to work. Then like a year later, another late night, I'm at my desk, I'm behind schedule, like everybody always is. Ted says, Hey, "Can I see you at my desk?" I'm like "Crap, I'm busted. I'm in so much trouble." He goes, "Hey, Craig, couldn't do this without you. Thank you. Here's a raise." "Oh, okay." | ||
Then jump ahead to… halfway through Ratchet and Clank, this time during the day. Ted says, "Hey, can I see you in my office?" "Yeah, sure." This time I'm not freaking out. Like, "Hey, I'm getting a raise." I go in and Ted says, "If you're behind schedule again, we're gonna have to fire you." | Then jump ahead to… halfway through Ratchet and Clank, this time during the day. Ted says, "Hey, can I see you in my office?" "Yeah, sure." This time I'm not freaking out. Like, "Hey, I'm getting a raise." I go in and Ted says, "If you're behind schedule again, we're gonna have to fire you." | ||
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'''[shock] No.''' | '''[shock] No.''' | ||
That was so asinine, it was such a bizarre statement, my brain didn't register it. I just went, "Oh, well, I'll work harder. I'll put some more hours in | That was so asinine, it was such a bizarre statement, my brain didn't register it. I just went, "Oh, well, I'll work harder. I'll put some more hours in," and I went to lunch. I'm sitting at lunch and all of a sudden I'm like, "What the fuck? Did he just threaten to fire me?" It didn't register until halfway through lunch. I go back into his office, and I go "Ted, did you…?" He's like, "Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't react." I'm like, "Yes, because it's asinine. Everybody's behind schedule!" At the time, I think I was writing the schedule. So I said, "Okay." | ||
Then the next level is that Metropolis [Metropolis, Kerwan] from Ratchet 1, which is that level that I working with Tom on, which he was having a hard time [on]. I ended up pretty much doing the whole level that was impossible to do. It was three times the size it should have been, that we'd all agreed on. I remember pointing it out to Ted. At the meeting, they rolled the thing out on the floor because it's so big. I immediately go, "They've gotta cut at least like sixty percent." Because these are literally just still just paper… Was this still just paper taped together, or were they finally printing out stuff using Illustrator? It used to just be hand-drawn graph paper taped together. | Then the next level is that Metropolis [Metropolis, Kerwan] from Ratchet 1, which is that level that I working with Tom on, which he was having a hard time [on]. I ended up pretty much doing the whole level that was impossible to do. It was three times the size it should have been, that we'd all agreed on. I remember pointing it out to Ted. At the meeting, they rolled the thing out on the floor because it's so big. I immediately go, "They've gotta cut at least like sixty percent." Because these are literally just still just paper… Was this still just paper taped together, or were they finally printing out stuff using Illustrator? It used to just be hand-drawn graph paper taped together. | ||
Ted just came in like, "Tough, do it, figure it out, make it work." | Ted just came in like, "Tough, do it, figure it out, make it work." I did. This is also the level that… When we pitched Ratchet to Sony, we use the Spyro engine. With all this forced perspective, and all these tricks, made it look like a PS2 game. There's all this trickery going on. It looks incredible, would love to have that videotape. "Okay, this has to look good. This is the level we sold the game to Sony on." | ||
It's still the flagship level of the series to this day, to the best of my knowledge. So that's done, and I remember Ted looks at me, he just gives me this nod and this wink like, "Yeah, you're good. Don't worry about it." But I wasn't. I was continually not invited to meetings and left out of stuff and given crap and I just got the feeling that they would love to fire me because they could hire three college kids out of college for what they're paying me. I should have spoken up. They'd hire somebody and have to give them some responsibility, so they'd take one of my responsibilities away. They just kept putting me down into smaller and smaller responsibility. I still had a half dozen artists under me and whatnot. It was just… it was getting bad. | It's still the flagship level of the series to this day, to the best of my knowledge. So that's done, and I remember Ted looks at me, he just gives me this nod and this wink like, "Yeah, you're good. Don't worry about it." But I wasn't. I was continually not invited to meetings and left out of stuff and given crap and I just got the feeling that they would love to fire me because they could hire three college kids out of college for what they're paying me. I should have spoken up. They'd hire somebody and have to give them some responsibility, so they'd take one of my responsibilities away. They just kept putting me down into smaller and smaller responsibility. I still had a half dozen artists under me and whatnot. It was just… it was getting bad. | ||
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They really messed me up. Although I was telling part of that story to a coworker… Currently, I'm working at a children's museum and I'm just on the floor. I just play with kids. I'm a camp counselor. I just sit and draw and play with the kids and do games and silly stuff. So not management. I'm on the floor. Most of my coworkers are like 20 years old or in high school still. This started in L.A. after I hadn't worked for a number of years, and a friend kept saying that I really need to come work at a children's museum in L.A. It was a long drive and I was like, "I don't know…" | They really messed me up. Although I was telling part of that story to a coworker… Currently, I'm working at a children's museum and I'm just on the floor. I just play with kids. I'm a camp counselor. I just sit and draw and play with the kids and do games and silly stuff. So not management. I'm on the floor. Most of my coworkers are like 20 years old or in high school still. This started in L.A. after I hadn't worked for a number of years, and a friend kept saying that I really need to come work at a children's museum in L.A. It was a long drive and I was like, "I don't know…" | ||
I just went down and went to one of her special events at the museum and just sat there for a while and talked to everybody and played around the museum. "Yeah, I need to be here." So this is my new calling. I was talking to this employee and I said, "You know, I wonder where I'd be if I had quit when I should have?" I love their response, because I said, "Well, if I had, I'd probably still be making games." | I just went down and went to one of her special events at the museum and just sat there for a while and talked to everybody and played around the museum. "Yeah, I need to be here." So this is my new calling. I was talking to this employee and I said, "You know, I wonder where I'd be if I had quit when I should have?" I love their response, because I said, "Well, if I had, I'd probably still be making games." He goes, "Yeah, maybe, but you wouldn't be here." I went, "Oh, yeah." I prefer this. I don't make near the money I make making video games, you make stupid money making video games. Here, I'm basically making minimum wage. But this is good. This is keeping me healthy, healthy and happy. | ||
My times at Insomniac were a real mixed bag. They went from incredible to literally breaking me. | My times at Insomniac were a real mixed bag. They went from incredible to literally breaking me. | ||
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I remember they took me out on a cruise once. At that big party on the cruise, Ted's going through the history of Insomniac, and he briefly mentions and moves on. Which is okay, it's fine, it's a big company and it's got a lot of history. But it kinda bugged me. Once again, it's like I'm very curious… I'm trying to not let too much ego get in the way here… I'm curious where Insomniac would be if there was no Spyro. Who knows what they would have done without it. Spyro was in the top five for the PS1 of overall sales. Cross-generational, cross-gender, beyond what we ever expected to have it be. | I remember they took me out on a cruise once. At that big party on the cruise, Ted's going through the history of Insomniac, and he briefly mentions and moves on. Which is okay, it's fine, it's a big company and it's got a lot of history. But it kinda bugged me. Once again, it's like I'm very curious… I'm trying to not let too much ego get in the way here… I'm curious where Insomniac would be if there was no Spyro. Who knows what they would have done without it. Spyro was in the top five for the PS1 of overall sales. Cross-generational, cross-gender, beyond what we ever expected to have it be. | ||
So Ted's talking, and Al comes over… Al, very quietly (Al is very quiet) says "Thank you." He says that and it really touched me. "We could not have done this without you." | So Ted's talking, and Al comes over… Al, very quietly (Al is very quiet) says "Thank you." He says that and it really touched me. "We could not have done this without you." It was just so nice to hear that. | ||
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We went around with that. Names are so hard. It took forever to find a name for the company because Insomniac was named Extreme Games when I first went down. We went on forever… It was like last minute. We needed to do press releases for Disruptor, and like, "We need a company name." Finally got Insomniac. Another company… We had Insomniac games, and there was another Insomniac Studios that had filed. You have to… the first one to get a product on the shelf can actually lock the name down. So we were in a race with Insomniac Studios to be the first one to ship and we beat them. I feel sorry for them because now they got to start over. | We went around with that. Names are so hard. It took forever to find a name for the company because Insomniac was named Extreme Games when I first went down. We went on forever… It was like last minute. We needed to do press releases for Disruptor, and like, "We need a company name." Finally got Insomniac. Another company… We had Insomniac games, and there was another Insomniac Studios that had filed. You have to… the first one to get a product on the shelf can actually lock the name down. So we were in a race with Insomniac Studios to be the first one to ship and we beat them. I feel sorry for them because now they got to start over. | ||
Spyro is the same way. Pete was… I think it's one of the Hastings came up with Pete. It's like, "Yeah, perfect." But you're always thinking. We get closer and closer and then Sony starts pushing like, "OK, we need a real name." | Spyro is the same way. Pete was… I think it's one of the Hastings came up with Pete. It's like, "Yeah, perfect." But you're always thinking. We get closer and closer and then Sony starts pushing like, "OK, we need a real name." We're throwing all these different names out. I know Pyro got put out early, but it was too on the nose. Also we don't want parents getting pissed off because their kids are lighting fires. Finally, pretty close to the shipping of [the game], we're "We've got to have a name." Somebody at Sony pitched Spyro. | ||
Everybody liked it, except for Brian Hastings, who went, "Hey, wait a minute. I pitched that name like three months ago, and nobody liked it." | Everybody liked it, except for Brian Hastings, who went, "Hey, wait a minute. I pitched that name like three months ago, and nobody liked it." We're like, "Oh, really?" So he was always a little pissed that he'd pitched it and we hadn't liked it. Somebody at Sony came up with Spyro. Luckily it passed all the tests. | ||
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When I talk to people, I tell them to pursue something that you really enjoy, because if you can get that, if you can make a living at that, it's not work. It's very hard, and there's not many people that can manage to do it, but if you can… Then I follow that up with my cautionary tale. "Don't be blinded by that." Because that will mess you up. But just have faith. It does happen. It happened to me, it can happen that you can you can follow this and do it. | When I talk to people, I tell them to pursue something that you really enjoy, because if you can get that, if you can make a living at that, it's not work. It's very hard, and there's not many people that can manage to do it, but if you can… Then I follow that up with my cautionary tale. "Don't be blinded by that." Because that will mess you up. But just have faith. It does happen. It happened to me, it can happen that you can you can follow this and do it. | ||
People ask specific suggestions on the game industry now and I just tell them, "It's changed so much. I can give you some generic stuff that worked 30 years ago, but it's so different now." | People ask specific suggestions on the game industry now and I just tell them, "It's changed so much. I can give you some generic stuff that worked 30 years ago, but it's so different now." It's changing again here with AI stuff coming in. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the art. Actually, it'll be interesting to see what happens to games across the board. | ||
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'''Yeah, of course.''' | '''Yeah, of course. Looking back at all of your work in the game industry, what are you the most proud of?''' | ||
[thinks] Spyro. My favorite artwork that I'm the most proud of… I'm really glad it got cut from Sonic 2 because it made it more than just another level, is the Hidden Palace artwork and the Hidden Palace level. I'm really proud of that. It's kinda taken on a life of its own. Then Spyro. Specifically in Spyro, the skies. The rest of the artwork in the game is beautiful and fun, but after having talked to so many people about the skies… and then myself going back and looking at them. Cause people have gone through with various editors and pulled the skies out. I'd love to see the meshes without the vertex lighting. I'd love to see the meshes of these skies. | |||
[thinks] Spyro. My favorite artwork that I'm the most proud of… I'm really glad it got cut from Sonic 2 because it made it more than just another level, is the Hidden Palace artwork and the Hidden Palace level. I'm really proud of that. It's kinda taken on a life of its own. | |||
I'm trying to explain to people and they're like, "What?" "Oh, I can just show you." Somewhere, there's a magazine article that has a single screenshot with and without the light colors. I've been going through and looking at these panoramic views of the skies and just… Once in a while, I'll do a piece of art, and I step back and go, "Wow, that's really beautiful. Who did that?" I've got one painting, the Calvin and Hobbes painting, which is up on that DeviantArt link. The Calvin and Hobbes painting, that's one where I finished and go, "Wow, that's really beautiful. Who did that? It wasn't you. Who did that?" | I'm trying to explain to people and they're like, "What?" "Oh, I can just show you." Somewhere, there's a magazine article that has a single screenshot with and without the light colors. I've been going through and looking at these panoramic views of the skies and just… Once in a while, I'll do a piece of art, and I step back and go, "Wow, that's really beautiful. Who did that?" I've got one painting, the Calvin and Hobbes painting, which is up on that DeviantArt link. The Calvin and Hobbes painting, that's one where I finished and go, "Wow, that's really beautiful. Who did that? It wasn't you. Who did that?" | ||
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It's cathartic for me. Sonic, Spyro, Insomniac… see where I am on that. Like, "Oh, no, I've still got to work on that." Well, my brain's dealing with that. It's all good. Like I said, I know how much some of this stuff means to different people. One of the things I really want to do is… I've been putting my artwork out there for quite a while. It's in like game forums and places where like the gamers are going to find it, but I know there's the casual fans that don't go online looking for these stories, that would love to hear these stories and see these pictures and know some of this stuff. That's not where they spend their time digging into the Internet. | It's cathartic for me. Sonic, Spyro, Insomniac… see where I am on that. Like, "Oh, no, I've still got to work on that." Well, my brain's dealing with that. It's all good. Like I said, I know how much some of this stuff means to different people. One of the things I really want to do is… I've been putting my artwork out there for quite a while. It's in like game forums and places where like the gamers are going to find it, but I know there's the casual fans that don't go online looking for these stories, that would love to hear these stories and see these pictures and know some of this stuff. That's not where they spend their time digging into the Internet. | ||
I want those people to find some of this stuff and hear some of these stories. I want to get out there. | I want those people to find some of this stuff and hear some of these stories. I want to get out there. I'm getting older. [laughs] I want to make sure it's out there. | ||
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'''Yeah, it means quite a lot. | '''Yeah, it means quite a lot. That's all the questions I had to ask you. I appreciate so much again that you've given me all your time. We've been talking for almost three and a half hours here. That's incredibly gracious of you.''' | ||
That's all the questions I had to ask you. I appreciate so much again that you've given me all your time. We've been talking for almost three and a half hours here. That's incredibly gracious of you. | |||
I'd be putting off what I'm supposed to be doing anyway. [laugh] I'm accomplishing something. | I'd be putting off what I'm supposed to be doing anyway. [laugh] I'm accomplishing something. | ||
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'''Yeah, so March of… Just to give you an overview of what we know from other developer statements. Brenda said some of this, David Javelosa said some of this. There was at least one meeting before he sprained his ankle because Brenda said that she remembered him not on crutches. That would have put in January or February 1993 or earlier, but probably January, February '93. Then there was a second meeting where he was on crutches that you saw him, so we think that might have been mid '93. | '''Yeah, so March of… Just to give you an overview of what we know from other developer statements. Brenda said some of this, David Javelosa said some of this. There was at least one meeting before he sprained his ankle because Brenda said that she remembered him not on crutches. That would have put in January or February 1993 or earlier, but probably January, February '93. Then there was a second meeting where he was on crutches that you saw him, so we think that might have been mid '93. | ||
That first meeting was him discussing Sonic 3 off crutches. The second meeting was him discussing Sonic 3 more, just discussing doing it. He was on crutches, so that was March or later. Then there was a third meeting where he was also on crutches, that was later in '93 because he was dropping off materials to STI for Sonic 3, probably demos or tracks like that. | That first meeting was him discussing Sonic 3 off crutches. The second meeting was him discussing Sonic 3 more, just discussing doing it. He was on crutches, so that was March or later. Then there was a third meeting where he was also on crutches, that was later in '93 because he was dropping off materials to STI for Sonic 3, probably demos or tracks like that. | ||
If you can find a date… no worries. We're just always like to piece together timelines on Sonic Retro. | If you can find a date… no worries. We're just always like to piece together timelines on Sonic Retro.''' | ||
Yeah, every little piece of information leads to the next little piece of information. | Yeah, every little piece of information leads to the next little piece of information. | ||