Jason Wilson

Jason Wilson
Credits
MediEvil (1998)	Game Design Art Design Texture Art Preliminary Script Additional Voices (Sir Dan)
MediEvil 2	Art Design
MediEvil: Resurrection	Original MediEvil Design Voice Talent (Sir Dan)
MediEvil (2019)	Project Consultant Cast (Sir Daniel Fortesque) Special Thanks

Jason Wilson was responsible for the game and art design on the original MediEvil, and was the writer of its preliminary script. He continued to work on the art design of MediEvil 2, but had less input in terms of the game design. He was brought on as a project consultant for the 2019 remake of MediEvil.

Wilson is the voice of the series protagonist Sir Daniel Fortesque in all the games safe for MediEvil 2. He performed his lines for the original game through gritted teeth with a bucket over his head.

Biography

The following biography appeared on MediEvil 2's official European website. According to Wilson, it was not written by him despite a part of it being in first person.

Jason Wilson (29) – Lead Artist

Jason is responsible for setting the style, character designs and environments. Progressing the style set by the previous adventure into the exciting possibilities of the Victorian age. With Medievil2 that means turning his twisted and bizarre design ideas into conforming art guides.

Short personal biography: Lots of arcade games!… Pacmania, Space Harrier, loathsome football games, and I designed a number of arcade adventure games in the late 80s. I also worked extensively on the first Medievil game as Concept Artist/Lead Designer. In the past my job roles have ranged from an Arcade conversion slave, to being Lead Designer, Lead Artist and Creative Director.

Interviews

• MediEvil Boards, December 2012
• MediEvil Boards, February 10, 2013
• MediEvil Boards, February 17, 2013
• MediEvil Boards, February 20, 2013
• MediEvil Boards, March 2013
• MediEvil Boards, November 2013
• MediEvil UnOfficial Fan Club, October 2017
• Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, April 1998
• PREVIEWSworld, September 2019
• Push Square, December 2017
• RETRO, July 2015
• Retro Gamer, March 2008
• S!CK, September 2023
• The-Dan-Fanclub, October 2006

RETRO

July 25, 2015

• RETRO - Behind the scenes of MediEvil on gamesTM (PDF file). Published July 25, 2015.

Russian Interview

December 9, 2017

JW - Hello! Thank you for your fast reply! I so appreciate your attention. I will check your video. Sorry for the delay in replying!

1) If some studio decided to make a MediEvil movie, would you like to be a lead designer or an artist?

JW - Well it's a very long shot and I have other things that I enjoy making but If I was asked onto another MediEvil game I'd probably like to be the lead designers.

2) The second question is about those running arms in all MediEvil games. Is that a reference to “The Addams Family” or “Evil Dead”? Did they have any usage on the early stages of development “MediEvil 1”?

JW - It's a definite reference to the Evil Dead. Chris and I were big gore horror film fans and we both loved Evil Dead 2. We would watch Fulci zombie films together - happy days.

3) Which character was the most difficult one to imagine and create (except Sir Daniel, of course)?

JW - For some reason they were all relatively easy, we really just made up anything that came to mind. It would be much harder today because there would be about ten people telling us how we couldn't do what we want to do.

4) Why was the “Swamp Guardian”, that monster with lots of mouths and eyes, refused? From our point of view it could be an astonishing game experience.

JW - It wasn't refused, we just simply didn't have the time to do everything we wanted. It would have been a fun thing to add but we already had so much to do.

5) What happened with the purple worm from Dan’s skull? We can see him on title screens in some DEMOs and even in the cut scene after “Haunted ruins”. Was it impossible to realize this character technically?

JW - Again, like the Swamp Guardian it was time. We built a level for the worm based on my drawings and plans but we had to cut it from the game but Morten the worm still appears in the FMV cut scenes.

6) What are your favorite levels in the first and the second MediEvil games? What would you have changed, if you had a chance?

JW - I like the reuse of levels in MediEvil 1, the fact that you return to levels such as the graveyard but they have changed and evolved. I don't think anyone was doing this sort of thing in many games at the time. I like having gameplay design that interconnects with different paths across levels. As for MediEvil 2 - some of the levels were too long, I was happy with the Vampire Mansion as that used my designs and I like puzzle designs that include lots of action and thought.

7) Can you tell us any secrets or facts about MediEvil, which nobody knows?

JW - The actual title of the game comes from Evil Dead 3 - Army of Darkness. Originally that film was going to be called The MediEvil dead - true story! But originally MediEvil was called Dead Man Dan but everyone knows that.

8) This question has always tortured all the fans: who had put gloves on Dan before he awoke in 1886 in London?

JW - Me! I went back in time and put the gloves on him. :) Actually, I never liked Dan's skeletal hands and thought he would love better with gloves as he would look a little chunkier and could emote better with hand gesticulations.

9) Who is Lord Palethorn talking to during the cut scene before the “Wulfrum Hall” level? t=1m19s youtu.be/gUqnleN2Djc? t=1m19s

JW - There was going to be another big bad guy but it was cut. I forget who or why. MediEvil 2 went though a number of different storylines that started with Chris, then me and then James.

10) There are so many facts about deleted levels from the first MediEvil, and we got so little info about things we haven’t seen in sequel (actually we know only about Queen Victoria as final boss). Do you remember something about it?

JW - That was Chris' idea - to have a big Queen-Zilla (as she was named after Godzilla). I did some drawings of her but it was decided it looked too silly so she was replaced with a boring unimaginative traditional giant demon.

11) Is that true that the Time Machine design was inspired by the “Time Machine” movie directed by George Pal?

JW - Yes. George Pal and H.G. Wells.

12) Can you tell us more about the sewers folks? Is this a kind of reference to any cultural phenomenon?

JW - They are based on the Morlocks from The TIme Machine, the humans from the future that have evolved into underground monsters. It's a great novel, you should read it!

13) Can you imagine how would MediEvil look like if it appeared in our days?

JW - Yes. It would look fantastic. I had an artist build a Dan Fortesque for Playstation 4 but the project was cancelled at a very early stage.

14) What was it like to watch, how the characters from the first game were being reworked for “MediEvil: Resurrection”? Which ones, in your opinion, turned out the best and the worst?

JW - Chris and I didn't really like MediEvil Resurrection. But I did really like the body redesign of Dan Fortesque, he looked great but I didn't like his run animations - he lost his goofy way of moving.

Push Square

December 14, 2017

• Interview: MediEvil Creators Give Their Verdict on the Forthcoming PS4 Remaster on Push Square. Published December 14, 2017.

Videos

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See also

• atomic-city
• Jason Wilson's notes

Gallery

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External links

• Jay Gunn
• JASON WILSON - PORTFOLIO
• atomic-city concept art and design of Jason Wilson (archived at Wayback Machine Internet Archive)