Draft:MediEvil EU site/Sorcerers: Difference between revisions

Here the PlayStation Web site talks to the people who designed and built Medievil...

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Sorcerers}}

*'''Education''': Art Foundation & Art at Cardiff University

*'''Joined Sony/Millennium''': 1993

*'''Favorite Task''': Texturing

'''What is a Level Mapper?'''<br />It's quite a vague title but it means that I position all the enemies, energy pickups, money pickups etc. I also set up quite a lot of the spy cameras, chase cameras. . . various different types of cameras. I also place collision perimeters which govern where the player is allowed to walk and also keeps enemies out of places they're not supposed to go. . .

'''Was it difficult for you to be only a level mapper, between teams of artists and teams of programmers? '''<br />Actually I am part of both teams. I have to work a lot with the artists because I do model texturing. I must also collaborate with the programmers when placing the items they have programmed. I am a kind of bridge between the two.

'''So what is your background? Artist? Programmer? Marketing? '''<br />Well, actually I have an artistic background. It started off at school where art was my strongest, then I went on to do an art foundation course and I started off doing an art degree at Cardiff but left halfway through. And then I just kind of fell into the games industry.

'''Level mapping? '''<br />For ''Scroll'', I was working on the script. It was a role playing game where the graphics were very important. I did basic programming: "the player goes here and here's what happens". I was a "development assistant", which meant I had to do many different things. On ''Deadline'' I was setting up, on ''Silverload'' I was ''helping'' one of the programmers, Gary Richards, in the basic installation of the different elements. That meant using C, but I did not know it very well. . . It was just about cutting and pasting, and installing the animations and the rooms in the game.

'''What do you do when you aren't level mapping? '''<br />Play games. At the moment I'm playing ''Alundra''. I can't wait for the next one. Another favourite is ''Castlevania''.

'''Are you a country girl? '''<br />I grew up in Chesterfield, England, which is an industrial city, but I spent my holidays on the farm, where my parents rented a little house.

'''So it's pretty good then?'''<br />I've done so many little bits and pieces so on the whole I'm really quite proud of the game. One of my favourite parts of the game is actually the last level coz I think we've got some really cool looking enemies and it's really fun to play and funny too. . . it's really, really funny.

'''But it seems to be worth it.'''<br />The comments were good. We hope critics will like it. We can never be sure of that, either they like a game, or they hate it.

'''Somebody was telling us about Matt doing weird stuff?'''<br />You mean the cross dressing? He only does it for a laugh - he doesn't do it every time he goes out somewhere.

'''What is it, a stockings thing?'''<br />Well he's got striped stockings, he's got various skirts and dresses. He recently bought a long silver dress. You can imagine how he looks with his hair as he's not a petite boy is he?

'''What's your favourite genre?'''<br />I like a lot of different types of games - probably some kind of action game, but I like platform-type things and puzzle games. My favourite game of late has been ''Resident Evil 2''. Really cool. I am a big horror fan.

'''I've never seen that.'''<br />It's about a magic puzzle box. It's gory. It's had quite a lot of sequels but the first one is the best; Cenovites and Pinhead. I'd love to play a puzzle game head to head against Pinhead.

*'''Education:''' Art at Farnmouth College, UK

*'''Joined Sony/Millennium:''' 1993

*'''Born:''' Hinkley, Leicestershire, UK

*'''Previous Jobs:''' ''Digger'' (Amiga Game), ''Creatures'', ''Silverload''

'''What did you do before working here?'''<br />I was a book illustrator, I had just finished college in Farnmouth and I was just trying to make a living but couldn't, because there are so many illustrators out there. So I tried computers. At Farnmouth we did technical drawing and life science - taking animals apart, drawing the insides, looking at butterflies.

'''And what is this story about a monkey?'''<br />That was the programmers. I have nothing to do with that. I christened him Chunky the Monkey, and it stuck.

'''How did you get here?'''<br />I arrived with my portfolio: I had no computer experience and I relied only on my portfolio. And the managers told me, "OK, you have two weeks to learn how to use D Paint". I had never touched a computer in my life. We had Apple Macs in college but we hated them.

'''Have you always drawn?'''<br />Yes, almost since the age of six. I did not fit any standard. The teachers said "oh, Jason, his mind wanders in the classroom." But, I am an artist, I am different. I did not think I was going to work on games or these kind of animations. But I fell in love with the animation. It allows me to really see my images move while before they remained static. They become something else, it gives them life. I wanted to illustrate children's books, but now I just want to stay where I am. I am much happier as well.

'''Has MediEvil got a lot of FMV?'''<br />It's got about fifteen minutes of it. And there are a couple of scenes that I would have liked to put in but as a last minute decision we decided not to because they didn't quite link in with the story. So we took them out. But it doesn't matter as the story is told better. The FMV is throughout the whole game. There's is a two-and-a-half minute intro that tells you what happens at the beginning. And within the next four to five levels there are about fifteen seconds of animation each. Then the story builds and the timeline of the FMV gets longer and longer and longer telling you more and more of the storyline and getting more exciting.

'''Did you find that working in a creative team was restrictive?'''<br />It's good to get other people's opinions. I do not mind that at all. It's good to have the opinion of others, it does not bother me at all. It's sometimes frustrating, but in the end we all have the same goal. If you only have your own opinion, it does not work. Many people would probably disagree with me about it.

'''So do you play games as an artist or a gamer?'''<br />Both really. I kinda like Crash Bandicoot 2. I like a lot of racing games, I like a fast game. I like the look of Command and Conquer, but my mind span just can't hack a computer game that lasts longer than fifteen minutes. It has to end in fifteen minutes.

'''Do you find that because you are a creative person , you can't just get on and enjoy playing them because you are always looking at them with a creative eye?'''<br />Precisely, I just look for the inspiration from films, books, comics. I do like to look at a wide variety of visual material.

'''What tools do you use for graphics?'''<br />Alias and Matador. I've got about three years knowledge of Alias. I would like to try some more software packages out, but Alias seems to be the main thing to use for development suites and stuff like that.

'''Have you not used Softimage?'''<br />I would love to have a go, because it has a better rendering engine. I am pretty impressed by the other tools on Softimage like the ray tracing. This means that you can have a suitable amount of reflections and refractions. And you can also have motion blur. Whereas in Alias, you can't get motion blur from ray tracer. You have to go into a ray caster, which is a cheaper rendering system.

'''What else do you do besides taking camels on holiday?'''<br />I do Thai boxing and circuit training. The circuit training I've only done over the past two years. When I first started, I didn't do any exercise and I thought "my body's losing it". So I decided to do some exercising. It clears my mind a little bit. And then I can come back and work better.

'''What kind of Brandy? Metaxa?'''<br />I drank a lot in Greece. It's like a medicine. I don't care about the brand, as long as it's pure Brandy. My father brought me cheap Spanish Brandy and I didn't like it.

*'''Lives''': Cambridge, UK (born Manchester)

*'''Education''': Computer Science at Leeds University

*'''Previous Jobs''': Technology team at Millennium Interactive

*'''Nickname''': Vileda Boy

'''Is your hair real?'''<br />No, they're false hair extensions

'''Is this a character in ''MediEvil''?'''<br />No. Vileda is a brand name for a mop. You know, the ones you "get in every corner" with. There is plenty of advertising for it. And now I am always called "Vileda Boy".

'''Why are you working in the Games Industry?'''<br />Because I've always loved games since I was a kid. The first game I ever played properly was ''Manic Miner'' on the Spectrum in the 80's. Ever since then I've been into games.

'''Did they really want your help?'''<br />Yes. I was writing stuff at home but of course, being a student, I did not have time to do something really serious. The first time, one of my friends made a cheap title called ''Carnage'' on an Amiga and learned that he had only two weeks to finish it, or "otherwise ...". He panicked and asked me "help me, I will not get there, it will not be finished, HELP ME". So we put two computers in his room and we finished the game. This is the first thing I was paid for and it was nice.

'''How did you end up working here?'''<br />When I finished college, I did a few bits of work at home for a while until my parents got in financial trouble and I needed a proper job.

'''Why do you like working with computer games?'''<br />I like it because you have a lot of freedom and real challenges. Either you think it's great, or you can not stand it. At the moment I do not want to get out of the industry, because that's exactly my thing.

'''What's your favourite game on PlayStation.'''<br />I really like ''Tempest X'', it's an old arcade game.

'''Is this penchant for the violence of shoot'em ups reflected in ''MediEvil''? '''<br />I'm always accused of making enemies too hard to beat, so maybe.

'''What's the part of the game you're thinking, "Yes, I'm really glad I put that in. It was really worth it." '''<br />Without a doubt, the ability to kill rats.

'''. . .and the one for which you had the most difficulty? '''<br />Probably the level we call "The Ghost Ship". I did the initial version of the level and James finished it. The level is very unusual because there's a lot of original stuff in there that was quite difficult to write due to technical issues. That gave me a lot of headaches.

'''So do you sleep in the office?''' <br />Yeah

'''I think all game developers should have showers available because they all end up sleeping at the office.'''<br />When we approach deadlines, despite all the goodwill of the world, there is always something that we want to add just before the deadline. It's just not possible to do that in the expected time. We arrive at the set date and we think "Oh, I should have done that" or we have new ideas. And since we really want to do the best we can, we can not say "oh, never mind" and go home instead of continuing to work.

'''How do you stay awake?'''<br />It's just a quesiton of habit. When I go out at night I can stay awake for a long time without needing anything to help me hold on. But yesterday, as soon as we finished an important demo, I completely passed out.

'''Did they have to carry you home? I heard someone had to order a taxi.'''<br />Yes that was me. They just left me here. I woke up and talked about what went well with the demo and what did not and talked more and more confused stuff until I realized that I was in a total dream world. And then I woke up, and several hours had passed, and all the screens were off, and the office was completely deserted. . .

'''What are your favorite takeaways? '''<br />I absolutely hate takeaway. We are desperately searching for new things to eat. At one time, I could not even look at Indian food anymore. It was not long before I started eating it again. I eat pizzas like bread. Thai food is fine. Chinese is OK right now because we do not eat it too much.

'''What's your average working day?'''<br />It's a bit weird, 'cause there are up and down times. I went through times that were like really, really busy. At the beginning of projects and when we go through big upheavals, we can usually work from ten in the morning until ten in the evening.

'''You are not going on vacation? '''<br />No, I'm broke. I cannot afford a vacation. . . I think I'll go see most of my friends. Take a little time for me. Take a walk in the country, go to see friends in the north.

*'''Education''': Industrial Design at Australian University specialised in International Multimedia

*'''Joined Millennium/Sony''': 1996

*'''Nationality''': Australian

*'''Previous Jobs''': Technical Drawing, Contracting

'''What was your role in designing MediEvil?'''<br />I worked mainly on the construction of maps, levels and environments in which the characters move. I worked with Mike Philbin. Between the two of us, we have almost done everything with regards to this part of the project. I also animated some of the characters, ants, witches, little hands and rats. . . little things. . . Mr. Organ is a strange little character who appears only once in the game and is a kind of little secret. . . He sits and plays the organ, looking a little ghostly and half crazy. . .

'''Does he turn up in a certain level?'''<br />Yes, he is sitting in the desecrated church. . .

'''Is this part of the game the part that you consider "your" part and that you are really happy with.'''<br />Yes, it's one of my favorite parts.

'''What's the bit you sweated most over - the bit you went over again and again. . . The most hassle?'''<br />The very first level I think has caused the entire team the most hassle. . . The graveyard.

'''So in a few months, you will go back there, look at it and it will please you.'''<br />Oh yes, I like to play it, I do not want to have to change it again, that's all.

'''What's your working day like when you are here? What do you actually do?'''<br />Come in. Usually I'd know what I'd be working on. Constructing a map or a character. Sometimes animation which is a really nice change. In the later stages of the project, the last few months, it's been a lot of time fixing so it's been quite monotonous and no longer exciting like the first few days by the fact that I've no artistic input any more. But at the start it was very exciting because you have a new map to build or a new character. . .

'''. . . ! '''<br />Well, when it comes to work, yes. I am not an early bird.

'''Are you working here?'''<br />Um, in Cambridge.

'''Does this entail a lot of responsibilities?'''<br />Yes, lots of responsibilities but a lot of fun too.

'''If you could do any job what would it be?'''<br />I'd probably have to be a sculptor, I think. Or something like that.