 |
| Adam Volker |
 |
| Kevin Bradley |
Lead Animator, Kevin Bradley and Interactive Team Creative Director Adam
Volker were nice enoughh to fill me in on their rap about their game Diggs Nightcrawler, one of the three nominated games for Best Animated Video Game at this year's Annie Awards coming up Feb 1st.
Jonathan B: Diggs Nightcrawler came out for the PlayStation Wonderbook last
year starring a film noir bug having to figure out the murder of Humpty
Dumpty, I love this game just from that idea. Sadly, haven't gotten to
play on the Wonderbook once, I think it's a missed opportunity by many
developers.
Where did this idea come
from?
Adam: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe approached us
because of previous apps we had made such as The Numberlys and The
Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. We knew we wanted to
tell a fable-related detective story. Sony’s augmented reality
technology Wonderbook is actually a physical book. This technology,
combined with our passion for storytelling, gave birth to the hero that
is noir bookworm detective Diggs Nightcrawler.
What's that world like and how was it
creating not only a story, but a new type of interactive game?
Adam:
Wonderbook brings the world of Diggs Nightcrawler into your living room
through the Playstation Eye camera. Players actually see themselves
on-screen holding the book. That allowed us to put the player directly
into the game’s world, Library City. We thought it was really important
to create an environment that is influenced by both the characters and
the player.
What did you learn
while making the game, I reiterate that field of interaction of such a
way through the Wonderbook must have been somewhat challenging.
Adam:
When we first started thinking about the mechanics of the game, we
wanted to do something completely different than what was in other
Wonderbook games. Because you're playing with a book, we thought about a
traditional chase scene mechanic, but have users tilt the book to move
Diggs through obstacles. You also navigate through a maze by rotating
the book, which was a new take on how to use the Wonderbook.
Kevin:
Later on in the process, through play testing with kids, we found that
some of our efforts in creating an original cinematic experience was
lacking because it wasn’t as interactive as it could have been. Kids
have a short attention span and we tried hard to make sure the game was
engaging at all times. It's something we're always trying to be better
at.
Did either of you work in
any other fields of animation prior to this game?
Kevin: I’ve
had experience in creating video games in the past, specifically
strategy games. I previously worked as a lead animator on a project at
my old studio. Going into Diggs Nightcrawler, it was a completely
different experience. We approached it more like a film with interactive
elements, rather than a traditional video game. We focused more on the
character-driven scenes and the performance animation.
Adam:
Most of the work I’ve done in animation outside of games has been
storyboarding with animated short films.
Are the Annie's new to you or have you heard
of them before? What it's like hearing you were nominated?
Kevin:
I found out about the video game category through our animation
supervisor, Kevin Koch. I think it’s fantastic that video game animation
is being recognized and we get to be a part of it.
Do you keep up with the other fields that are
nominated? Watch and of the shows or films?
Adam: Yeah, we
love keeping up with the other fields. The studio does a number of other
things including animated short films. We were even nominated in two
other categories, Best Animated Special Production for our work with
Chipotle Mexican Grill on a short film called "Chipotle Scarecrow" and
Best Animated Short Film for "The Numberlys" which is based on an app
that we released a few years ago that won a Webby Award.
If you do win, could Diggs Nightcrawler
accept via Skype or pre-recorded message?
Kevin: Since the
game came out, Diggs's private eye business has been booked up. He's
been really busy sleuthing in library city, so we'll have to see if he's
got the time.
