Advanced Media Network had the change to ask a few questions about gaming and movies to one of the gaming industries pioneers in art direction, Gary Goldman. Gary Goldman co-created one of the most popular and most fondly remembered arcade games of the 1980’s, Dragon’s Lair. The technology at the time was astounding, while Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were made of 8-bit sprites, Dragon’s Lair was a full, 2D animated game on the newly created Laserdisc format. While Laserdiscs might have been forgotten about, Dragon’s Lair lives on and is just as revered now as it was back in 1983. After Gary Goldman completed work on Dragon’s Lair, he and Don Bluth went on and produced many animated films under Don Bluth’s Productions banner. Currently, a Dragon’s Lair comic book is in the works as well as a motion picture staring Dirk the Daring.
AMN: With point-and-click gameplay is there any chance gamers will see it
again on the Wii and DS, as they seem best suited for that type of game? Gary Goldman: Not really sure it would be welcomed. Games have matured and are much more complex that what we did with D[ragon’s] L[air], S[pace] A[ce] or D[ragon’s] L[air] II. If we could find the interest and the financing, we’d gladly put something together.
AMN: What is it about Dragon’s Lair/Space Ace, do you think, that made them have such a long shelf life? GG: These were very special in 1983. They were a huge leap forward in graphics and the death scenes were very entertaining for the player and the audience that watched the player’s moves. I think that so many people were impressed with the visuals and it was like the first time that they ever saw something like these games and they became fans of them. Many of those fans are the ones that must have every version or incarnation of the games as technology advances. It has a lot to do with the games being a “first” of their kind, Like Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. By the time Dragon’s Lair II came out 5 years later, it was old hat. Had we come out with it in early 1984 as planned it could’ve carried on the thrill as its visuals are far better than Dragon’s Lair.
AMN: Will we ever find out more about Dirk the Daring in another NEW video game? GG: You never know. For sure we want to put Dirk and Daphne on the big screen with a movie.
AMN: What are the chances of seeing an unfinished game like Barnacle Bill? GG: It’s the same issue, if there is interest and the financing we will build it. so far there is not must interest from the publishers or game investors in making new games based on this particular format or
technology.
AMN: How do you feel with the game consoles becoming so complex? GG: I try not to think about it. Wii games are easy and more my style today. I play them with my kids…and their kids.
AMN: If there was one thing you could change about gaming today, what would it be? GG: We’re not really the ones to dictate changes. there are hard core gamers out there that are really into every game that comes out and are highly critical. Funny, they don’t seem to be the ones taking a risk to make a game, they’re just critics. sort of like movie Crtitcs. Ha! You know, “opinions are like rectums, everybody has one.”
AMN: Can you give us an idea how much animation has changed since the release of Dragon’s Lair? GG: Interesting question. It has gone totally digital. However, the same animation principles are used, at least by the big boys, like Pixar. The more a CG animator knows about traditional animation, the
better the CG animation. Pixar is a firm believer in this fact. They even have an animation program that they have all of their people go thru. Traditional animation is the same. We still hand-draw and hand-cleanup all the drawings, but instead of shooting them on a rostrum camera, the drawings and handpainted backgrounds are scanned into the computer and we manipulate the art in the computer, from scene planning, color model (where we choose the colors for the characters, props and special effects animation), animation check, digital ink & paint, final checking to compositing. We still edit in the first ruff animation test and the cleaned up version with special effects and give notes on direction, the same as we did with a completely hand-done process. The computer is a fantastic tool and has enabled us to do so much more and so much better, and on tighter schedules and budgets.
AMN: Is there too much importance placed on CG in movies these days? GG: Maybe by the big studios. But then it’s because a CG film can produce revenues about 2.5 times greater than a proven by a 2d film, with the exception of say, “Lion King”. But then, we believe it is
really about story…telling a good story. And, so far Pixar is king! With 100% profitability on each and every film they’ve made. The thing about CG, it doesn’t turn off the teenager. Many teens, especially boys,
feel that 2d animation is for children and that’s very difficult to overcome, especially when so many animation companies make their animated film specifically for small children. And, CG animated features have a similar look to video games and even live action, which the teenage audience is comfortable with. We believe “Dragon’s Lair: The Movie” could the vehicle to bring back 2D feature films.
AMN: Do you think that there will ever be a resurgence of 2D animation or is
3D the “next-step in evolution” for that method of conveying a story? GG: That’s a great question. Unfortunately, we do not have a crystal ball and from what we can see, the audiences, worldwide, are crazy for new technology and fantastic effects. So, we won’t know until we try. And, we do want to try.
This concludes our interview with Gary Goldman. We want to thank Mr. Goldman for taking the time out of his schedule to answer our questions about gaming and movies.
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