From Oliver Wade

bmah · Jan 25, 2008 7:52 AM

Razz, are you going to ask permission from him to use his drawings in your soon-to-be-realized Elora website?

BTW, that's really lucky of you to get such an email! Words fail me.

Razz · Jan 25, 2008 1:55 PM

Well, technically, this isn't an official forum, but it is the best Spyro forum there is and the biggest fan forum. smile

And yes, I have already asked him if I could use the art for Just for Faun and he said it was okay. smile The site, by the way, is coming along nicely. I've started work on the gallery's code.

Trainer_Spyro · Jan 25, 2008 5:20 PM

What Program do you use to make sites anyway?

Sorry. Kinda off topic.
Okay really off topic.

Razz · Jan 26, 2008 12:07 AM

Notepad. big_smile I code all my html by hand.

Razz · Jan 27, 2008 5:05 AM

Antr the Rolf · Jan 27, 2008 5:10 AM

XD!!I like the Elora pic though!

Razz · Jan 27, 2008 5:18 AM

Me, too. XD Must...not...babble like idiot fangirl at Oliver Wade... big_smile

Antr the Rolf · Jan 27, 2008 5:20 AM

XD XD!!I am starting to get a cramp form laughing!Poet..Try...TIME!!

Must...Sotp..LAUGHING!!!XDXDXDXD

Poppy · Jan 29, 2008 10:04 PM

Wow! That's great!

Spyro_Loves_Me · Jan 31, 2008 6:07 AM

Whoa, that's really awsome. smile
Lucky you!
Heh, looks like I was just a little late there. :-P

Spyrofriend · Feb 15, 2008 6:42 PM

In business its all about the people you know. It is very luvky on your part that you managed to get in contact with Mr wade Razz. Savor that, becuse chance encounters like that don't happen that often. that pic of Elora is very well drawn, you could tell a professional drew it. it alsos how talented you are Razz, a lot of your drawing look like that one. you have a real talent...

Razz · Feb 16, 2008 2:34 AM

Wow, thank you, Spyrofriend. smile I remember hearing something similar when I worked at Disney, but considerably less heartfelt. I need to get back in touch with Mr. Wade; work has been trying to kill me and I am, alas, still a total jibbering fangirl whenever I start to write up a message to him. big_smile I'm still in shock.

Sazex · Feb 16, 2008 3:39 AM

wow you used to work for disney?
Anyways, If Oliver Wade was browsing this forum once would he browse it twice and see this post?

spyromaster330 · Mar 14, 2008 12:41 PM

woh, you are so lucky!

Razz · Apr 24, 2008 10:41 PM

Super delayed response! This was totally my fault. Oliver sent me this e-mail in...March. D: I'm so lazy. ;_; I will be getting back in touch with him soon, so if you have any further questions for Mr. Wade, please ask (but be sure to read all of his answers to previous questions first).

Here's the latest batch of questions he answered. smile The questions and my random responses are in quotation marks ("").

"Was your animation test what they used in the game itself?"

The test involved creating a new character. Modeling it, rigging it and doing 3 different animations (walk, run, attack). Itâ€™s was mostly to show that I knew how to do it so I could hit the ground running when they hired me. None of it was used in the game.

"That sounds like an incredibly fun way to create a game and it certainly explains the massive variety in character design (one of my favorite things about those old games smile )."

It was also incredibly draining. I kept asking for â€œfamiliesâ€ of enemies that could be modified to create a bunch of new characters, and thatâ€™s why we have the Rhynocs in Year of the Dragon. It took a lot of effort to make completely new characters for each level.

"Is there any particular world in the game you could see Elora being from, or is she the sort of character that would come from a unique place never seen in-game?"

This is just my opinion but I always felt that she was from somewhere outside of Avalar. I felt like she came there to help them from some crisis before Spyro arrived and stayed around to help. Again, just my opinion but it seems consistant with her character. She just seemed so much smarter than everyone else (except maybe the Professor)

"Did you ever get to meet any of the people who voiced the characters?"

The only time I went to the studio for the Spyro games was to hear Clancy Brown voice a bunch of the Crystal Dragons. I did, however, meet Melissa Disney (the voice of Elora) many times afterward while directing the voice actors for the Ratchet and Clank series. She did a few characters for those games including Courtney Gears where she sang a song for us.

"Pur wants to know: How long would it have taken for a character to get from concept art stage to final 3D modelling? Did the designs have to be approved or were you allowed to do anything within reason?"

One of the amazing things about the Spyro games is how quickly everything got done. We had a pretty smooth pipeline for making things so it all went pretty fast. I would usually design about 4 characters during a level meeting then it would take a day to build it, rig it and texture it. Then it would take another 1 to 3 days to animate depending on how many animations it had. So, from nothing to finished would be about 2 days for a lot of the characters. Thatâ€™s how we were able to make about 70 characters for a game like Riptoâ€™s Rage.

For most of the designs I had to get Ted Priceâ€™s approval. I can really only think of a handful of times that he wanted something redone. I also showed them to the level designer to make sure they fit the gameplay that was designed for the level but they rarely asked for any changes and only then it was because they didnâ€™t think the character could perform the action that it was intended to do. It was never really because the didnâ€™t like it for some random reason.

When we got near the end of Year of the Dragon I was working on our PS2 game full time (which at the time was called â€œGirl with a Stickâ€) so I made a deal with Ted that I would continue making designs for Year of the Dragon as long as no one asked for changes. I just didnâ€™t have time to do more than one. He reluctantly agreed which made some of the final designs a little odder than usual because I was in such a hurry to finish them.

"Spyro_Loves_Me asks: After all the work was done and the games were completed, what were you most proud of?
What did you like and dislike the most when working?"

Thatâ€™s a good question. One of the things that made working for Insomniac special is that I was genuinely proud of the work I was doing and the games we were creating. I think the one specific things I was most proud of were the little movies that played before and after the levels in Riptoâ€™s Rage. Those were added late in the process to give the levels a unique flavor and to add some humor. Given the time and the amount of animation we had to do I am very happy that most of these are unique, kind of funny, and pretty well animated given the circumstances.

The thing I liked the most was the creative process of coming up with ideas for the game. Since we were such a small company and in such a small space (we were in an area about the size of half a basketball court) we just threw out ideas all day long and if it worked or made someone laugh it generally went into the game.

For example: One of the bosses in the original game â€œDoctor Shempâ€ was called Shemp because it was a term used around the office to mean that you didnâ€™t get what you expected. It was from watching old 3 Stooges shorts and expecting to see Moe, Larry and Curly but instead you got one with Moe, Larry and Shemp. So when something didnâ€™t go as planned people would say â€œYou got the Shempâ€. This eventually made it into the game in the form of Doctor Shemp.

The thing I disliked was the amount of time we spent at the office. You were always expected to work a lot of hours but when it was close to finishing the game the hours got really crazy. One specific time I remember living at the office for almost a week. I never left the studio. I slept on the couch during the day and worked from 12 in the afternoon until 5 or 6 in the morning and then went back to sleep on the same stinky couch. Come to think of it, I might have been the reason the couch was so stinky.

"Dragran wanted to know what you think about the newest Spyro series (it's a big deal these days on the boards, especially with the third installment having been announced)."

Aside from playing â€œEnter the Dragonflyâ€ for about 2 hours I havenâ€™t played any of the other games. I played it mostly because I was curious how the characters looked with more polygons. I didnâ€™t like the way the level layout was done and I just didnâ€™t have much fun. Now that some time has gone by I will go back and play them to see what I think from a fresh perspective but so far I havenâ€™t played much.

I know the latest games went in an entirely new story direction and I really donâ€™t know anything about it.

"I can post the answer you sent me before regarding Hunter's appearance in the new games if you'd like, unless you've had a chance to play the new ones by now. smile "

You can add that to the above if it seems appropriate.

"Do you have a favorite video game or series?"

Iâ€™m pretty sure itâ€™s because I had such a big hand in creating it but the Ratchet and Clank series is probably my favorite. I also love any Mario game, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Jak and Daxter. However, the best game Iâ€™ve played in the last few years is probably BioShock. I loved the storytelling, the creepy atmosphere and the moral choice you needed to make regarding the little sisters. I think it helped that I have a 2 year old daughter who reminded me of those little girls in the game.

"What was the first game you ever played?"

Arcade? Iâ€™m old enough to remember the original Asteroids. My all-time favorite arcade game is Missile Command.

Console? Probably Super Mario Brothers for the NES.

"And did any game influence your decision to work in the gaming industry?"

Not really. It was mostly lack of work in the film industry and the abundance of jobs in the games industry. If there was one game though it was probably NHL 94. We played the heck out of that game and when I found out EA was hiring I jumped at the chance.

"Also, have you ever encountered anything on-line that referenced any of your work (something in fandom or a game review) that was downright perplexing/disturbing/etc?"

Not really. I havenâ€™t really looked for it much but everything I have seen has been okay with me. I guess there was some questionable Ratchet and Clank fanfiction but, to each his own I guess.

"Did you, by chance, design the Lara Croft parody character in Year of the Dragon (I think her name was Tara)? As a Tomb Raider fan, I loved her on sight and she made me laugh more than anything else. big_smile "

I designed everything for Year of the Dragon, including her. I donâ€™t remember that character specifically but I will be seeing her soon. I just finished 100% completing Riptoâ€™s Rage and Iâ€™m getting ready to start Year of the Dragon. I put that one in the other day and was surprised how little of it I remember.

I think that covers everything. Donâ€™t hesitate to ask more questions. This was fun.

Oliver

Misa · May 03, 2008 2:51 AM

He is so kind ^^

simon · May 08, 2008 4:33 AM

Hi guys, long time no see and this is intresting! It's aways intresting to hear from poeple about their drawings and what the characters were going to be actually. big_smile

spyster10000 · May 31, 2008 5:59 PM

1.I have a question about the below charecters because these are some of my favorates how did you get the inspiration
hunter
agent zero
princess ami
zoe
batholimeu
agen t9
and bentle

2.in year of the dragon both bianca (when in super bonus worlds)
and tara (lara croft parody) look around in the same way why in this.
(oh and do you know why tara's boyfriend is a gem cutter)

3. why a pig with a jet pack anyway,would he be called sgt pig

I know there are alot of questions so I'm not expecting an anser to fastbut it would be nice if these could be ansered in time

depaul · Jun 05, 2008 4:19 AM

Wow, it's so cool that this guy is corresponding with you. He sounds like a nice guy, and has a lot of interesting information about the games.

Adam Thurman · Jul 07, 2008 7:18 AM

Adam Thurman · Jul 07, 2008 7:22 AM

Oh shoot posted a question in the wrong place oh well.
Hey anyone up for bringing up the subject about the fawn? OK its killing me how do you spell her name. I know how to pronounce it but cant spell it. Is it "Elora"

Razz · Jul 07, 2008 8:43 PM

Misa · Jul 07, 2008 10:16 PM

Does Mr Wade miss working with Spyro?

Adam Thurman · Jul 08, 2008 5:57 AM

Why did he chose that animal for this epic? It was extremely creative. Her being a female fits with the character. I liked it too when she called Spyro a dork but i thought it was more humor than it was a statement. Still no one is the same and i love that about life. I like to learn new things one question i ask people is why they do what they do but back to topic.

Why did he choose to use an assortment of different animals rather than the normal story goes by two or three different creatures? I think he was vary creative and daring to do this. Designing their characteristic would be hard because every little detail is there for a reason. Everything went well with the story and game.

Do you know why he changed it from being the normal dragons and fairy's?

It was kind of a funny thing that i called this post the fawn. Just to see what you would do. i dont think it would do anything its just a little fun.

Razz · Jul 08, 2008 2:52 PM

Oliver came onto the Spyro team at the end of the first game, so he had nothing to do with the original concept designs for Spyro, the other dragons, or the fairies. He did design all the secondary characters for both RR and YotD, though (characters like Hunter, the Professor, and Elora).

Elora was originally going to be a centaur, but he thought she was cuter as a faun (and easier to animate big_smile ). She was inspired by a friend and coworker of his named Carolyn Trujilo (I totally butchered her name there; sorry, Carolyn! D:).

As for the reason most of the creatures in Spyro are so strange, that had a lot to do with the process of making games at Insomniac at the time. They based their levels around themes. So if they had a forest level, all the creatures would be forest-themed. When that particular level idea was changed to a mysical mountain level, Oliver didn't have time to really change the forest creatures' designs, so he just modified their colors and textures to fit in. And that's why Icy Peak (I think that's the level I mean) is so dang weird. big_smile

A lot of your questions have been answered in this post. I'd recommend you read through to see what Oliver has said in the past. I'll try to send him another e-mail soon, but I don't know if he's got the time anymore to talk with me. I haven't heard from him in many weeks.

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