Have you ever wondered what developers of your favorite MMOGs did when
they're not creating your games? The
style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online PR
team has been hard at work to give you those answers with their string
of easy to read Q&As with their development team. Their latest
exploited worker goes by the name of Danny Southard and works as an
animator for the super hero MMOG makers. Take a moment to check out
this interview, because apparently he likes to eat cereal. Lots of
cereal.
Q: What do you do in style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online?
A: I
animate. Lately I've been working on player powers. I just finished
working on a bunch of powers for the 'roid rage in all of us, and I'm
currently working on a set for the Chuck Norris fans out there. I also
work on powers for NPCs with all sorts of limb combinations
… four arms, four legs, no arms or legs …
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Danny Southard
Q: How long have you
worked in gaming, and what did you do before
style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online?
A: I'm brand
spankin' new to the industry. I've been at Cryptic for more than a
year. Before that, I was working as a researcher at a biotech company
developing drugs for various types of cancer. It sounds pretty cool
– but it isn't. For the better part of two years, I spent
most of my nights and weekends going through the AnimationMentor.com
program.
Q: What is your typical
workday like?
A: In the
morning I pick an animation from my list and find a deserted part of
the building to film reference. That's getting harder to do, because
Cryptic is growing like crazy. After filming reference, I pick the best
version and block out the movement using the Cryptic AR. After getting
a critique from my lead, I refine the animation and put it in the game.
Once it's in the game, it is critiqued and polished a couple more times
before it's shown to the art director for final approval.
Q: What do you draw
inspiration from?
A:
Definitely animated shorts and feature films. I also enjoy watching
people. I know it sounds really creepy, but it's amazing to see that
everyone walks a little bit differently and they have their own
mannerisms and ways of interacting with others. My favorite type of
interaction is when two people are having a conversation and one of
them is really uncomfortable. It's amazing how people act when they're
uncomfortable. I guess that's why I like watching
style="font-style: italic;"> The Office.
Q: Who is your favorite
style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online
character?
A: I can't
reveal his name, but he's the biggest flaming gorilla in the history of
videogames.
Q: What superpower would
you want and why?
A: The
ability to grow a beard at superhuman speeds. I want to win the 2008
Cryptic Beard-On. The winner gets a candlelit dinner with Shayne.
Q: Who are your favorite
artists?
A: Glenn
Keane, Doug Sweetland and Dave Burgess.
Q: What do you like to do
in your free time?
A: Well,
free time is a relatively new concept for me, because I recently
graduated from animation school. So far I like to go on hikes and watch
movies. Lately I've been watching a lot of TV. I absolutely love
style="font-style: italic;">Dexter and
style="font-style: italic;">Lost and I can't
wait for the return of Heroes
and Chuck.
Q: If you had to live on
one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Cereal.
There's nothing wrong with having it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I
love it so much that I've been known to improvise when I run out of
milk. I've had it in water, orange juice, apple juice and my least
favorite … 7Up.
Q: What is on your iPod?
A:
style="font-style: italic;">G Love & Special Sauce,
Massive Attack
and The Shins.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of
style="font-style: italic;"> Tears for Fears and
Violent Femmes.
Q: Do you have any advice
for someone who wants to be an animator?
A: Go to
animation school. Books can only teach you so much. You really need a
talented animator to guide you along the way. I highly recommend
AnimationMentor.com.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Champions Online Game Page.
