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Dreamworks likes clay
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November 8, 1996: 12:14 p.m. ET
First Dreamworks Interactive CD-ROM is decidedly low tech
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lots of CD-ROM games feature jaw-dropping computer graphics, but "Neverhood" -- the first effort from Dreamworks Interactive -- went deliberately low-tech, using animation with clay.
"It just kind of gives a warmer feel that we were looking for," Doug Tennapel, project software designer in charge of "Neverhood," explained during an appearance on CNNfn's "Digital Jam."
"All of the characters (in 'Neverhood') cast real shadows," Tennapel said. "They have real wires holding them up."
"Neverhood" is the first product from Dreamworks Interactive, a venture formed last year by Microsoft Corp. and Hollywood studio Dreamworks SKG.
Tennapel said that while popular games like "Myst" and "Toy Story" rely heavily on computer graphics, such an approach would not have worked with "Neverhood."
"A computer represents more of a perfect view of the world than 3-D," he said. "('Neverhood') wouldn't be appropriate to be done in computer animation, per se.
"The animation we do (is) more coarse," the designer explained. "The characters (are) not idealized. They're grotesque."
Tennapel sees such flaws not as a drawback, but as an advantage.
"There's something real about when you look at your own fingers and hands and fingerprints," he said. "You see imperfections."
And while praising "Toy Story"'s animation, Tennapel expressed a fondness for the realism of working with clay -- something he has done since childhood.
Dreamworks used more than 3.5 tons of clay make "Neverhood," filming the animation one frame at a time.
One sequence of 5,300 frames took five animators and three programmers about three weeks to make. (QuickTime movie, 1.4MB)
Retailing for about $39 to $49, the CD-ROM has garnered generally positive reviews.
But some critics complain that the game's puzzles lack connection with "Neverhood"'s story line.
Tennapel admitted that "it's very hard to create a non-linear story line."
He said that since consumers "are used to seeing stories sequentially in TV and movies," interactive entertainment -- where viewers change the story line at will -- can pose challenges.
And while Neverhood's slick design appeals to children and young adults, Tennapel said Dreamworks really aimed the product at the mostly adult "Myst" crowd.
"People who liked that game should like this," the designer said.
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