Hollywood Heroes
Back when Fox Interactive had their game publishing arm and owned a ton of movie and tv show content, I was approached and asked about pitching a mash-up character game using an extremely long list of licenses from the Fox universe.
To avoid a spaghetti-mess of licensing friction I designed the game idea in an abstract cartoon style. A satirical approach. This allowed us to reach deep into the license barrel and pull out anything we wanted.
I love the idea of this. Iconic film characters pulled from every time and genre working together to take on a world-crushing alien menace. Edward Scissorhands, B.A. Baracus, Predator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer…the list goes on and on and on. I want to play it!
Infestation
While working at Atari/THQ (Stuntman, Terminator 3), in between projects I pitched a game that leaned on the pedigree of the studio but supported a new IP. Enter Infestation
The high-level story idea was that off-world colonists always run into nasty alien creatures (like every good alien horror movie). In response, the interplanetary government funds a ‘pest-control’ division to deal with just that kind of problem. Not marines. The Interplanetary Public Works. Pest Control.
Enter the player with their ‘rig’, an incredibly rugged tank-like vehicle that is all about chasing down and battling all manner of alien menace great and small.
Add several different planets, various alien monsters, some vehicle upgrades and that's the framework. There was some corporate/political intrigue in the background for the player to contend with. Something about the interplanetary government dropping creatures onto worlds to endanger a populace in order to soften it up for control.
The Penguin
Rough pencil from early brainstorming. I sketched up a teaser poster idea for a friend that was pitching an idea that we collaborated on together. I might have it wrong but it involved a super spy treasure hunter (a cartoonish penguin with gadgets/guns). He didn’t talk, if I recall (like the Wallace and Gromit penguin) He would brave lost places with mind blowing horrors and steal artifacts. Some other creative professionals I worked with saw it, and after laughing, kind of fell in love with the idea for it. I could see the game here. A new quirky take on hero journey game. There's more to the design/idea but this is all I have left of it.
Tales of the Iron Ring
I talked with some engineers I was working with about modifying existing driving engine tech we had to make an arena combat game where the vehicles would be living creatures instead of cars. I wanted to develop a Twisted Metal version of gladiators on beasts. Each warrior was an iconic persona with their own backstory and signature weapons. The beasts (living vehicles) would all be different/unique with their own abilities. I recall an idea I had for the game which suggested that you could get knocked off your beast. If you didn’t get back on quickly, opponents could run you down and their beast could eat you. A very compelling fatality in a PvP game, methinks.
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Allan is a top tier talent, in design direction and art. His level of experience in games is a massive help in defining a project from start to finish. Allan is a natural leader, extremely talented in design and art, and picks up tools quickly so he can test assets in game independently. His actions set an example for the rest of his team. I highly recommend Allan, he is a very rare talent that will elevate any organization he joins.
Allan is in a league of his own. Arguably, the best Art Director a company can ask for - no competition. He's able to create an amazing environment around his team and he is the kind of person that you want to have involved in all your projects. Working on cloning Allan right now.
I've worked with Allan on different projects at different studios and I've always been impressed by his versatile skillsets at a project level (design, visuals, UX) as well as his ability to manage and lead creative groups with amazing culture and collaboration. Top notch pro! Highly recommend working with him if you have the chance. Your studio and products will benefit.