Deadly Alliance introduced big cinematic camera events to the MK experience, so I felt it was taking on a new level of depth at the time beyond its famous roots. Backstory was a part of what the fans looked for when they wanted to delve deeper into the world of Mortal Kombat…well, that and the fatalistic violence too, of course. With all the dark, grim explosive content, Ed Boon always managed to keep the fun in the heartbeat of the game so it never took itself too seriously.
Having some indie comic roots of my own, I found storyboarding some of the content design to be helpful when iterating through how the characters and world developed. This allowed me to add some punch to content design early that would play a part in influencing the feel of the game.
I was pretty happy with how most of the characters came out given the state of tech at the time. As a new addition to the franchise, the Kenshi became very popular. A couple others didn’t get realized as intended and kind of became a different version of what was in my crazy imagination. Additionally, some of the story beats got shifted and changed, and like any creative person, I was dissapointed the characters missed some of the cool story beats I had envisioned. This is just how creative design rolls from time to time. Ultimately I was employed to pitch ideas and not all of them stuck the way I intended. All things considered, I was very happy to get the wins that I did.
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.
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.