Bing Gordon, Co-founder & Executive Vice President of Marketing, Electronic Arts, San Mateo, California: Electronic Arts was founded in 1982 to make entertainment software as important as film and recorded music. We're about half way there, in my opinion. One of the major changes has been the growing importance of art and animation. In 1982, computer games cost $50,000 to build, and had $5,000 worth of art. Today, CD-ROM games cost $1-2 Million to build, with $500,000 to $1 Million in art. The most important trend in entertainment software is not technology, but the increased importance of world class creative artists. Here's why:

• Great art and audio pump up the immersiveness of our medium. Forget virtual reality headsets; people are delivering VR on high-res monitors through motion captured 3D characters, 3D worlds and vehicles, and great cel animation.
• World class animation dramatically increases the sensuality of our software. Traditionally trained animators are teaching us to turn hundred-polygon blockheads and flying boxcars into avatars and F-15s.
• World class artists are reinventing entertainment software. World class creative artists, after a 3-5 year apprenticeship in software, are starting to turn video games for boys into interactive entertainment for everyone. They're making the products that keep me interested. And making the jump to TV, film and book successes.

At EA, we have more than 150 animators and 3-D artists making 40 games each year, in Northern California, Vancouver BC, Austin Texas, London and Tokyo.

Ian Verchere, Producer, Radical Entertainment, Vancouver, British Columbia: With the increasing accessibility of powerful 3D processors, whether in game consoles made by Sony and Nintendo or as add-on boards for PCs, immersive interactive 3D experiences are becoming widely available to the mass market. What had previously existed only in the ethereal economic realm of the military and aerospace industries can now be purchased at software and electronics retailers for under $200.

High-resolution computer animations associated with the cinema have the luxury of minutes or hours of rendering time. Interactive experiences, particularly action-based video and computer gaming demand rendering speeds measured in a sixtieth of a second.

The animation of characters in this challenging environment requires unique skills. Artists with a solid foundation in the traditional language of 2D animation and a willingness to explore new technology will be much in demand.

Mega Math Blaster © Davidson & Associates.

Rich Cook, Creative Director, Davidson & Associates, Torrance, California: In 1997, we anticipate an even greater use of composited graphics, i.e. 2D character animation with 3D modeled backgrounds, objects and interface elements. At Davidson, we are combining elements from both 2D and 3D worlds and inventing new ways for them to work together.

The next step in this direction will be the use of 3D character animation, both in the 3D world and combined with live-action 2D backgrounds, or graphic elements. Character animation at Davidson is going even a step further, with the use of some very new technology in the performance animation field. I expect there will be an explosion of interest in this technology in the coming year.

The use of 3D character models with motion data supplied by a live actor will shorten production times and emphasize human reactions and emotions. This exciting art form will continue traditional theatrical techniques, puppeteering, 3D character modeling and cartooning in a single animated performance. We are also looking into ways for this all to happen in real time, bringing us closer to something we might call cybermation.