Animation World News:Interactive & Internet
© Spumco.
Spumco Debuts Web Toons.
This week, John Kricfalusi's company, Spumco, will debuted animated cartoon
series produced specifically for the Internet, The Godamn George Liquor
American Program. Created using Macromedia's Flash authoring software,
the cartoons can be viewed in real time using a web browser with the Shockwave
flash plug-in installed. Despite the limitations of the Internet as a broadcasting
medium, the possibilities seem to have inspired Kricfalusi, and with great
results: a sneak preview of the short "films" proved them to
be just as funny and well-animated as his television fare. John K., the
original creator of Ren & Stimpy, has developed this new "cyber
series" based on George Liquor, a loud and delightfully disgusting
character which some fans may recognize from John K's Comic Book
series of, well, comic books, published by Dark Horse. Fans may also recognize
the character from the "lost episode" of Ren & Stimpy
in which the famous cat and Chihuahua get adopted. John K. says he sees
the Internet as a vehicle for free enterprise, and a medium through which
real creator-driven cartoons can thrive. He said, "In the broadcasting
industry, most TV shows are tampered with or even created by corporate
executives." He added, "The Internet is the biggest revolution
in the world since the printing press. . . [it will] be able to provide
a broad array of original entertainment worldwide, by giving cartoonists--such
as myself--a forum for their work." Concurrent with the premiere of
the series, Spumco is opening a Commercials Division, to produce original
animated commercials for the web. The first episode of The Godamn George
Liquor American Program, titled Babysitting the Idiot, premiered
on October 15, at http://www.spumco.com.
Dilbert Goes 3-D! Scott Adams' popular comic book characters, Dilbert
and Dogbert, have entered a completely new dimension on C/Net's Mediadome
web site. The 2-D characters have been created in 3-D form and are currently
appearing in 47 different VRML vignettes, or, as Mediadome calls them,
"webisodes." In order to view the dimensionalised comic strips,
viewers must be considerably dedicated; two different specialized browser
plug-ins are required to load the files, including WorldView or Cosmo,
and Mediadome's proprietary viewer software. Once all of the appropriate
technologies have been set-up on a computer with plenty of memory, viewers
with a 28.8 modem connection can expect a five minute wait to view a crude
3-D rendering of Dilbert and his dog, speaking lines from a pre-existing
comic strip. More interesting than the clips themselves, is a mini-movie
on the making of the Dilbert webisodes, which were created by San Francisco-based
studio, Protozoa. The best part of the whole thing is the text "articles"
about the comic strip, which include an interview with the original creator,
Scott Adams. You'll find all of this at http://www.mediadome.com.
Quick Bytes.
Games....
Humongous Entertainment released Spy Fox in Dry Cereal, an
animated interactive CD-ROM game for 5-10 year-olds, on October 17. . .
. Cavedog Entertainment has released Total Annihilation,
an action/adventure game featuring 3-D computer animation. The title is
being made available in both CD-ROM format, and on the Internet, through
Total Entertainment Network (TEN). Get it at http://www.cavedog.com. .
. . Knowledge Adventure is launching a new line of Activity Center
interactive titles, based on licensed properties from Warner Bros., DC
Comics and Paramount. Three new CD-ROMs, The Superman Activity Center,
based on the comic and TV series, Batman and Robin Activity Center,
based on the comic and Fairy Tale: A True Story Activity Center,
based on the new motion picture. . . . Activision has acquired the
rights from Atari/JTS Corporation to develop new titles based on the classic
video game properties Asteroids and Battlezone. This could
signal a coming-of-age for the gaming industry, following the television
and feature film industry trends of re-creating "evergreen" properties.
. . . Disney Interactive released Disney's Hercules Action Game,
the second CD-ROM game tied to the animated feature Hercules. Their
kids title, Hercules: Animated Storybook, was released with the
film in June. The new "Action Game" title, also available for
Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64, features 3-D graphics and
40 hours of gameplay. The game is designed for the "tweeners"
age group of kids, and ideally ones who have big allowances, because it
is priced at approximately U.S. $35 for the Windows 95 version. . . . .
Disney Interactive will also soon release a new educational CD-ROM title
for kids called Disney's MathQuest With Aladdin. The title will
be available in Windows and Macintosh formats, for about U.S. $35 . . .
Broderbund Software released The Cat in the Hat, a CD-ROM
game for pre-schoolers based on the classic children's book by Dr. Seuss.
Designed to be used in a school environment, the game is packaged with
the book and a teaching unit of activities. Price starts at U.S. $49.95.
. . . .Electronic Arts released Blizzard Entertainment's WarCraft
II: The Dark Saga for Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn platforms, for
U.S. $49.95. The 3-D action adventure title was already available on CD-ROM
for PCs.
On The Web....
Comedy Central is creating quite a buzz on the web with their South
Park web site. In addition to a standard fan web site with Quicktime
movies, a merchandise outlet, and registration for the "Booster Club",
a South Park email fan club, they have also launched an interactive
chat site in partnership with The Palace. This site offers devoted fans
a chance to "be" their favorite South Park character--albeit
in the form of a crude, 2-D avatar--and chat live, in text form, with other
fans anywhere in the world (Though there can't be many South Park
fans in India....). Meanwhile, Comedy Central copyright protection patrol
is policing activity on fan-created web sites devoted to South Park,
particularly those broadcasting movie clips and images from the show without
permission. . . . .Cartoon Network is broadcasting sneak-preview
clips from Space Ghost Coast to Coast, on the web through Crawford
Communications, who are involved in the production of the show. These clips
are available every Monday at http://www.crawford.com/html/cool_stuff.html.
. . . Animation historian Mark Mayerson has created a comprehensive web
site devoted to the career of veteran animator Al
Eugster. Located
at ttp://www.geocities.com/hollywood/boulevard/3131, the site contains
a detailed biography, and many photos of Eugster and co-workers which Mayerson
is hoping that visitors will be able to help him identify. You can also
read Mark Mayerson's article about the life of Al Eugster in the February
1997 issue of Animation World Magazine.
E3 Returns To L.A. The Interactive Digital Software Association
(IDSA), organizers of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, a trade show affectionately
known to the industry as E3, has announced plans to hold their annual event
in Los Angeles for a five-year run, starting in May 1999. The first E3
shows, in 1995 and 1996, were held in Los Angeles, but the 1997 and 1998
shows are taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. The long-term move is good
news to L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, who, through several programs, has
been making a concerted effort to foster growth of new media business in
Los Angeles. "As the hub of innovation and creativity," said
Riordan, "We are proud to have E3 as a partner in shaping the global
economy for the 21st century."
For insight into the E3 event, read Joe Szadkowski's article
"The
Ever-Expanding E3 (Does that make it E5?)"
in the July 1997 issue of Animation World Magazine.
Animation World News is compiled daily for publication
in the AWN Daily Flash, the weekly Animation
Flash email newsletter, and monthly issues of
Animation World Magazine.
Send your newsworthy items, press releases, and reels to:
Email: wendyj@awn.com
Fax: (213) 464-5914
Mail: Animation World Magazine
6525 Sunset Blvd. Garden Suite 10, Hollywood, CA 90028 USA
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