The Making of LEGO Island: Difference between revisions

When we got back to California I was asked to continue the best assignment that I've had in years: to come up with more precise, more immersive, fun ideas. This was an incredibly fun task because this is what I do and now I am free to do this and...get paid. I went to art school because I enjoyed, often to my detriment, making things up and drawing since I was a little kid or did I already say that? I know I did because I say it often. I think to rationalize why I didn't become a doctor, a lawyer, or a programmer. Actually, I spent my childhood doing this in addition to playing guns in the woods. I felt at the time that I was, at best, a mediocre illustrator; maybe enough to get a job though. I didn't have lessons. I just had the passion. I had to go to Art School after an obligatory Liberal Arts degree. I realized one rarely chooses what they are and I was an artist....Finally, after an obligatory two degrees with one at Art School, I was ready to enter the real world. I thought advertising or sdmeplace where I could be creative would be a perfect. It would satisfy my degrees in behavioral sciences and art. It would make me feel almost normal. The jobs I could get was just doing production (back when there was such a thing) and mostly for everybody else's ideas. I tried being a "wrist" which we called a job where one's brain isn't really required. It got to a point when I realized that if one really wants to work in the business of being creative than it's best to go into sales. They seem to have that job of having ideas and telling the art department what they and the client wanted. I didn't though. I hung in there.

Now at Mindscape, the company and its commanders were quite encouraged that we (well, Paul actually) got an inside number to call. I assumed, because of my low self-esteem, thought that I'll be asked to go back to moving pixels around though and they'll take it from here. It was just the way the industry worked and that's the way the game artist's job was in 1995. Surprisingly, I was asked to work on the concept some more while they set up an appointment with the Connecticut offices. I eagerly started out by finding out what these Lego things look like. I started checking out what the Lego characters are capable of doing. I was still kind of stubbornly closed minded about it at first. They just weren't the kind of toy that I grew up with. I mean, they can't engage in any kind of war and you certainly can't chew on these and no way can you set them on fire as easily. These yellow faced plastic guys with happy faces on them can move their arms up and down, which is kind of cool but rather useless, really. You can take them apart and mix up the pieces though which is cool. It is designed for building things. I noticed that I spent an hour or so doing just that and was getting increasing engaged by a handful of bricks. Maybe they are kind of cool after all.