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ajay
meets lunkin
It’s been a year since Lunkin’s Journey wrapped, and the two main
protagonists haven’t met since – December 2005’s Lunkin’s Christmas
Carol: The Goblin that Stole Christmas, was in the words of Lunkin “a
cynical cash-cow, made up from outtakes and shit, definitely not authorised
by me”.
So it was with some tension that the two met for this one-on-one, especially
for QEXPO 2006.
Andy Simpson
So thanks the pair of you for meeting up, Lunkin what’s you memories of
making LJ?
Lunkin
Repetition. Running through the same scenes and environments, again and
again and again, whilst he tried to get his shit together. Not always having
what I needed as a performer to do my job.
Andy Simpson
ajay, the same question?
ajay
Feeling that I was creating something special, unique and cool. Working to
time constraints, under pressure and with finite resources is all part of
this crazy world we work in. Some people don’t always understand that. I
always knew that the “journey” [laughs] would be worth it in the end.
Andy Simpson
When did work start on LJ?
ajay
2002. After Raptors! had wrapped, to universal acclaim and respect, I set
about looking for a new challenge for my artistry. Like Steven Spielberg and
George Lucas before me, I was beginning to listen to what my kids were
telling me, so I decided to work on something a little more PG than 18.
Andy
Simpson
Lunkin, when did you get involved?
Lunkin
I was a big player in the Quake2 world. I’d been hanging around the
polycount scene and had a big cult following. He contacted me, and I came
and had a look at what he had to offer. At that time he had no real idea of
what he was doing and no concrete story. I pushed him gently in the right
direction.
Andy
Simpson
ajay, what differences back then were there, compared to what we know and
love about LJ now?
ajay
First off it was Lunkin’s Adventures, but someone felt that was, and I quote
“teh ghey” In addition Lunkin started as being the son of the goblin king,
now some haven’t been convinced about the change, but it terms of
storytelling it was necessary.
Lunkin
Yeah, “storytelling”, riiiiight.
Andy Simpson
But, as I understand it, work on LJ came to a stop quite early on…
ajay
Yes. There were some early problems that I was trying to iron out….
Lunkin
You didn’t have the first idea …..
ajay
…..but I knew it was still a story that needed to be told. However it wasn’t
quite gelling, creatively, so I decided some time out was a good idea. I
therefore began work on another project, using some property from LJ/LA
Andy Simpson
This become Bulldog Stadium?
ajay
Yes. I took the race ideas I’d been working on. Eagle-eyed viewers and fans
of my work will notice the START-FINISH banners are the same in both. Anyway
BS…..
Lunkin
BS … [chuckles] ..
that’s about right…
ajay
… grew into a unique take on the quake world, with fluid and addictive
gameplay. It’s success pulled me away from LJ, but once it wrapped I
returned to ……
Lunkin
Raptors 2…
Andy
Simpson
As I understand it after Bulldog Stadium you did start on a sequel to your
first work, was the thinking to try and iron out some of the flaws of the
original, or…
ajay
It was totally for the fans. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many emails I
was getting daily asking me for a sequel. In the end the pressure got to me,
and I, somewhat reluctantly started work on R2.
Andy Simpson
But that didn’t last too long?
ajay
No, really my heart wasn’t in it, and LJ was dragging me back …
Lunkin
Or, again, you didn’t have the first idea….
Andy SImpson
Lunkin, it was at this time that ajay called you back and pre-production
started again?
Lunkin
No! I got dragged into the first of his nonsense, cop out work. It was for
some previous QEXPO shit. He’d been working on RaptorsPoo, but had nothing
to show for it, so he cobbled some of my tests, stuffed it into a R2 test
and made “Lunkin versus Raptors” I was livid, I may fly by the seat of my
pants sometimes, live on the edge, but I take my work seriously, and this
got me seriously pissed.
Andy
Simpson
But you two ironed out your differences, and work on LJ started for real
again in 2004. ajay, what was your aim, second time around?
ajay
My vision was simple; to bring the gameplay of Zelda, the
environments and living vibrant world of LOTR and the vastness of the Star
Wars universe together into one experience.
Lunkin
And then he started to work on it. I knew straight off, this “vision” was
hardly 20-20. If you could see the early plans, and what ended up in the
finished version, it’s laughable really – armies battling, nightmare
scenarios, life and death dramas, none of them made the cut.
Andy Simpson
ajay, can you bring to life for us what those changes were, and why they
were necessary?
ajay
The creative process is often fraught with setbacks, time and resource
constraints inevitably impinge on what you are trying to achieve…
Lunkin
Not being up to it doesn’t help either…
ajay
… admittedly some of the more blue-sky ideas were beyond…. err….. my scope,
at the time…. maybe in Lunkin2
Andy Simpson
Lunkin 2, so is a sequel likely?
Lunkin
My arse…
ajay
Lunkin 2 is on my to do list definitely, one of my irons in the fire. It’ll
be in the future, to be sure, we’d just have a few things to iron out first.
Andy Simpson
So Lunkin, would you be up for another Journey?
Lunkin
My arse….
Look, you have no idea what working on LJ was like, hell it was, the
pressure on me to carry the whole thing, with the broken promises, the
schedule.. his [gestures] incompetence ….. I’m loathe to say “never again”,
but hell, here I go: NEVER AGAIN!!
Andy Simpson
Ok, give us an idea of what making LJ was for you..
Lunkin
Did I not already? Ok. First off; you know 90% of all the goblins were me
right?
Andy Simpson
No! Really? How did that work?
Lunkin
That racer dude – me! That red paint took bloody hours to wash off. Soldiers
– me! Green is worse than red. The old dude – me again. While I obviously
have the range for so many characters, the time, the pressure...
Andy Simpson
But you appear at the same time… how … ?
Lunkin
Man, you’ve never heard of CGI!? Blue screen…
ajay
It’s green screens now…
Lunkin
[tuts] dumbass! Anyway, some days I had to organize the centaurs too, those
guys are just about the gayest creatures I've ever met. The hobgoblins are
as thick as, well, hobgoblins, and could this “coding genius” control them?
Could he ……
Andy Simpson
Right, okay. Well I must thank you two for this, it’s been … revealing. ajay
would you like the final word?
ajay
Well sometimes, think: Apocalypse Now, the process can be painful, but the
end result magical. Creative, talented people like us [motions to Lunkin]
often clash, but it’s just because we care so much about our craft, and I
think that shows, I’m sure he’d agree ….
Lunkin
My arse.
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