Hugo Game II - Behind the Scenes

When a computer game runs, a lot of stuff is, of course, going on under the hood. Previously, I explained how the animation for the Jungledyret Hugo PC game was done, from rough hand-drawn sketches to the final illusion that Hugo can roam around freely inside the game's environment.

In this post I will focus on the backgrounds and the technical and artistic aspects which are thoroughly intertwined.

But before we delve into the geeky details, you may want to check out this clip, which I found on an old VHS tape. It is from the Danish TV show "Troldspejlet" (Magic Mirror) on DR's channel 1, and aired in the fall of 1995 when the Hugo PC game had just been completed. It offers a glimpse behind the scenes and a quick overview of the production process. The video is all in Danish but has English subs.

In a game like this, a new image is being assembled from all the different resources up to 60 times per second (depending on the power of the computer). As Hugo changes his position, and the "camera" moves with him, the right portion of the background must be shown on the screen, with all the different characters and objects placed correctly upon it.

Jungledyret Hugo PC Game

If I were to choose one project that I am particularly proud of, it would be the Jungledyret Hugo (aka. Jungle Jack) PC platform game based on the animated movie of the same name. Considering the budget and the circumstances of the production, it was nothing less than a momentous achievement.

Screen dump from level 1 of the Jungle Jack (Jungledyret Hugo) game, 1995.

I had been working for a while with a group of young self-taught computer programmers and graphic artists on various smaller games and advertising programs. I shared my experience in animation and visual design, and they in turn taught me programming and other computer skills.

Box, booklet and CD-ROM of the Jungledyret game, 1995.

When, in the spring of 1995, we were hired to do a CD-ROM game as a kind of merchan-dising for the animated Hugo features (the second one was in production at the time), we immediately knew that we wanted to do a classic 2D side-scrolling platform game. As the game director/art director of the project I was heavily inspired by Disney's newly released Lion King game, which featured high-quality (almost) full classical animation, much resembling the animated Disney feature. So I couldn't resist the temptation to follow Disney's lead and make a similar product for Hugo.