Interview with Co-Founders Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna
By Sylvia di Corvino
Hollywood is a rough place. Even if you have wonderful vision, depth, and artistry, it's not likely you're going to find funding for it. That was the problem Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna ran into when they tried to make their dream of creating animated computer-graphic films come true. "Lorne is the one who really wanted to make a game company," Sherry says. "I'm a filmmaker." But both of them knew how hard it would be to get the millions of dollars necessary to make a CG film. "Lorne said that one of the ways we could do it is by starting a game company." Sherry admits she didn't see the connection at first, but Lorne was persistent. "He said you have to understand that video games are going to be the art form for the 21st century."
Sherry wasn't convinced. She wasn't happy with all the violence and shooting that she equated with the average video game. "It took him like two years to convince me. He kept saying you could get credibility, we could create the world, we could create this whole universe, then we would have a fan base, and the basic thing is we would own the content." She was still skeptical though. "You have to understand this was the early '90s—I said 'what's content?'"
At the time, Sherry was Vice President and Executive Producer and Lorne was the Creative Director of Special Projects at Rhythm and Hues Studios. Big companies would come to them and say "this is what we want you to do." And because the big companies held the purse strings, they got to make all the decisions. "It's the golden rule," Sherry explains, "those who have the gold, rule. So they get to say, 'make it blue' and if I go 'why?' they say 'because I sign your check.' And that's really annoying."
When it came down to the wire, Lorne knew he could convince Sherry based on heart. He knew that she had some really strong beliefs, not only on her own creativity and violence in games but also on how a company should be run. But when she saw she wouldn't have to be subject to other people's whims anymore, Sherry agreed. "I really wanted to prove to the community that you could create a company where people wanted to work, where they had a good time, where it was really fun. I don't mind things being difficult or hard, but when it's not fun, it's not worth it."
No matter how much she may (need to) talk about how to run a company, the instinct for the big laugh is still there. She tells a story about something Abe did in one of the games: "The team was worried that I'd think it was too violent [because it involved Abe getting hit over the head] but when I saw it I just cracked up!" It's a belly laugh, and you can just hear the team sighing with relief that the bit got to stay in.
Lorne's focus, however, is more on the games. For him, the most important thing is creating a game with heart, one that you walk away from and have a feeling of accomplishment, a sense of having been a part of something, and hopefully a new awareness of the world around you as a result. He admits, though, that due to time and resource constraints, that the games aren't everything that he wants them to be… yet. He referred us to a quote by Martha Graham:
"No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."
Hearing Lorne talk is magical; you can see the effect of his vision in the attitude of everyone who works at Oddworld. People don't work for him, they work with him. There's a large sense of cooperation. Lorne has said that his goal with the Oddworld games is to create a world, story, and characters that you really fall in love with… a game that teaches while being fun and enriching to the heart. It's not just about making a game. Usually he has to be told when interviews are over because he will warm to this topic without hesitation and share his philosophy on life, gaming, and creativity from there on out. But here's a stab at what he says: It's about sending a message of cultural and environmental consciousness. Cooperation and thinking for yourself. Not living life blindly but recognizing the world around you and your connection to it. That's a big order for a video game. But after hearing his musings, you can tell that journey of seeing his vision fulfilled has only just begun.
