Interview with Todd McFarlane

Few comic book creators have enjoyed the success of Todd McFarlane, but then again, McFarlane is not your average comic book creator. The writer and artist behind the best-selling Image comic Spawn has … er … spawned a small empire of genre entertainment called Todd McFarlane Productions. Their amazingly diverse action figure lines—McFarlane has made toys versions of his own characters, hockey players, horror movie monsters, and even Austin Powers—revolutionized the toy industry with their creativity and artistic detail. The Spawn movie did blockbuster business, and HBO's Spawn animated series set new benchmarks for TV animation. Now, McFarlane and his most famous creation are set to break into video games in a big way, thanks to a partnership with Namco. I got the chance to speak with the man himself at the Namco booth, where he had been signing autographs and meeting fans.

Spawn Calibur
So, how did a big-time comic book star get involved in the world of video games? "It came about like anything else," he said, "You've got some ideas, you've got some characters, and you sort of shake the bushes and see if anybody will make movies, toys, video games, or whatever." Soul Calibur creators Namco jumped at the chance to bring Spawn to next generation consoles.

Once Spawn (a tentative title) was in the works, Soul Calibur II followed. "I told them, 'You know, I also do toys. If you've got a [suitable] video game, maybe I can do the toys,'" he explains. From there, one thing lead to another, until McFarlane was creating a new character for Soul Calibur II—the creepy Necrid. Other fruits of this partnership are of special interest to Xbox gamers. "[Namco] said, 'Hey, why don't we putSpawn on one of the platforms as a teaser for the Spawn game?'" McFarlane said. Yep, you guessed it—only the Xbox version of Namco's highly anticipated fighter features Al "Spawn" Simmons as a playable fighter.

But, back to Spawn. Though the game, which involves an all-out war between heaven and hell with the Hellspawn caught in the middle, is technically set outside the comic book continuity, the story, action, and gameplay are pure Spawn. Consider it a parallel universe of sorts, McFarlane told me. "The reason is, whenever I go into any of these different media, I don't want continuity… to be a limitation. I don't ever want the proverbial tail wagging the dog." Instead, he went straight to the developers with a simple vision. "I said to them, 'I just want you guys to think about making the coolest game possible. Then we'll worry about how it fits into the realm of Spawn. Even if I might not do it in a comic book or a movie, if it makes a hell of a game, let'sdo it!'"

Hell of a Game, Indeed
McFarlane also sees the Spawn game as a great way to reach a whole new audience for the character. "I'm looking first and foremost for the coolest game for somebody who doesn't know anything about Spawn," he says. "I want them to play that game and go, 'Wow! Where'd this character come from? I've never heard of him, but this is thewickedest game!'" Of course, there's plenty for the fans, too. "I think Spawn is kind of a moody story. So, that's what I'm trying to keep here. Spawn [has] a dark setting, so he's not out in the middle of the desert at noon," he laughs. "That to me is way more important than keeping consistent, [more important than] if in 1995, issue 37, Spawn did 'X.' To me, that can weigh you down."

McFarlane's been in the business long enough to know what to expect from Spawn fans. "Even if you try to make a direct translation, they'll still gripe," he explains, "But, to keep it to a dull roar, you just make a great game. Then they'll go, 'Well, I don't know why [Spawn] does this and this and this and this and this, but what he does do is pretty cool!'"

One of the coolest features about Spawn as a character is the fact that he's on a ticking clock—while his powers are amazing and border occasionally on god-like, he's only got so much of that hellish mojo. "Weird as it is, when I invented that [finite-power convention] it was to tell the audience, that [Spawn's] not going to just use these magical powers—that's too easy." Instead, there's a certain hierarchy to Spawn's tactics. "He's first going to try and bluff his way out; second he's going to use his hands and fists; third, he' going to pick up a weapon; and fourth—and this is why the costume is alive—the costume will protect him." But, if all that doesn't work, Al goes to the source. "If he's got no other option, [he's] got to go to the fifth plan. But, he's also smart enough to know that fifth plan will drain him, so sometimes, he'll take a beating to save his power." McFarlane points out that the concept works perfectly for a video game. "You've already got these power bars anyway … It's just a tank of gas, and you've got to be wise about using your powers. You want [Spawn] to be [balanced] against different characters."

Not that Spawn isn't plenty powerful already, even with that sense of game balance. "I don't care what medium you put [Spawn] in, there are some things you can't ignore. And, you can't ignore that the costume is alive because, if you do, he's really not Spawn, he's something else." As Spawn fans know, Al Simmons was plenty dangerous before he was murdered and reborn as the Hellspawn. "He's a good mercenary, so you can play these cool espionage moves. But, you can also then get into the different aspects of the magic—the skulls, the chains, and even the spikes on the costume work to protect the host."

Spawnward and Upward
What's next for Todd McFarlane and Namco? As Spawn himself has learned, the future is never certain. However, McFarlane says, "We've had pretty good luck so far. I'm sure if the things we've done are embraced by the public and everybody's happy with the relationship, we'll say, 'Hey, what other ideas do we got? Let's do it, let's invent some stuff, let's take another character, and make a Spawn II. Whatever it is, who knows?" he adds enthusiastically.

For more on the Spawn video game, be sure to keep your eyes on Xbox.com.

By Ben Barker