Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/83694
n n n n Gaming increasingly powerful PCs with robust graph- ics cards and by souped-up consoles. CGI was taking over the animation industry—even 2D animation giant Disney was heartily em- bracing the medium. Nevertheless, Khudari believed that 2D was the ideal genre for Ce- cropia's project, a video arcade title called The Act, since it would make the characters more expressive and bring out their personality more than CGI could at the time. After all, this was in the early days of CGI, and many 2D films shared theaters with computer-generated features, as audiences showed their apprecia- tion for both mediums: the unique look of CG animation and the timeless beauty of hand- drawn cel animation. Dan Kraus among them. Computer gaming was taking off, fueled by Scene I: Serendipity While working in the 2D animation field at Bauhaus Software, Kraus visited the Florida studio of Cecropia and was immediately taken by the aesthetics of the game under develop- ment there. "This was during the dark days for 2D animation, in 2003/2004, when there were tons of layoffs and CG was taking over everything," he says. "The industry hadn't come to realize how unbelievable classical ani- mation really was." more or less had been completed (about the time that the video arcade revolution was end- ing) but had never launched, "despite having a tremendous animation team and building a great game." So the title was shelved, and Ce- cropia turned its attention to other projects (before eventually shutting its doors). Fast-forward to 2009, when Kraus, along with 2D/3D game technologist Alain La- ferrière, formed React Entertainment as a next-generation game studio focused on "transforming classical 2D animation into an interactive gaming experience." The first order of business was to develop the technol- ogy necessary for creating and delivering 2D animated games. The second order of business was to deliver React's first title. The Act offered opportunities in both areas. Kraus and Laferrière approached Khudari, Kraus later learned that the Cecropia game as it fell between the market gap for waning arcade games and rising mobile titles. And the game's underlying technology could be used to ultimately transform almost any 2D art and animation into an interactive experience. Scene II: The Story The Act is a classically animated romantic comedy that requires active participation rather than static viewing. It stars Edgar, a well-meaning window washer, and Sylvia, the woman of his dreams. The goal is for players to control Edgar as he attempts to rescue his hap- less brother, save his job, and romance Sylvia throughout the various scenes. The game contains many different "scenes" React Entertainment resurrected The Act using its new, commercially available technology suite, including an advanced state-defined editor specially tuned for 2D artwork. who now serves React in an advisory role, hop- ing to resurrect The Act for the next generation of gaming on mobile devices. "The mobile revo- lution wasn't really there yet [in terms of gam- ing], but we believed it would eventually come," Kraus says, noting this was prior to the rise of the iPad and tablets. "We wanted to evolve and transform The Act to run on new platforms." As Kraus explains, The Act had not lost its at- tractiveness; the timing just wasn't right before, 22 August/September 2012 (levels) in which Edgar must complete a task. For instance, in the first scene, the Dream Sequence, the player's task is to maneu- ver close to Sylvia in a bar. If the player acts too quickly, Sylvia is turned off and moves away; too slowly, and she becomes bored. The next sequence challenge requires Edgar to en- sure that his brother does not fall asleep on the job and to keep the boss from firing them both. Between the scenes are interstitials that help complete story threads. The challenges become more difficult as the scenes progress through a cartoon world that is rich in detail. However, through it all, players can see the character develop and learn. "You are building a relationship between the characters," explains Kraus. "From a gameplay standpoint, it feels like you are 'playing' a movie [in the active sense] and guiding the expressions and emotions of the character. What happens in the scenes is totally predicated on what you do with your character, the actions and emo- tions you invoke—whether you get to take her hand and dance with her, for example." This interactive comedy can be "played" in a little over one hour—less for those who have played it before. "Each scene has a number of variables and variances depend- ing on the reactions between the characters," explains Kraus. "I've been playing with this for a while and am still discovering some of them. I saw Sylvia do something recently that I never saw her do before. It's fun to explore the depth of the characters." Scene III: The Technology Not only were Kraus and Laferrière in- trigued by the game design and gameplay, they were also taken by the proprietary tech- nology used to integrate and manage all the elements of the 2D interactive title—tech that would be extremely useful to React. "It was propriety, built from the ground up, and integrates all the art, music, video, and game logic into one platform," says Kraus. The challenge, however, was re-writing the technology inside the game engine, which he says was "incredibly complicated." There are two components to the technolo- gy: the authoring platform, which is the inter- active editor for the 2D content and the game logic, and the runtime engine. Both had to be revised before this game—and others like it—would work on the new mobile platforms. And that was the first order of business for React. "There are many more elements needed for a modern mobile game than for an arcade