Tron2.0

Buena Vista Games (Disney Interactive)/
Monolith

This is one of my all-time favorite projects because it involved more than simply work.

Monolith, justifiably award winners for their stories, had come up with a story for Tron2.0 (then called, deliciously, Tron: Killer App) which didn’t work for Disney's producer Cliff Kamida. I was asked to come in and rework the story. Now, as you can imagine, Monolith was not crazy about this - but as you may also imagine if you’ve spent much time in these galleries, I got that. So it became my job to give Cliff what he wanted while simultaneously making Monolith happy.

I did it by honoring everything Monolith had created. If part of their creation had to change or vanish altogether, by my lights or Disney's, I tried to get the same dynamic back in at a more appropriate point. This had the very practical advantage of not ditching art and programming already accomplished, but also the advantage of not dissing anyone's ideas. I was there to help, not hurt - and lead designer Frank Rooke and I got to be good friends during our time together.

At the end, Monolith made a point of telling both Cliff and me how well the process had worked. And that, to me, was the greatest measure of its success.


GAMES