We were asked by Microsoft to create four of their retro game characters – it’s fair to say all of our inner gamesters were jumping for joy.
These retro sculpts were being used to promote Microsoft’s Rare Games Division’s back catalogue of video games at E3 – Electronic Entertainment Expo, a video gaming conference and show in Los Angeles.
What we had to do
They were going to be seen by a lot of gaming experts and that meant the retro characters of Kazooie, Banjo, Conker the Squirrel, and the mighty Battletoad had to be extra precise.
Having only images to work from – and in the space of just a few weeks – we needed to work hard on each character’s shape and their most intricate of details. Not to mention the fact that they had to be as strong as possible for Microsoft to send them over to the States.
How did we do it?
We set about creating the armatures and sculpting the clay figures by hand. This meant that we were able to send through regular images and updates to our clients so they could suggest any alterations, and then we could amend the clay easily.
How these 3D cartoon characters were going to make it across the pond to the oh-so-glamorous Los Angeles was something else we had to think carefully about.
We decided the best way that they would fit into travel cases would be for them to use mannequin fittings; we made them come apart at the waist, legs, head and arms in a way that they could be easily put back together.
The result
From what we heard, these retro game characters were a hit with everyone at the exhibition – and proved to be quite the photo opportunity, too!
Find out what our customer had to say about the project
Battletoad was a massive hit at E3! Everybody wanted their photo next to him. I think it was because he was so big and just looked awesome. Please feel free to put the characters on to your website
We commissioned the team at Spur to produce four large statues of characters from our back catalogue of video games for display at the world’s largest video games trade show in the US. Not only did Phil and his team at spur meet a very tight deadline but they also produced absolutely wonderful statues that featured heavily at Microsoft’s main stand at the show. The statues really stood out from the crowd I couldn’t be happier with the guys at Spur and what they created for us.
Visit the Spur Creative Ltd website for more information on Microsoft Retro Games Characters