[ about | the team | Jan Ruud ] |
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Mission Graphics
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Jan Ruud or 'Jan the Man' as we call him, is a new recruit to the Team17 crew. On Worms Armageddon, Jan applied
his wacky Norwegian humour to the splendid scenery for the Missions in Worms Armageddon, a recipe for success?
We think so. We had a chat with Jan to find out what makes him tick.
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Jan, you're a new artist at Team17, how did you get the job?
Met Martyn at The Gathering - the worlds biggest computer party/internal network, held in an olympic sports
arena in Norway. The third time I've been picked up by a computer games company there so I was
prepared.
So, how are you finding life in England?
Already lived in Birmingham for two and a half years - 'it's orroit luv' (he says in a Brummie accent). I was
doing my Computer Assisted Animation course at Uni. I wasn't going anywhere both because the course was crap
and because I was a crap student. It was just over a pound a pint in the student pub though.
What makes this the best Worms game ever?
The gameplay has been enhanced since Worms 2 and this time around there are missions and training rounds and
Internet play... the list goes on.
Your wacky artwork provides the perfect backdrop for the Missions in Worms Armageddon. Where does your
inspiration come from?
The style comes from me spending time this summer merging my cartoon-studio style with the previous Worms
style. Only I'm trying to take it a step further by trying to put some of the Worms character and personality
into the levels. Otherwise I'm into European stuff. I went crazy in France this summer. Marsupilami and Garcon
Lagaffe are favourites. Pretty difficult to get anything but American superhero stuff in this
country.
Have you worked on computer games before?
Hmmm.. Yeah in FUNCOM and a bit in INGAMES but thats all in the past. Done lots of stuff since
then.
Which artists do you admire and respect?
Franquin is my big hero. Started out with Disney and worked for Spirou until he died at 73 a couple of years
ago. (Spirou is a belgium publisher with largley French artists). But also admire a lot of Italian artists and
one Norwegian artist called Kjell Aukrust. I nearly ended up working on his animation film in
Oslo.
Do you have any advice to budding artists out there?
Always keep looking at things in a weird perspective and keep a notepad handy. If having a social life puts you
off, then dont even try.
What is your favourite food?
Microwave dinners at four in the morning.
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[ about | the team ] |
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Since the release of the original Worms, the game has grown and the number of people who've contributed
to the game has also grown. As with all Team17 games, Worms Armageddon was a team effort. We've managed
to track down some of the team to ask them what makes this the best Worms game ever. Just click their
names to read their interviews.
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Producer |
[ Martyn Brown ]
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Assistant Producer |
Craig Jones
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Design |
John Eggett
Porl Dunstan
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Artists |
[ Jan Ruud ] Mission Graphics
[ Rico Holmes ] Additional Graphics
[ Paul Robinson ] Additional Graphics
Danny Cartwright
Tony Senghore
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Programmers |
[ Colin Surridge ] Menu System
[ Phil Carlisle ] Network & Additional Programming
[ Rob Hill ] DX Interface Implementation/Code Support
[ Martin Randall ] DX Interface Implementation/Installer
Karl Morton
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Sound and Music |
[ Bjorn Lynne ]
Matinee Studios
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Web Design |
Paul James
Guy Palmer
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Quality Assurance |
[ Paul Field ]
Kelvin Aston
[ Mark Baldwin ]
[ Grant Towell ]
[ Andy Aveyard ]
Brian Fitzpatrick
[ Paul Webb ]
[ Kevin Carthew ]
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Localisation |
Paul Sharp
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Original Concept |
[ Andy Davidson ]
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