Dear Reader:
Todd McFarlane wants Spawn to be your favorite Mortal Kombat 11 character, gave NetherRealm freedom to do what they wanted
We're finally going to see the gameplay reveal for Spawn in Mortal Kombat 11 tomorrow. In the lead up to the character's reveal, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane talked to Shoryuken about his excitement for the character's inclusion, and the freedom he allowed.
"When these guys came to me and asked if they could use Spawn, I said the only requirements were that I need you to make him a really exciting character in your game, so that if nobody knows Spawn, they will go, this guy, he’s my favorite. I told them to make Spawn work in their game, play to what your audience likes. Make a cool video game character.
Take someone that we both know is the Intellectual Property 'Spawn,' but literally do whatever it is that you want with him to make him fit your game. Don’t feel tied to the comics, or the show, or the movie. If that means you make up some new stuff to make him cool for your audience, then so be it.
I told these guys, look, I am not in my twenties anymore, I’m older, I’ve got thick skin, get creative. Eventually, the guys at NetherRealm got to the point where it all clicked. 'Wow, we can really do anything!'
Being an artist, I know what it is like to feel boxed in, being told what you can and cannot do with the thing you are creating. I assume these people feel the exact same way. By giving them the freedom to create whatever character they want, that is when you get good results. Instead of saying, here are the rules, I say, Spawn in this game is not a continuation of the one from the comics, this is a Spawn for people who like video games, and not just video games, but Mortal Kombat games. They need to think he is cool for who he is in the game. Make him fun, make him cool, with his abilities and his cape, which might not always be red with a push of a button!"