Even at the more experimental fringes of the indie scene, few stray beyond the digital. But there’s little need for Maya or 3DS Max at Squashy Software: Anthony Flack uses clay to build his levels and character models, compositing separate stop-motion animations into the scene. It’s a technique he’s refined over time, from Bert The Barbarian to his latest work, the upcoming PC/XBLA title, Cletus Clay. We ask him about his methods.


Why choose clay stop-motion animation over CG? Surely CG can replicate the physicality of clay now? 
If you’d asked me that a couple of years ago I would have said no, but actually, I think that we are starting to see some really beautiful, tactile things done with CG now. A game like LittleBigPlanet has got a terrific physicality in the way it simulates different materials. I think that our technology has really matured now and we’re going to see some really amazing game art coming out from this point onwards.

I think you probably could create quite a convincing clay look in pure CG these days, but it would still be a different thing. Just the fact that we’re using a different methodology means we’re going to get different results. 


Do you see yourself switching to CG at some point down the line?
I’m sure that I will be using more CG techniques in future, and the work we’ve been doing with Cletus Clay is already occupying a space part-way between clay animation and CG, but I don’t envision any time where I would want to switch and no longer use models. I like messing around with lights and cameras, and I like having a workbench that’s covered in miniatures. I always try to keep the focus on real clay modeling as much as I can.

People who make videogames spend most of their time looking into a monitor, typing and clicking a mouse. It’s nice to be able to inject some other media into that process, whether it be clay models, crayons, paint or whatever else.


You’ve said that CG artists don’t experiment with unorthodox methods – isn’t it more the case that games rarely experiment with unorthodox visuals, rather than any inherent fault of CG?
I wouldn’t ever want to imply that CG artists aren’t creative, though! There are so many imaginative, beautiful and unorthodox CG creations out there. But in terms of technical problem-solving, any kind of issue I’d be likely to run into has probably already been figured out by somebody much better at maths than me. So I’d rather come at things from another angle and solve idiosyncratic clay problems instead.

I did complain at one point that games in general don’t take their visual design seriously, but I think that’s changing now. We’re now in the third generation of 3D game consoles, and it’s no longer enough to impress people with the technology. 3D tech has matured and we’re starting to see some really amazing visual design in games now.


In terms of claymation’s superior level of physicality, isn’t there a disconnect between environments and models as you integrate separate animations into the same scene?
This is the real crux of the challenge of making a claymation video game. Although it’s a very expressive, cartoony medium, it’s also a photorealistic effect that you’re aiming for. You have to use all your cunning when compositing the elements together, in order to make it look as convincing as possible. You have to fake the shadows and fake the parallax. There are all kinds of different ways that you could attack the problem, including a few I’d still like to try out. I don’t think anybody has ever done it completely convincingly, but with Cletus Clay I think we’ve managed to get pretty close.


Creative freedom has been one reason for maintaining your indie status. Do you see the kind of idiosyncratic projects you want to do being possible in a larger studio?
I believe that if you’re going to create something interesting, you need somebody with a strong personal vision of what they’re trying to do directing the project, and that person needs to have the authority to keep the project true to that vision. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small indie game or a $200 million Hollywood movie.

I’m always attracted to any art that reveals its maker’s own deep personal weirdness, and the freewheeling nature of indie game development does allow that to come out. But I also think that a lot of people who fly the flag for indie games unfairly denigrate the mainstream industry for being too conservative and lacking originality. It’s easy to cherry-pick examples of bland mainstream games to support this position, but there have also been countless weird, wonderful and deeply idiosyncratic games released by big studios.

You only have to look at Fumito Ueda’s games, for example, to see someone who’s managed to pursue a strong personal vision with big studio backing. Most of the games that have inspired and excited me have come out of major studios. Another thing that’s not often acknowledged in this argument is that independents usually have to make do with much more limited resources, which is a restriction on your creative freedom as well. I’d much rather work with a small budget if that’s what it takes to retain artistic control, but the very best games are usually a result of both sides coming together.


Is it becoming easier for indie developers to thrive with things like digital distribution picking up speed?
I don’t know if it’s any easier to make a living from it now than it was, say, five years ago, but the most amazing thing to me is that the barrier to entry is now so low that you don’t even have to try to make a living from it to be successful. The freeware scene is very active and there are people doing some really interesting things. In some ways the freeware authors are the only true independents because they don’t even need to try to make sales. I mean, I enjoy a fair bit of autonomy in my projects, but I’m still trying to create commercial games that people will hopefully want to spend their money on, so I can’t afford to just make whatever I feel like. It’s really interesting to see the kinds of games that get made when the commercial imperative is removed entirely. Freeware, indie and big-studio games are all equally valid.