How manly is Shank, the eponymous hero of the new downloadable game that’s out this week? He swings a chainsaw with no problem, beats up Mexican luchadores and regains health by drinking a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor. The side-scrolling stab-em-up features an inviting cartooniness that somehow meshes with extremely hyper-violent gameplay. It’s a tricky mix to get right but it looks like developer Klei Entertainment’s done exactly that. Just as the game’s going out into the world, I asked Jeff Agala–Klei’s creative director and co-creator of Shank–to answer a few questions about the genesis of the bandana-wearing bad-ass.
Where’d the inspiration for Shank come from?
Shank was inspired by classic arcade beat-em-ups like Double Dragon and Final Fight mixed in with some Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez influences.
Which came first, the gameplay or the aesthetics?
I would say they came at the same time. From the very first day we came up with Shank we knew what kind of game it would be overall. It only took a few more days to nail down the essence of the gameplay and the final look of the game.
The art looks like a cross between Bruce Timm, Mike Manley and a little bit of Darwyn Cooke. Who are your favorite comics artists and animation studios?
I love Jack Kirby’s work; it’s the perfect balance between realistic and dynamic. Growing up I read a lot of comics including X-Men, Spider-Man and The Punisher so Art Adams, Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee were very influential in my development as an artist. Joe Mad, J. Scott Campbell, Frank Miller and Mike Mignola are also at the top of my list for comic artists. As you can tell; I love comics and I think it’s one of those things I can never grow out of. As for animation Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) and Bruce Timm (Batman) do great work. As an animator, I can’t help but love anything that comes out of Disney/Pixar as well.
Is there a secret behind Shank’s incredibly smooth and layered look? What’s the process for the art style and the animation?
The environments were key to the art style. I wanted Shank’s world to look like an old graphic novel, not the new shiny digital airbrushed look but the old flat-colored books of the past. We set up all the environments with offset 2D layers, like the backgrounds in the old Disney films. This gives our world the illusion of depth while retaining the 2D look. Our entire art team has 2D animation roots so, for our characters, we start with hand-drawn animated key poses. We then take it into Flash to color and set up the timing. This allows us to have 2D animation running at 30+ frames per second.
Your game’s coming out about a week after the Expendables cleaned up at the box office do you think that there might be a rising trend for over-the-top violence in pop culture entertainment again?
I hope so! I love crazy action films and I wish more people made them. I think there’s always room for over-the-top entertainment. From The Matrix to Kill Bill and Kick Ass, over-the-top action always seem to do well at the box office. We would be happy to be a part of this.