Ivan Boivin on animating classic characters in Royalty Free-For-All

Please introduce our readers to the exciting amalgamation that is Royalty Free-For-All!

Ivan: RFFA is a Saturday morning cartoon disguised as a platform fighter featuring characters inspired by the public domain!

First-time players of all ages and skill levels will love recognizing timeless characters in easy-to-follow cartoon brawls set to fresh remixes of legendary music, while veterans of the genre will find depth and complexity preserved in familiar mechanics like wavedashing, tech landing, foxtrots, and more! The tone is pretty light-hearted and silly.

We've designed the game to be accessible to people who find modern iterations of the genre overwhelming, while retaining features that veterans have come to love. We're coming to Steam first and targeting home consoles as part of our campaign goals.

You showed the game at PAX East. What has been the reception so far?

Ivan: We've actually been to PAX East twice, PAX West, and EVO. Players consistently report a good time. We've been a hit with both savvy gamers as well as the less savvy family and friends they've brought along.

What are the unique challenges when animating for a video game project compared to a regular animated production?

Ivan: A big constraint is how you have to convey movement and expression while keeping the characters snappy and responsive, especially in a game where experienced players will be scrutinizing fractions of a second for competitive advantage. You don't have the luxury of many frames to convey an idea so you learn to be extremely efficient in the way you balance form and function.

How do you connect your animation process to mechanics that work in a videogame?

Ivan: First I get handed an outline of how a new character is going to work. I'll interpret the notes through rough animated sketches which are then exported into PNGs to be integrated into the game and which we'll use to create a prototype.

After some back and forth with the designers, I'll get started on the cleans, which usually combine the techniques of puppet animation for subtler movements, and hand-drawn for broader ones.

What has working with so many iconic character designs on this project taught you about character rigging?

Ivan: I've learned the importance of planning ahead. Part way through the production we introduced the idea of making different costume shapes available to players. Which meant our characters had to be exported with every possible costume shape overlapping simultaneously. 

Fortunately the software was flexible enough to seamlessly add these new patterns onto already completed characters, and I've been planning new rigs since then to accommodate that feature.

As an animator who has used Toon Boom Harmony for much of their work, what do you find most useful about the software?

Ivan: The flexibility of Harmony's node functions allows me to apply broad changes across rigs and animations with significantly less micromanagement.

Working in 2D animated games, I appreciate the ability to export my images without anti-aliasing, which gives us the stark colour delineations we need, while retaining production speed we wouldn't otherwise have if we opted for full-on pixel art.

I've also come to enjoy the drawing tools so much that I often end up using Harmony for illustrative tasks despite also having access to software more-specific to painting.

You have worked on many projects with well-loved characters. How did you choose your cast for Royalty Free-For-All?

Ivan: A lot of the characters in our base cast were ideas that have been rolling around in our director Colin McIsaac's head for a few years. They're largely what-if questions like "what if Sweeney Todd was a robo-barber gone rogue?" or "what if years of nonsense rhymes fried Mother Goose's noggin like an egg?"

Some characters are opportunistic puns like Oliver Twist, who is literally an Olive (what a twist!). Others are the result of legal jujitsu, like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, who we transformed into a canine companion for Toto in order to avoid the hazard of accidentally producing a likeness of her that resembles Judy Garland or any number of other actors who have portrayed the character on screen or stage.

Of course we're also aware of the popular cartoon characters who have been slipping into the public domain recently; as far as that's concerned...stay tooned! Oh, and Wet Floor Guy from the yellow warning placard (see our Kickstarter) because we just think that's funny!

What are some of the perks you offered to Kickstarter backers?

Ivan: Besides being able to choose a Fighter from our shortlist (including Colonel Bleep, Captain Hook, and the aforementioned Wet Floor Guy), there are options to select cameo appearances, design a new costume for an existing character (which no small feat in 2D!), as well as the offer to receive a limited-supply Dorothy plushie!

Do you have any advice for animators on the best way to approach using royalty-free or public domain intellectual properties?

Ivan: There's a trend right now of taking classic characters that are coming hot onto the public domain and subverting them in disturbing ways. I guess I'd like to encourage animators to see how they can add their unique sensibilities and experiences to instead build and reflect upon said character's legacy; to become an ambassador of that story as it enters into a domain in which everyone can now participate.

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• Interested in supporting Royalty Free-for-All? There is still time to join with a late pledge on Kickstarter, and you can wishlist Royalty Free-for-All on Steam to get updates on the game's release. 
• Want to try your hand animating characters for your next project? Game artists can join the free beta for Toon Boom Jump.