In a departure from the coverage of human, or humanoid, game characters Keri Allen brings us Spyro…
Spyro, as a character, made his debut in 1998 with the Insomniac developed ‘Spyro the Dragon’ on the original Sony Playstation. Insomniac went on to develop two more Spyro games before Universal (which ultimately became Sierra) picked up the license and went on to publish a few more titles with various developers over the years.
Spyro was a much different character then, as was the world he existed in. But over the years, his sense of identity had become lost amongst the onslaught of other character platform games that had been released. Everything from new original properties to TV and movie licenses were all following the same formula. It had got to the point where you could easily swap out Spyro for a number of other characters and you would still end up with the same game.
But when Chris Wilson and producer Michael Graham came on board the Spyro franchise in 2005, they wanted to rectify that by focusing on the one thing that Spyro had that other franchises didn’t; a dragon as a main character.
![Spyro_04[1]](http://www.threespeech.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Spyro_04[1].jpg)
“So we began ‘The Legend of Spyro’ story arc in 2006 with the intention of reintroducing Spyro as a dragon with a destiny to a whole new generation of players. It was important to start from the beginning, so that new players could follow Spyro on his journey and relate to him as he slowly comes to terms with who he is, as well as the expectations that others have for him. The ‘Legend’ story arc is really a coming of age story,” Graham explains.
Spyro has undergone a considerable amount of growth throughout the series. He began his journey wide-eyed and innocent as he slowly started to accept his role in the world. But in the second installment, he got a taste of the darker side and a glimpse of the consequences that come with the decisions we make.
![Spyro_57[1]](http://www.threespeech.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Spyro_57[1].jpg)
But its not just his personality that’s changed, Spyro has also evolved physically, with a new look. For example, the developers always wanted Spyro to be slightly older.
“There is something special that happens in those ‘tween’ years that defines us all and we wanted Spyro to be right there,” Graham says. “We challenged Etranges Libellules to come up with an updated look that still felt like the same character. We wanted Spyro to be able to fly, so a broader wingspan was a must, but the real challenge was trying to match the character to the new art style without making it feel like a different character altogether. But they rose to the challenge and blew us all away with a look that feels so magical and yet so natural for this franchise. He now looks more like a real dragon, yet he never crosses the line into realism.
“It’s definitely been a bumpy road over the years, but the franchise is getting stronger and along with his enhanced wingspan, I can honestly say that the sky is the limit,” Graham concludes.
furry alert!!
Comment by mobiletone — Jun 9, 2008 @ 6:24 pm
It might be completely immoral and against over a dozen laws but I really have a thing for dragons..*flutters eyelids at spyro*
Comment by JohnSketch — Jun 9, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Why haven’t you picked some pictures from when the Spyro games were actually any good, back on the original PlayStation. Spyro 2 is still my number one game of all time.
Comment by Alexsutton — Jun 9, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
[...] Top Trumps - Spyro… - at Threespeech (No Ratings Yet) Loading … RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL Write a [...]
Pingback by Top Trumps - Spyro… | GameBlews PS3, XBOX 360, Wii, PSP, DS News — Jun 9, 2008 @ 9:00 pm
I played a bit of Spyro 2 yesterday. Brought back memories.
Comment by Wisdom Wanderer — Jun 10, 2008 @ 3:03 am
So Spyro has more sex appeal than Ico or Yorda? I realise they are young so perhaps a zero is the tasteful option but surely Spyro ought to be a zero as well!
Comment by TheShirts — Jun 10, 2008 @ 6:02 am
You guys have completely lost the plot, and reached an all time low. How the hell do you give something like this sex appeal?
I don’t believe it.
Oh and you have been completely owned…
http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2008/06/sony-pr-blog-three-speech-jumped-shark.html
Comment by Dave the drummer — Jun 10, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
R.I.P threeSpeech, good luck in your next Sony funded web enterprise.
Comment by Steve the guitarist — Jun 10, 2008 @ 3:55 pm
If he breathes fire there’s not way I’m letting him give me head…threespeechLOL
Comment by Raf — Jun 10, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
You’ve got to be kidding me. Just abandon the ship, it’s going under.
Comment by Koston — Jun 11, 2008 @ 9:45 am
When the sh!t goes down it is every rat for himself.
KeriAllen.com seems to have already made a break for it…
—
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/Connections/jazzym.asp, line 5
—
But…
ELSEWHERE ON “THE NETWORK” #00027
This thing where Gary Cutlack (”Commander Zorg”) gets some non-humanoid love action:
“…All I really want to do is live on an isolated farm and grow vegetables. I will have a really big dog as my friend.”
Sidekick Jon M (”Captain Jax”) is barking mad.
[ techdigest.tv/2007/06/meet_the_blogge_1.html ]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jun 11, 2008 @ 11:39 am
What are you guys complaining about? Not everyone has a thing for dragons.
Comment by Sypro afn — Jun 13, 2008 @ 10:14 am
Dragon-love may even be illegal, but nobody will be calling The Police, as Stewart Copeland already had a thing with Spyro for the first three releases.
I cannot mock Insomniac Games too much… I want them to release the next “Resistance 2″ trailer this evening
PS. Not everybody can spell “Keri Allan” either!
Ooops!
[ http://www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk/products.php?productId=738 ]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jun 13, 2008 @ 10:42 am
SWEET JESUS AND ALL THAT IS HOLY I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME YET HOPING AGAINST DESPERATE HOPE FEVERISHLY I WAITED AND HAVE AT LAST BEEN VINDICATED IN MY LONG LABORIOUS STRUGGLE TO SEE THE MIGHTIEST HERO OF ALL TIMES EVER GLORIFIED IN HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE OF AWESOME. THUS HAVING SEEN SPIRO AFFORDED HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE AMONG THE PANTHEON OF GODS I MAY AT LAST DIE IN PEACE. OH, SWEET MERCY, LONG HAVE I AWAITED THE KISS OF ETERNAL SLUMBER. BE GENTLE, DEATH, AND COME TO ME SWIFTLY. TELL SPIRO I LOVED HIM. ALAS, NOW I DIE.
Comment by Slagathor — Jun 14, 2008 @ 7:06 am
I agree with Alexsutton, The PS1 games ruled, and I adore Ripto’s Rage! I also adore dragon’s too Jhon Sketch, my bedroom is covered in posters, books, lego and toys.
Alot of those posts don’t make sense; are you saying that Spyro is eventually going to be a failure as a franchise Koston? You are SO wrong! Spyro has sold countless units worldwide, and will continue to do so, for ever hopefully.
I agry that Spyro looks awesome, and I too have long awaited his growth and graphics upgrade, but you need to chill Slagathor.
One last thing: WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT SEX APPEAL COMMENT????!!!! HE”S A DRAGON FOR SH!TS SAKE< HE DOESN”T HAVE TO BE SEXY!
(Sorry for yelling.)
Comment by Spyro LUVA — Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:01 pm
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