Ask The Team: Andy Morriss
Nickname
The Morriss
Job title
Artist
Years working in the game industry
15 years
Years working at Team17
8 years
Main role on Worms Mayhem
Animator
Are there some other unreleased/unfinished games or some raw concepts (old & new; like the worms
battle rally)?
Yes, there are several. There are many reasons why a project might not make it to completion. There are
generally a few projects in development and more under discussion too. Sometimes an idea for a game may have
to sit around for years before the opportunity arises to exploit it. Sometimes what looked like a good idea
on paper just doesn't work in reality.
Which members in the Mayhem team were also in the original Worms team?
Almost everybody who worked on W3D went on to work on W4:M.
Do you at Team17 think it is easier to play Worms 4 than Worms3D?
Absolutely. Codemasters have given a lot of attention to the game's learning curve and they've made some
good suggestions.
Are you contented with your work?
I'm delighted with my work, both on W4:M and all the other projects I'm involved with here. The current wide
range of platforms means that each project's animation system needs a unique solution. This has been one of
the job's more interesting aspects. I'm particularly enjoying working with the new hand held consoles. I've
been applying some very modern, high-tech solutions to their old school challenges.
Which worms weapon is your favorite?
From an animation point of view I'd have to say the Sentry Gun.
Will you play the game after it is released?
Definitely. I'm looking forward to playing the finished game. I'm not going to be much of a threat on-line
though. I tend to panic and blow myself up a lot.
Do you like the improvements of the jetpack/ninja rope?
Oh yes.
Are the worms the same as in W3D (ie, do they still have 700 polygons and 38 bones?)
No. Now they have around 2500 polygons, not including the accessories! The animation system is far more
powerful in this game too. Of course that's all under the hood as far as the player is concerned. The end
result is a better looking character that seems more aware of the world around it.
What's your favourite Non-Team17 game, and on which platform?
I'm currently devoting too much of my spare time to World of Warcraft.
What music did you listen to when you animated everything?
Whatever music Dave chose to play on his PC. Mostly 80's atrocities.
One of my favorite thing of the 2d worms was the randomness,where if you missed a worm with, say
a grenade it could bounce off a piece of scenery and kill a totally other worm,but in w3d if you missed the
worm your were aiming for,you always just missed because the worms were so spread out. Has this "randomness"
returned to W4M?
There is much more potential for chain reactions on W4:M's bigger landscapes. Particular attention has been
paid to the density of land mine distribution and the way land mines work. Also, the Sentry Gun guarantees
increased carnage.
Did you ever sit down and consider making a worms game from turn-based to real-time
combat?
Of course.
