The Art of Peggle
Once we finalize the game mechanic and make the big conceptual changes, it’s finally time to focus on the game’s theme — which includes the art, music and effects. While the programmer focuses on plugging in a musical soundtrack and adding visual and audio effects, the artists get to work on giving the game its visual style.
Meet the Masters
PopCap uses a team of artists for each game. Working on Peggle were Walter Wilson and Marcia Broderick, who, after several visions and revisions, eventually conceived a brilliant imaginary world that everyone would love.
One big task in creating a theme for Peggle was to justify the number of power-ups Sukhbir and Brian had come up with. Meaning, if Walter and the others could think up 10 great characters, the game could feature 10 power-ups. If not, game play may need to change course.
Believe it or not, Peggle started out on a Nordic theme — complete with Vikings, Scandinavian mythology and ancient Scandinavian art (hold the lutefisk!).
While all PopCap artists have their own way of working, Walter often sketches his ideas on paper first, then takes the sketches to the computer and creates full-color versions. If the team agrees on where he’s going with the art, he hands it off to the programmer, who adds it to the game.
While people really liked the Nordic theme, it didn’t quite fit. A game as original as Peggle needed something unique, something completely invented.
