LostCrichton's Corner

EPIC MARIO KICKSTARTER PROJECT INTERVIEW

Earlier this week we briefly told the story of LEGO artist Zachary Pollock and his Kickstarter project to complete the world’s first 1 brick to 1 pixel ratio Epic Mario LEGO mural.  Since we’re both local to Portland we tracked the LEGO artisan down for an interview to get more details on this ambitious and creative project.

Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you? Where are you from?
I was born in Oregon and moved around a bit before landing back in Portland. I studied Architecture at U of O before eventually completing a BFA in Visual Studies. Particularly I studied animation and film. I combined my architecture background to create digital backdrops for other student’s animations.

After 10 years of working for corporations I decided that it was time to further my education, broaden my skill-set, and get back to the creative aspect of work that I had gotten away from.

What’s your day job?
I am a full time student working on my Master’s degree in Applied Craft & Design. My program is a joint venture between Oregon College of Arts & Crafts and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. This summer I will be traveling abroad for a while before coming back to work for a small design firm here in Portland. I still have one year left in my program before I graduate.

For the benefit of people who may not yet know about the Kickstarter project: What is it? What’s your goal? Why do you choose this project?
Kickstarter is an organization that connects people with ideas, to people who like those ideas and want to see them realized. It is a fantastic way for creatives and entrepreneurs to get their ideas into production without having a lot of capital to begin with. Patrons make small contributions towards funding a project.

In this way a group of people can all help make the project happen. My goal is pretty substantial but so are my aims. I am trying to raise $26,400 for my project. It seems like a lot but if you break it down, that’s only 2,640 people contributing $10 each, which seems much more reasonable.

I chose to do my Mario project for several reasons. It represents the marriage of two of my biggest passions of my life, namely LEGO and video games. No one has done an 8-bit themed LEGO project of this scale before, to the best of my knowledge. By creating a project that is as iconic as this, gives me the opportunity to get the word out about the foundation that I want to start, which is the real goal.

What got you interested in LEGO? What reignited your passion for LEGO building in 2005?
I think that I got my first LEGO set when I was three or four. After that I was hooked and began building like crazy until I was about 16. Right about then life began to get in the way. School, cars, girls, etc. In 2000 LEGO released a collector’s edition X-Wing and that is what first made me remember how much I had enjoyed LEGO as a kid.

Over the next five years, I would get a small set here or there. In 2005 I went to my first LEGO convention and it blew my mind. Seeing the work that had been created made me realize for the first time in ages that there was more to building than instruction manuals. I went home, broke out my bricks, and started creating sets again that had wished I had as a kid. Since then, the projects have gotten bigger and bigger.

What is the purpose of the Foundation you want to create and can you elaborate on why you’re starting one?
The goal with the foundation is to create an environment where I can partner with the pediatric wards of hospitals and businesses to work together creating projects with the kids. The way that it will work is that I negotiate a partnership between the two entities.

The businesses will provide financing and the hospitals will provide access. I will go in to the hospitals and work directly with the kids to get them excited about the project and work with them developing a project that they would like to build. Then I will flush out the structure and design of the piece back in the studio.

Next comes the critical element. I will bring participants from the businesses into the hospital to actually build the project side by side with the kids and to hand out LEGO sets for all the kids to keep. I think it will create a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved. The kids get to take part in project that will become a permanent part of hospital, and the businesses get a chance to give back to the community.

What inspiration led to the Epic Mario Project? Why Mario and not Zelda or Metroid or a modern game like Halo?
The idea for doing a Mario themed LEGO creation started bubbling in my mind the day I went to the LEGO convention in 2005. I began scheming for what I would build for the convention the following year. The plan, which has yet to be realized, was to create a life size television with a NES attached to it created entirely out of LEGO bricks.

The screen of the television was going to be a mosaic of Mario that could be swapped out for mosaics of any number of other Nintendo games. I quickly realized that given the size of a LEGO brick it would be difficult to get a proportional representation of the games on a model of a 13″ television. It wasn’t until a last summer that my friends Allison and Leland steered me towards the full size model.

I had been working on a series of cross stitched hand towels featuring Mario where one stitch equaled one pixel. While telling my friends about the hand towels we began playing with the idea of doing what would be the equivalent of television screen worth of the level in LEGO. From there it was an easy leap to creating the entire first level.

I would love to do the entire map for The Legend of Zelda someday but displaying it would create more of a challenge than Epic Mario will. The reason that I am sticking with 8-bit games instead of modern ones has to do with color palette and design.

If I created a LEGO version of Master Chief at one brick per pixel he would be something like 100’ tall. I want to move from doing a project like Mario to creating my own 8-bit themed projects using the classic NES style.

Worst case scenario: Let’s say the Kickstarter doesn’t get funded in time, would you still pursue this project?
Absolutely. I will keep pursuing the foundation as well. If I don’t make my funding goal in time, then I will find another way. The LEGO community has shown a tremendous outpouring of support and want to be a part of the project. They have given me a couple of ideas about how to proceed without the money. It will take longer but eventually the world will see Epic Mario realized.

Part of your description on Kickstarter mentions video games as works of art, how would you describe games as art to the younger generation who didn’t grow up with the Pixel to Polygon Revolution?
There is an amazing amount of creativity that goes into making a game. From story telling to character design, programming to music and sound effects, it takes a team of people to turn an idea into a reality. The act of creation is an incredibly powerful thing. 8-bit is at the heart of my generation.

Through my experiences with it I can now appreciate the intricate complexities of today’s games. Kids today know who Mario is. His is alive and well on every existing Nintendo console. He shows up on T-shirts, bed sheets, containers of breath mints, and hundreds of other products in between. This project aims to show them the roots and history of their hero Mario, so they can more fully enjoy his present.

Do you feel that modern games are closer to “true” art than games from the 8bit generation? Why/Why not?
Defining “true” art is tricky proposition and one that many art theorists who have studied the subject still can’t agree on. For me personally there is a fine line. While I am drawn to the ever more photo-realistic games of today like Heavy Rain and consider them art, maybe even applied art, what I am trying to create with Epic Mario, particularly the rewards, is an 8-bit themed piece that transcends boundaries and crosses the realm into Fine Art.

I will happily hang a framed mosaic of an 8-bit legend like Mario or Link on my wall much more readily than I would a print or poster from modern game. That being said, both have their merits and it is up to the viewer to decide where “true” art exists.

You love video games and you’ve designed LEGO sets since you were very young (as early as 14 years old). What LEGO video game cross over would you most like to see as a designed set or licensed LEGO video game (like LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Batman)?
I actually created my first LEGO set and submitted it to LEGO when I was six. When I was younger I often build sets from LEGO bricks for my G.I. Joes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to play in. A Ninja Turtle cross promotion would be fantastic.

I am really excited to see The Lord of the Rings sets come out this summer, as well as the Minecraft sets. I think that there will certainly be video game tie-ins with those products. I would be remiss if I didn’t also voice my opinion that I would like to see Nintendo partner with LEGO.

Being a big fan of Mario, which version do you prefer: original (8-bit), Paper, or next gen (3D)?
I remember the first time I played Mario on every Nintendo console I have ever owned. Super Mario Bros. is definitely an all time classic. Mario 2 and 3 retain a permanent spot in my collection, but it is Super Mario 64 that is probably my all time favorite from a playability standpoint. The transition to a 3D environment for Mario was fantastic.

If you could be any video game character who would it be and why?
Wow. Do I really have to choose just one? I would probably start with Zack from Final Fantasy Crisis Core for the PSP. I feel like he is the only FF lead character that isn’t a completely tortured soul. He is honest, genuine, and truly wants to help people.

If there’s one thing you want people to know about you, what would that be?
I am actually a fairly quiet person and don’t broadcast much info about myself out there. I guess I would want them to know that I believe there is a tremendous power in the act of creating and that is why I want to start my foundation. There are a lot of kids out there going through rough times and if through my foundation I can create hope and joy for even a few of them, then I will have done something worthwhile with my life.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Want more information as well as updates on Zachary Pollock’s work?

Kickstarter || Blog

(via otlgaming)