While publisher Sega has never approved this build's release, series creators Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger have assured ZakhooiTM that they will look the other way when it comes to this. Released on October 15th, 1991, it centers on ToeJam and Earl, two alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth and must collect pieces of their wrecked spacecraft to escape As they attempt to escape the planet, players assume the role of either character and collect. ToeJam & Earl is an action game developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis console.ToeJam and Earl have seen a lot of visual changes throughout their 28-year existence and four main series titles! The characters’ personalities have stayed the same (more or less!), but each iteration saw a new artist define their unique take on the duo’s super fresh looks. It’s not like I suddenly woke up and decided to write about this franchise, either, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove will release this Friday, March 1st and while we can’t talk. In proverbial man I’m getting old fashion, I’ve just realized that we’re just two-and-a-half years shy of the 30th Anniversary of ToeJam & Earl.Only a few years before, Purcell had created and designed another famous duo from the era, “Sam and Max,” so it was only fitting for him to give ToeJam & Earl their first professional digs. It was a radical top-down, cooperative, and randomly generated adventure game! The series co-creator, Greg Johnson, actually came up with the characters in a dream and soon after he sketched out the very first pictures of the iconic buddies.When it came time to create proper character designs, Greg enlisted the talents of Steve Purcell. (19892003) was an American video game company founded by Electronic Arts developers Mark Voorsanger and Greg Johnson.Their best-known titles were Orlys Draw-A-Story (1996, Broderbund), and three games in the ToeJam & Earl series (19912003, Sega).So waaaaay back in 1991, the very first ToeJam and Earl game was release on the Sega Genesis.
Greg Johnson Mark Voorsanger Series Creators GregAfter the less-than-optimal performance of the system, Sega decided the project would be better suited for a different platform.This platform shift, according to Sega, required that this new ToeJam & Earl be “aged up” to match a more mature young adult audience.I-Wei Huang, the lead animator and concept artist on ToeJam & Earl 3, was given the challenge of presenting ToeJam & Earl as grittier, more mature versions of the characters. ToeJam & Earl 3: Mission to EarthSkipping over the Sega CD, 32x, and Saturn, in 1999 Greg and Mark started development on a new ToeJam & Earl title for the Sega Dreamcast. Since Panic on Funkotron was not in a top-down perspective like the first title, Kirk was able to bring much more detail to the character sprites than was possible the first time. They approached Greg Johnson and his development partner, Mark Voorsanger, and requested they make another ToeJam and Earl game — but this time as a side-scroller! Greg and Mark got right to work and in 1993 they released ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funokotron.For this go-around, it was Kirk Henderson’s turn to the artistic plate, bringing with him a more animated cartoon feel to the funked out series. Greg Johnson Mark Voorsanger Full Development StartedThe most important thing was that TJ and Big E felt like themselves, but updated at the same time. Not only did he want to make original fans feel at home, he wanted new players to feel like they’d been sent back in time! He set out to make Back in the Groove!’s visuals seem like Nicktoons, comics, and video game advertising all rolled up into one playable package!The ToeJam and Earl characters went through a number of early iterations. A very different but interesting look for these Funkotronians! ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove!In early 2014, with the success developers had been having funding their games through Kickstarter, Greg Johnson and Jeff Kreis started on a prototype in the hopes of crowdfunding a new ToeJam & Earl!They recruited indie comic artist Nathan Shorts (that’s me!) to lead both the visual direction of the new titles, as well as to organize the crowdfunding charge! In spring 2015, the group succeeded in raising their initial funding goal and full development started on ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! — the first ToeJam & Earl title in 13 years.With Greg wanting Back in the Groove! to be the quintessential version of the ToeJam & Earl line up, I decided on the challenging task of capturing the “ideal memory” of the ToeJam & Earl era (the early 90s) in visual form.
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