The game was revealed in 2008 at the Nintendo Media Summit, were a fifth-teen second was shown trailer. It was later announced that it was being developed by Next Level Games, which had partnered with Nintendo on games such as Super Mario Strikers. Nintendo wished to make a new iteration similar to the original Punch-Out for the NES, so they asked the studio to design the gameplay to be exactly like it and the characters to look like the original ones. This led to them desinging the game with classic NES style controller using the wii remote sideways. The actual pre-production started when the Wii was released and at the time Nintendo was discussing the idea with the studio, soon after that, the studio created a prototype.

In an interview the game's producer, Kensuke Tanabe, described the development as a collaborative effort between the people of Next Level Games and the people from Nintendo of Japan. As an example of this Tanabe said that the roster of enemies and opponents that are in the game were chosen by people of both studios, Next Level wanting to include more NES characters. When asked about the challenges of bringing an old franchise to the current generation the game's gameplay lead, Bryce Holliday, said that the most difficult thing to figure out was how they were going to design the gameplay and were to locate the camera. The game has a cel shaded graphical style, which was a decision of Next Level. The both of the developers wanted to design the graphics in a way that they would be immediately identifiable to any person who catches a glimpse of it. They also wanted to invoke the style of the previous iterations while at the same time creating some new visuals. Holliday called the style "the logical choice".

The inclusion of Donkey Kong was a suggestion from an employee of Nintendo of America and although Tanabe also wished to include Princess Peach but that idea was abandon because the involvement of violence towards women. The reason that their weren't many Nintendo characters in the game and mentioned that they wanted to solidify the game's universe. The Title Defense mode of the game was designed to make the game a more stand alone game and not just a nostalgia title and also to make the game have a longer length. The designers liked this since it added more personality to the characters. The studio adjusted the difficulty level so that it would be easy to pick up and play but hard to master and they also wished that the player felt good when he was able to defeat the enemy. The game's 2 player mechanic was difficult task to create, according to Tanabe, because the series didn't have a template to base it on.

Their were various additions to the game that were cut from the final product. One of these was the option of online multiplayer which was taken out because they decided to focus on other parts of the game. Another feature that was removed was the ability to move around the ring in a 3D space (this was scraped so that the game would have the same look as the older games in the series).Other features include: the create ability to create your own character, adding RPG elements and mini-games.


Role in Family Guy edit

Character edit

 
Series creator Seth MacFarlane based Stewie's voice on English actor Rex Harrison.

Creation edit

When he was still in college, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane created a cartoon short called The Life of Larry.[1] The short centered around a middle-aged man named Larry and his anthropomorphic dog Steve.[2] He made a sequel called Larry & Steve, which Cartoon Network broadcast in 1997.[3] In 1999, MacFarlane was working for Hanna-Barbara Studios, writing for shows such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, and Cow and Chicken.[4] The short caught the eye of 20th Century Fox representatives, who asked him to create a TV series revolving around the characters.[2] MacFarlane received a US$50,000 budget to develop a pilot for the show, which was about one twentieth of what most pilots cost.[4] MacFarlane claims to have drawn inspiration from several sitcoms, namely The Simpsons and All in the Family.[5] Several premises were also carried over from several 1980s Saturday morning cartoons he watched as a child, namely The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, and Rubik, the Amazing Cube.[6]

In three months, MacFarlane created the Griffin family and developed a pilot for the show he called Family Guy.[7] Brian's character was largely based on Steve from the Larry and Steve cartoon, with Larry serving as the primary basis of the Peter character.[8] The character's personality was also partially inspired by a friend of his father who rudely fell asleep while watching the 1993 film Philadelphia.[9] The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, giving MacFarlane a 2 million dollar per-season contract.[7]

Voice edit

"Part of it was the fact that there was no money, initially. Part of it is that it's just the way I like to work. I like the freedom of being able to just get in there and do it myself. To look at a storyboard and be involved with what the visual acting looks like, as well as the voice acting, is nice. It frees me up to do jokes that are maybe unconventional that need to be done an exact, specific way, that can only be done by involvement with both parts of the process."

Seth MacFarlane, on voicing the characters, Interview with The Onion.[10]

The voice of Stewie is provided by the shows creator MacFarlane who provides the voice for Brian, Peter and Quagmire, MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, most prominently those of news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt, Dr. Hartman.[11] MacFarlane has been part of the main voice cast from the beginning of the series including the pilot, as well he has been voicing Peter from the start.[12]

MacFarlane chose to voice Stewie and the rest of characters voices himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.[6] MacFarlane´s speaking voice is not very close to Stewie´s as his normal voice is used to voice Brian.[6] MacFarlane noted in an interview that a reason that he voices Stewie and the rest of the characters he voices is because they had a small budget. But that he prefers to have the freedom of to do it himself.[10] MacFarlane based Stewie's voice on

Reception edit

MacFarlane has been nominated for two awards for voicing Stewie; in 2006, he won a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.[13] That same year he received an Annie Award in the Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production category, for his voice work in the episode "Brian the Bachelor".[14] In addition, Wizard magazine rated Stewie the 95th greatest villain of all time.[15] Stewie was also named the best Family Guy character on a list of "Top 25 Family Guy Characters" compiled by IGN.[16] In 2010, Entertainment Weekly placed him the 45th on their list of the "Top 100 Characters of the Past Twenty Years".[17]

Hal Boedeker, a critic for The Orlando Sentinel called Stewie "a brilliant creation".[18]

Cultural influence edit

Appearances in other media edit

Brian has had several television appearances outside Family Guy. In the Family Guy parodys of the Star Wars original trilogy titled Blue Harvest, Something, Something, Something, Dark Side and It's A Trap which are parody's of IV: A New Hope, V: The Empire Strikes Back and VI: Return of the Jedi respectively.[19][20] Stewie appears as Darth Vader in these films.[21] Stewie, and most of the central characters on Family Guy, also appeared in the pilot episode of the show's spin-off The Cleveland Show.[22]

Merchandise edit

Stewie is also featured on the Family Guy: Live in Vegas CD,[23] and plays a significant part in Family Guy Video Game!, the first Family Guy video game, which was released by 2K Games in 2006.[24] MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Stewie's voice and other Family Guy characters for a 2007 pinball machine of the show by Stern Pinball.[25] In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz, each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made.[26] Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released.[27]

As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005.[28] This include Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One (ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One",[29] and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of seventeen essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers.[30] which include Stewie as a character.

References edit

  1. ^ "Family Guy Seth MacFarlane to speak at Class Day". Harvard Gazette. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  2. ^ a b Bartlett, James (2007-03-12). "Seth MacFarlane – he's the "Family Guy"". The Great Reporter. Presswire Limited. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  3. ^ Graham, Jefferson (1999-01-29). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. 7E.
  4. ^ a b MacFarlane, Seth (2006). "Inside Media at MTR (2006): Family Guy 2". Yahoo! Video. The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  5. ^ "Interview with Seth MacFarlane". IGN. Retrieved December 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Cruz, Gilbert (2008-09-26). "Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane". Time. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  7. ^ a b Dean, Josh (2008-10-13). "Seth MacFarlane's $2 Billion Family Guy Empire". Fast Company. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  8. ^ Strike, Joe (2007-02-13). "Cartoon Network Pilots Screened by ASIFA East at NYC's School of Visual Arts". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  9. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (2004-07-07). "The Young Guy of 'Family Guy'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  10. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (2006-01-26). "Seth MacFarlane". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  11. ^ Graham, Jefferson (January 29, 1999). "Cartoonist MacFarlane funny guy of Fox's 'Family' Subversive voice of series is his". USA Today. p. E7. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ "Family Guy Cast and Details". TV Guide. Retrieved August 24, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ "2K Announces Voice Talent for Family Guy Video Game; Will the Real Baby Stewie Please Stand up!; Family Guy Show Creator Seth MacFarlane and the Main Cast Sign on with 2K to do Voice Over Roles for the Upcoming Family Guy Video Game". Business Wire. August 24, 2006.
  14. ^ "Annie Award Winners". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2009. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 1, 2007 suggested (help)
  15. ^ Staff (July 2006). "The 100 Greatest Villains of All Time". Wizard Magazine. No. 177. p. 86.
  16. ^ Staff (May 27, 2009). "IGN's Top 25 Family Guy Characters". IGN. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  17. ^ Vary, Adam B (2010-06-01). "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's our full list!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  18. ^ Boedeker, Hal (May 1, 2005). "FOX Brings Back Family Guy". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 3.
  19. ^ "Family Guy Presents :Blue Harvest". Family guyblueharvest.com. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  20. ^ Firecloud, Johnny. "Family Guy: Something Something Something Dark Side". Crave Online. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
  21. ^ Hughes, Jason (2010-05-24). "Sundays With Seth: Cleveland Strikes Back". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  22. ^ Conroy, Tom (2009-10-08). "Cleveland Show, acquired lack of taste". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  23. ^ Owen, Rob (2005-05-01). "'Family Guy' goes beyond TV with CD, movie". Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  24. ^ "'Family Guy' makes for simple-but-funny gaming". The Gazette. 2006-11-24.
  25. ^ Finley, Adam (2007-02-03). "Family Guy pinball is freakin' sweet". TV Squad. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  26. ^ Clodfelter, Tim (2004-11-11). "Here's the Offbeat Stuff that true geeks are made of". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 33.
  27. ^ Szadkowski, Joseph (2006-06-03). "Undead monster doomed to wander the high seas". The Washington Times.
  28. ^ "Search results: Family Guy". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  29. ^ "Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  30. ^ "Philosophy Professor Jeremy Wisnewski Publishes Book on Family Guy". Hartwick College. 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2009-08-23.


External links edit