The Worm Will Turn
The original Earthworm Jim team is getting back together for a next-gen revival.
April 17, 2006 - Atari is selling its studios. Dave Perry has quit Shiny Entertainment. Earthworm Jim is making a comeback. The past few months have provided a curious turn for Atari, the French publisher formerly known as Infogrames, that once landed the Matrix license back in 2000.
Behind the scene of financial crisis and disarray, however, something is brewing. The original Earthworm Jim team, the one that created the first blockbuster title the 16-bit systems, has regrouped. It's working to unearth Jim for the next generation.
About a year ago, the original team started meeting, IGN learned from a source close to the group who asked to remain anonymous. Their goal was to renew the chemistry they enjoyed while creating Earthworm Jim and to re-create the game with all of the whimsical humor and creativity that went into the original.
The original developers consisted of Dave Perry, Mike Deitz, Ed Schofield, Steve Crow, Nick Bruty, and Tommy Tallarico. Other critical figures included Doug TenNapel (who created the original concept of Earthworm Jim), Andy Astor, Nick Jones, Michael Koelsch, and Tom Tanaka joined the group. Several of the principle figures worked together on the 1991 game Global Gladiators, the 7-Up sponsored Cool Spot, and Disney's Aladdin, before hitting one out of the ballpark with Earthworm Jim.
Currently, a majority of these players run their own company or studio. Dave Perry, for instance, ran Shiny Entertainment before recently quitting. Tommy Tallarico runs his own videogame music company. Nick Bruty is the co-founder of Planet Moon (Armed and Dangerous, Giants: Citizen Kabuto). But back before the Earthworm Jim took on a life of its own, the team made a pact. They promised that no matter what happened in the future, no matter what they were working on, they would get back together to make another Earthworm Jim game.
IGN learned today the original team is working together again for that sole purpose.
Currently, Atari owns the rights to the Earthworm Jim license. The publisher is in the works with an Earthworm Jim PSP game, but no console or PC version is in the works, and Perry is working on acquiring the rights from Atari and getting funding. If and when Perry does acquire the rights, the original team is willing to publish it. Their goal is to create an entirely new title for the next gen systems.
We'll have more soon.
OnTheAirWakandan Ambassador
SwordOfMorningSuper Moderator
DKDetectiveElementary, Dear Robin (he/him)
