Interview by Ural Garrett ( did you end up linking with Murs for Hip Hop Trivia? Speaking with us, Mendheim talks Murs, everything that went right and wrong with Def Jam Icon, and Mutant Football League. The studio went on to release Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon before shutting down. Heading back to EA, Mendheim worked as a producer for the publisher’s studio in Chicago (formerly NuFX) headed by the eccentric Kudo Tsunoda. Though heavily hyped in many video game publications, 3DO would scrap The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse after filing for bankruptcy and going out of business. Outside of getting famed special effects supervisor Stan Wilson ( Aliens and Jurassic Park) as a producer, Lance Hanrikson ( Aliens), Traci Lords ( Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and Tim Lords ( The Rocky Horror Picture Show) were also slated to provide voiceover work. Then slated for release on PS2, Gamecube, Xbox and PC, the game was wildly ambitious. Hawkins would later ask Mendheim to develop a game based around his idea for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Personally called by Hawkins to join their team, Mendheim would help develop Nintendo 64 exclusive Battle Tanx as well as early games in the Army Men franchise. But after the company’s only console became one of the biggest hardware flops in gaming history, 3DO made the wise decision to maintain themselves through software. Around that time, Hawkins left EA to form 3DO. The franchise was so successful for EA that it spawned an animated television series, as well as a spin-off/sequel entitled Mutant League Hockey. “They liked it, took a chance on it, and Mutant League Football ended up being a big hit for the company,” said Mendheim. Later, a producer at Electronic Arts and friend of Mendheim linked him with then-president Trip Hawkins to pitch Mutant League Football. Eventually, he was asked to assist in character design for Fester ’s Quest before moving up to level design. According to Mendheim, his transformation from artist to creative designer was complete once the Addam s Family licensed game (a project he was heavily involved with) sold over a million units.
Mendheim started off illustrating beer ads, college posters and “a whole bunch of other stuff,” but a chance to design video game cover art would slowly pull him into the industry. Mendheim says he designed around 15 different video game covers one being a home port of Atari’s futuristic football game, Cyberball. Inspired by comic book legend Jack Kirby and fine art icons like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Salvador Dali, Mendheim started drawing illustrations after graduating from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Video games were a cool extension to that.” "So it’s always been a part of what I loved to do. “As soon as I could hold a crayon, I was into drawing, creating characters and stories,” the Chicago native added. And to this day, the founder/owner of Digital Dreams Entertainment and developer for Hip Hop Trivia: Starring Murs says that his love for art is what led to his storied career. In his early years, Mendheim created the iconic Mutant League franchise for Electronic Arts.
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