A burgeoning video game graphics and design firm called Cygnus Multimedia Productions Inc. finds itself in the same place as the fictitious character for which it's named.
Cygnus was a mythical king of the Ligurians who was changed into a swan and placed among the stars.The 2-year-old company just signed a deal to develop a game based on the motion picture "Casper" being produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment. The game will be for the new high-end Sega 32X game system, said Les Pardew, Cygnus president.
Cygnus wouldn't show off the top-secret set shots, models and other information for the production it has received. "But they are cool," Pardew said.
So are many of the other projects Cygnus is working on. Some of its growing army of bizarre 3-D monsters, aliens and robots will rampage through future video games. And the company stands to make a cool $2 million or $3 million this year.
Cygnus generates business mostly by word of mouth. Creating video games and graphics is kind of like book writing or moviemaking. Designers have to find someone willing to publish their work.
"We're the equivalent of an independent filmmaker," says Hal Rushton, general manager. Obscure locally, the company has quickly made a name for itself in the video game industry.
During a recent Las Vegas trade show, Cygnus' creature corps helped the firm land several big development contracts, including two sports titles slated for release in 1996 on Sony's Playstation and Sega's Saturn "next generation" video game systems.
"It will make both Sega Genesis and Nintendo look like a couple of old Studebakers," says Pardew.
Not that there's anything wrong with Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Cygnus is currently designing video games for both.
"Hardball '95," a baseball game complete with narration by ABC sportscaster Al Michaels, is the company's first full development project for Sega. It's scheduled for release this summer.
"Wayne Gretzky & the NHLPA All-Stars," a Time Warner Interactive Inc. production for Super Nintendo, is due out in late summer or early fall. Pardew said the game should be the first to use computer-generated 3-D models for the animation of a sports game.
Pardew and his Cygnus mates weren't always hobnobbing with stars. He didn't choose the company's name with that in mind. "The reason we picked Cygnus is because it sounded cool," he said.
Pardew started the business in his Orem home recognizing the need for quality artwork in the computer graphics industry. Studios that specialized in graphics for video games didn't exist at the time. The demand for games was increasing, but the pool of qualified computer artists was shallow.
Pardew and a partner assembled a group of talented artists and began to train them in video game art. Cygnus was incorporated November 1993 with 14 artists.
As studios like Cygnus' started to pop up, the company realized it needed to do more than just art for games. It started pursuing contracts to create complete games. Cygnus now has about 50 programmers, musicians, writers and artists, including six who helped a Salt Lake company develop Mortal Kombat II graphics before defecting.
The company thrives because of talent, not expensive equipment or facilities, Pardew says. "Talent is what you have to have to succeed," he says. Cygnus operates quietly from the bottom floor of a building at 405 S. 100 East. Employees work in shifts because the space is limited.
Success hasn't come easily.
"It's been kind of a tough growth. We've had no venture capital. Everything we've gotten, we've had to earn so far," Pardew said.
Cygnus' outlook is bright, he said. Maybe even as bright as the stars that make up the swan constellation in the Milky Way.