Emmy Award winner Michael Ryan said he loved the project’s community. He worked on an animated show, ‘Ghost of Ruin.’ The show incorporated Web3 technology. Ryan says the software will greatly influence the entertainment industry. Gala Films produced the groundbreaking project.
Through innovative tools, Gala Films brought animation projects to life. Through Blockchain technology, consumers participated in storylines. Viewers voted on casting and screenplay choices. They interacted with content from their favorite filmmakers. Creatives can distribute episodes directly to fans.
‘Ghosts of Ruin’ discussed PTSD and virtual reality. The protagonist experienced anxiety from the fictional video game ‘Ruin.’ The series asked powerful questions and featured beautiful artwork. To learn about the revolutionary content, read the interview transcript below.
The Knockturnal: You have had an exciting career. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got started?
Michael Ryan: I was insanely lucky to arrive at Hanna-Barbera in something of a menial job just when it was becoming, or rather, being connected with/folded into the newly launched Cartoon Network. All I ever wanted to be was a writer since I was eight years old. And, when I found out I could write for animation, it was the greatest moment in my life.
I cut my teeth on the Real Adventures of Jonny Quest … sold a few shorts to the What a Cartoon! Program… and then wrote an audition script for Johnny Bravo. It was called “Bravo Dooby Doo” and got me the job, and pretty much from that moment on, it’s been a nonstop crazy ride working in the wonderful world of animation (on every kind of show you can imagine).
The Knockturnal: Please describe your vision behind Ghost of Ruin and why it is an exciting project for you.
Michael Ryan: Ghosts of Ruin is a thrill-ride for me on multiple levels. For over a decade it’s been a dream of mine to combine Western storytelling with Anime. Obviously, I haven’t been alone in this. The success of what I know as American Anime is very exciting. It’s allowing us to embrace the amazing power and beauty of Anime while delving into character driven narratives that speak to an audience influenced by the great storytelling not only in animation (of several genres), but live-action features and gaming.
I want Ghosts of Ruin to deliver exciting levels of action, but I also want it to deliver heart – to let our audience really care about our characters – I want there to be elements of humor that will amuse and create that lovely rollercoaster of peaks and valleys to keep our audience entertained. We’re making this for them (well, we’re making it for ourselves – but we are them – so it should all balance out).
The Knockturnal:Does it reflect your perspective on video games and technology and how we interact with it?
Michael Ryan: God yes. There are so many facets and layers to video games and the ever-evolving technology behind them. I’ve had healthy (maybe unhealthy) obsessions with video games since I was very young (starting with Pac-Man eating every quarter I could scrounge in my infantile life). From standing side-by-side with my son at the Japanese arcade in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) playing Time Crisis 5 like our lives depended on it… to playing GoldenEye 007 like our lives depended on it… to a decade’s worth of World of Warcraft… until, deep into League of Legends, the ever advancing skillsets of other players left me humbled in the deep, deep dust of humiliation.
Video games are a huge part of our lives (mine and at least, everyone I know). The evolving storytelling of the gaming world rivals that of feature-length movies and even great novels (I’ll probably take some heat for saying that last one – haha). But I feel it’s true. We stand upon the precipice of advances in gaming, in Virtual Reality, in the coming of Neural Reality that blurs beautifully into our world of loving stories. Gaming is going to take us to worlds beyond our wildest dreams, and we’re going to be able to almost “live” there. It’s very thrilling.
That said, the flip side of that is how much I love science fiction and stories of impending doom based on our rapid (some might say “reckless”) use of technology (from Skynet to the Matrix and a hundred more). Quoting Dr. Malcolm: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
So yes… do we believe that advances in gaming technology could have real impacts on our mental safety? Our mental health? Our physical safety? In the fantasy of storytelling – definitely!! And we want to explore that in our storytelling.
On a personal level, I am more optimistic – but it’s not much fun to tell stories about worlds where everything works out great and it’s all peaches and roses. We want to chase our heroes up a tree and throw ballistic missiles at them.
The Knockturnal:After the show’s release, where can audiences find the series?
Michael Ryan: Our initial release will be on Gala Films, and we are very excited by that – it’s a bit groundbreaking, and I, for one, am ecstatic that that’s our debut. Obviously, that’s only the beginning.
The Knockturnal: How is Web3 technology being used within this project and have you done projects within this space before?
Michael Ryan: This is my first production in Web3 – in fact, it being Web3 is one of the factors that drew me to the project in the first place. I love the Community of this space!! In traditional animation production, we spend years literally isolated (intentionally isolated at many studios) working on animated movies or episodic shows where we have no contact with anyone who might be our audience (it’s all very hush-hush and secretive). But with Web3, we get to actually interact with the Community on levels that are so exciting. We get to share how the sausage is made. We get to share early concepts and art. We get to hear what they’re thinking.
We even get to give the Community a chance to be a part of the show in fun ways that I’ve never been allowed to do in a more traditional space. I love it. It’s thrilling. And I think it points to the shape of things to come. More and more, communities of individuals will be able to partake in the creation of shows they want to see. Web3 is just getting started with its potential to create connections and communities… and finding ways for our human love of storytelling to embrace and be embraced by that.
The Knockturnal: Do you plan on using this platform and Web3 technology for future projects?
Michael Ryan: Hell yes. Piggybacking on my previous answer, I think Web3 is going to play a huge part in the future of all levels of interaction – from gaming to storytelling to communities connecting about things that they love. Obviously, this isn’t news to anyone who’s familiar with Web3 and its true potential.
I truly believe that the Web3 world is going to be intensely integrated in all aspects of social interaction (including new levels of streaming stories, shows, movies, etc. – our viewing habits and how we watch/receive/partake in our entertainment are ever evolving and Web3 is a big, big part of that evolution). So, I definitely want to be a part of creating more stories like we’re doing with Ghosts of Ruin and playing in that ever-expanding sandbox.
The Knockturnal: What are some opportunities and challenges that occurred in producing a show in this space?
Michael Ryan: So many opportunities. There is creative freedom in the space that is insanely refreshing after spending decades in more traditional spaces. There is also a chance to interact with the community on a personal level – to be a part of something that not only has a grassroots feel but something everyone wants to see come to fruition in its best life (in all honesty, one thing I’ve always loved about animation is that it usually isn’t ego driven storytelling – it truly is a place where everyone is always trying to cooperate to make the best show possible – but in the Web3 space, we’re adding in a community of people on top of that – which is very exciting).
The challenges are of course making something in a space that feels like we might be on the forefront – like we might be the first – I’m not sure if that’s factually correct – but it certainly feels to me like we’re the first to do this work in this manner. And creating and crafting an animated show is always insanely challenging no matter what – just the production aspect is beyond challenging – we’re adding layers to that by including members of our community in the production process. Again, I’ve never seen anything like this being done in this manner before now. So, we’re braving new ground here. That’s a challenge. But a fun challenge to be sure!
The Knockturnal: Anything else we can share with readers regarding what they can look forward to with Ghost of Ruin?
Michael Ryan: Haha, I feel like I’ve maybe shared too much already? But I will say this. We are delving deep into the creative process at this moment. We’re still finding new and exciting elements to our emotional and visual storytelling. I can promise you that we’re doing our utmost to create a show that your readers should enjoy. We’ll definitely have more to share in the coming weeks.
Thanks so much for taking the time to ask me these questions.
