TITLE
“He’s on fire!”: How a club bouncer starred in the making of billion-dollar arcade hit NBA Jam
AUTHOR
Reyan Ali
PUBLICATION
VG247
YEAR
2019
ARTICLE TYPE
Book Excerpt
FROM THE ARTICLE
The strangest thing happened to Willie Morris, Jr. Back in early 1992, when he was tearing up the courts of Chicago by day and bouncing a club by night, Morris was cooling off after a pickup game when a man introduced himself. He was making a video game about basketball, and he liked the way Morris played. He wanted to put him in the game. Morris thought he was joking.But a few days later, on the invitation of Mark Turmell, Morris stood inside a warehouse rented out by Midway. He had to wear a generic blue and white uniform for his new gig. His playing surface would have nothing in common with the hardwood at the University of Illinois at Chicago where Turmell found him, or the outdoor courts where his stylish moves made him a local streetball hero.
Instead, he walked onto a looming blue backdrop. On set, his spectators would consist of hot lights and an elaborate network of cameras and computers. Morris would spend that afternoon and many more to come performing basketball drills — every possible move the NBA Jam crew could capture. His coaches consisted of Midway staffers like Turmell and video artist John Carlton.
COMPANIES MENTIONED
Midway
GAMES MENTIONED
NBA Jam (1993)
PEOPLE MENTIONED
John Carlton
Tony Goskie
Stephen Howard
Willie Morris Jr.
Mark Turmell
EXCERPTED FROM
Boss Fight Books – NBA Jam
SEE ALSO
The Night They Turned On The First NBA Jam Machine – Kotaku (2017)
DJ Jazzy Jeff and George Clinton recall becoming NBA Jam hidden characters – Polygon (2019)