Game Theory: The Passion Behind \'Wreck-It Ralph\'

I grew up when video games were a brand-new form of entertainment. I remember seeing Pong for the first time and thinking it was the cheapest animated show I had ever seen. Once I realized that it was an interactive game and that I could control what was happening on the TV screen, I was captivated. A love affair was born.

As a teenager, I spent untold hours at my local arcade - Golf 'n Stuff, in Ventura, Calif., pumping quarters into the machines. I am pretty sure I personally funded the Japanese game company Namco with years of Pac-Man and Dig Dug play.

Dragon's Lair 3-D, an updated version o f the arcade game.

And my favorite game from those earlier years was probably Dragon's Lair. Being someone who loved hand-drawn animation (and would eventually make it a career), I was blown away by the idea that my two favorite things - animation and video games - had been combined into one. My parents loved telling me that I was wasting my days on these games, but I like to think that it was research for a project that would come later in my life.

In 2008, John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, asked if I would be interested in joining Disney as a director. I had spent an amazing 20 years directing on shows including “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” but this was an opportunity to work with someone I had admired since my days as a student at CalArts. John was a pioneer of computer-graphics animation, and I jumped at the chan ce. But what happened next, I could never have imagined.

He suggested that I think about developing a story set in the world of video games. The idea of a video game movie had been floating around Disney Animation for at least 10 years, though no one had been able to crack a story. So here I was being offered the opportunity to combine my loves at the greatest animation studio in the world. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

For four years, I lived and breathed the world of video games. The team spent work hours playing games - from Donkey Kong to Halo to Mario Kart - all of which would heavily influence what eventually became “Wreck-It Ralph.” And while I always believed in the film, I had days when I wondered if it would resonate with anyone outside the walls of Disney Animation.

Walt Disney PIctures A scene from “Wreck-It Ralph.”

Having spent the past eight weeks traveling the world - from Paris to Buenos Aires to Sydney, Australia - I can tell you that the amazing thing is how universal video games are. And while the movie has struck a chord with all ages, it has really hit home with people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, who reflect back on the untold hours they spent in arcades. I realize that I was not alone back then.

As for my favorite game of 2012, that's a hard one - not because there are so many to choose from (there are), but because I had to give up video games to finish t he film. The final year of production requires late nights and seven-day work weeks; I knew myself well enough to know that if I were to pick up a new game, I would be lost in it for hours, days and weeks.

The game I most wanted to play throughout the year (and it took unbelievable restraint not to purchase it) was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I look forward to disappearing into its clutches now that promoting “Wreck-It Ralph” is finished. See you in six months!

Rich Moore directed the Walt Disney animated film “Wreck-It Ralph.”