Earthworm Jim and acquisition by Interplay (1994–1995)
According to Perry, the young Shiny was not sure what to do, having neither a game project, nor a business plan.[3][5] However, since Playmates was new to the video game industry, Playmates Interactive, the publishing arm set up by the toy company, had no high expectations.[3] Playmates aided Shiny in finding licenses for potential game projects, and Shiny came close to developing a game based on the Knight Rider TV series, but eventually settled on creating an original game.[3][5] When the company was about to hire Doug TenNapel, an animator formerly of DreamWorks, TenNapel demonstrated his skills by creating a sketch for a game character that would later become Earthworm Jim.[5] The character's abilities were worked out by Perry and TenNapel, and the surrounding game, also called Earthworm Jim, became Shiny's first development project.[3][5] To help with the game's promotion, Playmates set out to create Earthworm Jim toys, but required that a TV series should be produced to market the toys.[3] Perry subsequently met with executives of Universal Studios, who agreed to produce the series if there were toys to accompany it.[3] The deadlock was resolved when Perry invited the heads of Universal and Playmates for dinner, agreeing each party would fulfill their part of the deal.[3] The game was released on console in 1994 to much success, spawning several sequels, spin-offs and ports to other platforms.[2]
Following a sequel to Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Shiny ought to produce a game with 3D computer graphics, however, Perry was concerned that his team, which had only worked on 2D games, would find it difficult to produce a 3D game.[3][5] Seeking help from other companies, Perry was offered deals by Nintendo and Sony to exclusively develop for these companies' console, but he instead agreed to sell Shiny to another video game publisher, Interplay Productions.[3][5][7] The deal was announced by Interplay at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 1995, with Shiny retaining its identity and management under the new ownership.[7] Following this buy-out, half of Shiny's employees, including TenNapel, left Shiny to form
