In 1994, McFarlane Toys rewrote the rules on action figures with hyperdetailed, lovingly sculpted pieces of plastic that bore little resemblance to the crude slabs that came before. In the last 14 years, the company has cranked out hundreds of pop-culture characters, from rock stars (Ozzy, Jimi, Elvis) to movie villains (Freddie, Leatherface, Predator) to professional athletes. And, of course, it all started with figures based on comic-book brand that company founder Todd McFarlane created in the early ’90s. But now, McFarlane has a new focus: videogame figures. It’s a market the toymaker has dabbled in before — via older licenses like Ultima Online, Metal Gear Solid, and Soul Calibur II — but never to this degree. We got seven points of articulation from Todd himself about why game properties are the new heart of his business — and what his personal-dream Halo figure looks like.

OXM: Why the switch to videogame-based action figures?

TODD MCFARLANE: Really, we’re trying to evolve with the times and what’s out there in consumer stores and what their agendas are. In the simplest form, they’re all looking for fewer in-house ideas and more proven IPs.

If you compare them to movie licenses, these videogame properties we’re doing now are the equivalent of someone having the Batmans and the Iron Mans — they’re the top ones for videogames. There might not be as big an audience, but these people do spend a lot of money — $60/game. Everyone’s trying to see how they can get those people’s extra dollars [between game purchases] — and toys are one of those venues.

When you break it down, we’re essentially in the pop-culture business. So once you figure out that a group of people are doing this or that, my job as CEO isn’t to necessarily approve of it; it’s to realize what’s popular. If I could figure out how to do American Idol toys and get them out in time for each season, I’d do it.

OXM: What were your past experiences with game-based figures like?

TM: I don’t recall that any of them were overcomplicated or a pain in the rear. With movie-based figures, for example, it’s sometimes tricky in that people don’t want to give up their secrets — they don’t want to spoil the ending to a film, for example. Or they’re worried that an actor might not like their likeness. So it’s a little easier when you’re doing stuff based on videogames. I know the Metal Gear Solid figures did tremendous for us…it was a big game when it came out, and there weren’t a lot of videogame toys back then. You could argue the same thing with Halo now — big game, not a lot of videogame toys.

OXM: You’re releasing tons of different Halo action figures between now and 2009. What’s your angle with these?

TM: With Halo, Microsoft was trying to broaden their audience, so we intentionally made those figures smaller and more toy-centric than our normal figures, with more articulation; they’re fun to play with, whereas a lot of our figures are just meant to be looked at. We didn’t know if that “toyness” would be a holdback to an older audience, but so far, people seem to dig it. That said, we’ll be putting out more Halo products that are less toy-centric.

OXM: How did you approach Guitar Hero? You’re making characters and individual toy guitars.

TM: With our Guitar Hero figures, we asked for their wireframes. Why interpret this stuff when you’ve got the familiar characters?

With Guitar Hero, it’s about bright colors and the fun factor of what kind of cool guitar we depict, and can we make the figures appeal to 8-year-olds and 20-year-olds, which is a different concept. We’re also doing these sort of Muppetbaby versions of the GH characters — they have the cute factor. A hardcore FPS dude might not buy them, but his girlfriend, who sees Johnny Napalm and Midori there, might be more interested.

The plastic guitars we’re doing could be for someone who doesn’t pay any attention to their avatar, but likes the cool paintjobs and would like lining up some sophisticated-looking little guitars on their shelf. You can mix-and-match the pieces, giving you more permutations the more of them you own. Most of our toys don’t have that luxury.

OXM: Is that customizability something you’d ever extend to your action figures? In other words, trying to make them as customizable as a character can be in a videogame?

TM: Halo would be the perfect one, and I’ve always wanted to do something like this; we’re gonna get there someday. It’s a Christmas package, and it would cost a little bit. Take a standard Spartan who’s, say, yellow. In one package, you’d have your guy [bundled with] five chestplates…five shoulder pads…six guns…and eight different heads. All yellow. Then another package would be the same thing, all in green. The total combinations would be endless — in the billions. You could mess around with that thing for 10 years and never have the same configuration twice if you were creative. There are a lot of those possibilities with videogame figures.

OXM: You created characters for Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge and Soul Calibur II. Plus, Konami made a game called McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy for PS2. What were those projects like? Were you happy with how they turned out?

TM: They’re okay. Some of them were more satisfying than others. But I did run into the same stuff that other people I’ve talked to have run into: you’ve got some grand ideas, and [the gamemakers tell you], “We don’t have the budget, we don’t have the time — we’ve got to get this thing out.” So you sorta get steered in this direction where you just go, “It could’ve been way cooler, but you guys just go ahead.”

OXM: Are you a gamer?

TM: I play a little bit, but I’m not a gamer so much as a spectator. I usually just watch my kids and marvel at their dexterity. I more admire the graphics. Right now, I’m helping to develop an MMO with Curt Schilling [Copernicus, at 38 Studios] — I’m the art director. It’s interesting: sometimes, being the dumbest guy in the room, you have some ideas and you think of things that people who’ve been in the business for a long time might not have thought of. We’re just trying to develop a game that has a lot of “Whoa!” factor.