Welcome, forum users of the PlayStation! My name is Johan Vinet, and I’m the developer of Lunark, a sci-fi action game with that work that pays homage to the 1990s’ 2D visual platformers.
By presenting natural, methodical character mobility that was governed by physics, cinematic platformers aimed to immerse viewers. Through intricate and lifelike animations, as well as rotoscoped cutscenes that rewarded players by punctuating crucial gameplay moments while also producing a distinctive and recognizable visual style, classics like Jordan Mechner &# 8217, s Prince of Persia, Eric Chahi & # 8216, Out of this World, and Paul Cuisset &@ 8237, Flashback, achieved this realism.
Before motion capture, which typically involved skillfully tracing film footage frame by frame, rotoscoping was a technique used to produce realistic animations. Luckily, rotoscoping is now much easier to access thanks to modern technologies. I was able to incorporate this” lost work” to provide Lunark back to life with a little bit of creativity and the help of my cellphone and graphics tablet.
Here is a break of my process for creating the Lunark scenes.
First step: Screenwriting
The first step is to create a layout. Roles, camera angles, and important things are all taken into account when determining the general look and feel of the cutscene.
Part 2: Making plans
After screenwriting, I move on to the preparing stage, where I select accessories, shooting facilities, and whether or not 3D modelling is required. For instance, I discovered that creating a” crystal” out of cardboard( and covering it with transparent adhesive to make it reflective ) rather than modeling it in 3D was quicker and produced better results.
Third step: photographing
The majority of the rotoscoping cutscenes in Lunark are always shots and don’t need to be recorded in tone. With a camera and my handset, I was the only one acting out the world. I ideally wore clothes that matched those of Leo, the main personality. In order to use the golden stripes on Leo’s jacket as a visual signal when the tracing the footage, I sometimes wrapped some duct tape around my leather sleeves. ( This ended up being a bad idea because it completely destroyed my sleeves! )
I also jumped from my machine for the low-angle opportunity in which Leo smashes the steam outlet grill to exit a pipe, and I filmed myself at my kids’ # 8217 playground jumping on the monkey bars to imitate ziplining out of buildings.
Step 4: Clean Up the Film
I use Photoshop or After Effects to choose the best chance, produce the game, and complete spectrophotometric retouching if I need to get the subject stand out a little more after filming. I can create character movement or create effects like a daisy zoom during this phase. This is also the time when I lower the frame rate to 24 frames per second to give the finished product a visual sense( and save me an enormous amount of work ). Additionally, the camera will be scaled up to the game’s final quality.
Painting over each window in part five
This is where the boring aspect starts! I trace and paint over the protagonist in the game images using Photoshop while keeping my color scheme in mind.
Drawing Scene in Stage 6
This action may take many different forms. I instantly draw the experience in image work if the scene is nevertheless( like when you see Leo’s hand quietly reaching for this enigmatic old engraving ). I may use 3D software to model and render objects or buildings, which I will then use as a model to draw over or clean up to match the visual style, if it is animated or complex( such as the scene where the camera quickly shows an detail on Leo’s ship using &# 8220, dolly zoom, and # 8221 ).
Part 7: Audio
I’ll create audio effects or longer music to go along with the action even though the majority of the cutscenes share the same musical song and some of them call for extra custom work.
Step 8: Consolidation
Now, the cutscene is exported and used with the appropriate drives in the game engine( in this case, GameMaker ). The sport displays a close-up shot of the action when the player picks up any item, such as an energy core for the shield, or, when you finish completing the main objective, he or she will play longer cutscenes that tie the various levels up while giving the game its visual feel.
I appreciate you all reading this article! With Lunark, a game from WayForward that will be released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on March 30, I hope the outcome will please both visual platformer aficionados and new actors.
By PlayStation Official blog (blog.playstation.com)
