11-21-2023, 11:13 AM
Cinematics
Oh boy, where do I start?
I think the best bet is to show where I started, which was with very homestuck-esque MSPAINT animations used to strut up a game which largely looked mspainty.
Some of these hold up but others feel like they could have their time cut in half or even down to a third and still work. his wasn't the first time i had done cinematic work but it was definitely the closest I came to doing something incredible with it.
The next big game i really went hard on cinematics for was Perseverance Full Clearance, with a major difference being that most of the work was now being done by Xiie (Portrait artist) and Apoc, Aku and Andinator (background artists), and all I had to do was work it all together.
All the Time in the Cosmos
Alike all of my games intros, this introduced a large world to get lost in. For menagerie this was the Planet of galaxia and its Myriad, showing the thread posed before you even knew it was one.
This time, we build upon a dystopian alternate version of future London where things have gone very wrong. This is also one of those cinematics where it transitions from one map to another utilizing a cinematic as a grandiose transition. This also is good for showing the villains who live comfortably in a lavish dystopia of their making comapred to our befurred friends who rather a tranquil homely environment. The transition between them signifying the distance in idealogies between the two.
Because You're Magical
Shortly before this scene, Sped and nola are on the run from a band of dread creatures, and are faced with a grate leading to a nuclear silo beyond, Sped encourage Nola to believe she can phase straight through it, and tells her she is magical enough to do it! Doubtful but without many options, and feeling like she can trust the funny red cat man, she does her darndest, and as if like magic, she and Sped phase through it. This helps identify that the 'shadow-dash' mechanic has some real validity in the real world for its use, but also shows Sped knows how malleable the universe is to the whims of those willing to question it. A theme that is very heavily built upon in Intelligence 314th Clash as well.
After this point, these scenes become pretty spoilery, so I will move on to Fantasia, one of the most cinematically ambitious projects I've ever worked on.
The World of VAHNUS
Similar to other introduction scenes, this well and truly encapsulates the world you start in. it also introduced the first character you'll get to play as while credits roll across the screen.
This game comes straight off the coat tails of Intelligence 314th Clash, being set 21 years ahead of its resolution. Though because of the involvement of the majority cast of PFC, it also has a lot of reference to the events of that game and this next cutscene easily shows that best.
Resurface of Traumatism
Furthermore, this game is the first to feature high-definition frame by frame animations, even in small parts. The animations of this caliber are mostly by me, but other people have contributed occasionally as well. This cutscene goes back to the trauma Svoli endured at Esperia's hands during the era of Perseverance Full Clearance and how it is still affecting her today.
To avoid spoilers, I will show one more unrelated to the story at large. See? This game has more cinematics than any game before. Some even sprinkled into optional content, such as this one which also uses PFC's tech of transition from a scene. it isn't the only scene in the game which does this, but it is an easy choice due to the lack of spoilers.
Polaris Arrival
Some of the details you barelt notice are that the planets outside of Postmartia dutifully are orbiting the Blue Sun as this fleet of Polaris Enforcers arrive. This moevment of this is fairly commonin my scenes and help keeps the scene feeling alive even when not much is happening. This can be noticed during the cutscene prior where beyond the window you can see earth slowly but surely moving in the background outside of the window. My mindset is if a scene is ever fully still, then it isn't animated, it's dead.
Oh boy, where do I start?
I think the best bet is to show where I started, which was with very homestuck-esque MSPAINT animations used to strut up a game which largely looked mspainty.
Some of these hold up but others feel like they could have their time cut in half or even down to a third and still work. his wasn't the first time i had done cinematic work but it was definitely the closest I came to doing something incredible with it.
The next big game i really went hard on cinematics for was Perseverance Full Clearance, with a major difference being that most of the work was now being done by Xiie (Portrait artist) and Apoc, Aku and Andinator (background artists), and all I had to do was work it all together.
All the Time in the Cosmos
Alike all of my games intros, this introduced a large world to get lost in. For menagerie this was the Planet of galaxia and its Myriad, showing the thread posed before you even knew it was one.
This time, we build upon a dystopian alternate version of future London where things have gone very wrong. This is also one of those cinematics where it transitions from one map to another utilizing a cinematic as a grandiose transition. This also is good for showing the villains who live comfortably in a lavish dystopia of their making comapred to our befurred friends who rather a tranquil homely environment. The transition between them signifying the distance in idealogies between the two.
Because You're Magical
Shortly before this scene, Sped and nola are on the run from a band of dread creatures, and are faced with a grate leading to a nuclear silo beyond, Sped encourage Nola to believe she can phase straight through it, and tells her she is magical enough to do it! Doubtful but without many options, and feeling like she can trust the funny red cat man, she does her darndest, and as if like magic, she and Sped phase through it. This helps identify that the 'shadow-dash' mechanic has some real validity in the real world for its use, but also shows Sped knows how malleable the universe is to the whims of those willing to question it. A theme that is very heavily built upon in Intelligence 314th Clash as well.
After this point, these scenes become pretty spoilery, so I will move on to Fantasia, one of the most cinematically ambitious projects I've ever worked on.
The World of VAHNUS
Similar to other introduction scenes, this well and truly encapsulates the world you start in. it also introduced the first character you'll get to play as while credits roll across the screen.
This game comes straight off the coat tails of Intelligence 314th Clash, being set 21 years ahead of its resolution. Though because of the involvement of the majority cast of PFC, it also has a lot of reference to the events of that game and this next cutscene easily shows that best.
Resurface of Traumatism
Furthermore, this game is the first to feature high-definition frame by frame animations, even in small parts. The animations of this caliber are mostly by me, but other people have contributed occasionally as well. This cutscene goes back to the trauma Svoli endured at Esperia's hands during the era of Perseverance Full Clearance and how it is still affecting her today.
To avoid spoilers, I will show one more unrelated to the story at large. See? This game has more cinematics than any game before. Some even sprinkled into optional content, such as this one which also uses PFC's tech of transition from a scene. it isn't the only scene in the game which does this, but it is an easy choice due to the lack of spoilers.
Polaris Arrival
Some of the details you barelt notice are that the planets outside of Postmartia dutifully are orbiting the Blue Sun as this fleet of Polaris Enforcers arrive. This moevment of this is fairly commonin my scenes and help keeps the scene feeling alive even when not much is happening. This can be noticed during the cutscene prior where beyond the window you can see earth slowly but surely moving in the background outside of the window. My mindset is if a scene is ever fully still, then it isn't animated, it's dead.