Samy Batty, lead animator at Shapefarm
Orbitals has one of the most distinctive visual styles we've seen from a New Zealand studio. What was the vision behind Orbitals' distinctive anime-inspired animation style?
We wanted Orbitals to feel as if the characters you are playing are moving like characters from an anime you might watch on TV. To do that we brought qualities of anime from the 80's and traditional cel animation into the 3D animation style of Orbitals. We relied less on the computer for inbetweening and focused our efforts on posing by hand as much as possible. We embraced imperfections as this gave us more dynamic motion and a more authentic look.
So much of modern game animation aims for realism, but Orbitals seems to embrace stylisation instead. What were the biggest challenges in creating Orbitals' highly stylised animation?
The style of the animation is pushing away from realism as much as we can. We embrace the gaps in the animation in order to make something that fits the style that is both striking and satisfying.
Creatively this meant intentionally leaving information out of the animation assets we author for the characters. We work at a limited framerate. We need to curate the appropriate amount of detail in the posing to achieve an animation which communicates clearly to the player.
Animation plays a huge role in making characters feel alive, especially in a co-op game. How do you use animation to give characters personality before they even speak?
The goal is that the player can tell the personality of our characters with just a pose. Maki and Omura are our two playable characters and they have very different personalities. Maki is confident and headstrong with a wide stance and Omura is laid back and carefree with his hand in his pocket.
To keep the characters distinct, we authored animation assets for every action, twice. This was critical to differentiate the two characters; however, it did mean a lot more animation assets since we didn't share anything between the two characters.
Shapefarm has a reputation for creating games with a really strong artistic identity. How important is having a visual style that's instantly recognisable?
To me, having a strong art style which can stand out in a screenshot and be instantly recognisable is really important for games. On the one hand it draws attention and on the other it gives the game a timeless appeal.
We have been pushing the art style of Orbitals in interesting ways, using techniques I had never considered before joining the project. For us in the animation team, we try to match that level of quality with some creative ideas of our own and solid animation to bring the world to life.
You've spent years refining your craft as an animator. Is there a particular moment or sequence in Orbitals that you're especially proud?
For myself, I've been on the more technical side of animation for the majority of the Orbitals project. Stepped Animation in particular has proven to be a complicated obstacle. The solution we came to is something I'm quite proud of because we were able maintain our artistic integrity and provide a technical solution to make our characters feel as 2D as possible.
There's one moment which I feel really captures our intent of making a playable anime. Right at the beginning of the game we have our 3D characters performing a cutscene and right as they hit a high five, we swap them out for 2D hand drawn versions. I love that we could do that without cutting the camera and without it feeling jarring. It's a validating moment which is a testament to the skills of the team.
New Zealand's games industry is earning a reputation for producing world-class creative talent. What advice would you give aspiring animators?
I made a point at the end of last year to attend as many graduate showcases as I could. It was shocking to see the jump in quality from when I was studying. It's really exciting to see these aspiring developers with such strong creative and technical skills entering the industry.
For aspiring animators getting into games, my advice would be to understand that your work doesn't end when you have finished your animation. There's a lot more to being an animator in games than just animating. The way that animation behaves when it is played in the game is also part of your skillset.
