A couple of posts back, I discussed the Assassin's Creed franchise as being an inspiration for this project. Next to Ubisoft's franchise I've also found other games who use other forms of media to get hold of the audience's attention.
Here are some other examples of recent games using traditional 2D animated trailers for promotion. By analyzing them I hope to discover a way to approach the design for my own fictional animated trailer. How did they make the style jump? And how do they complement the game?
The Witcher 2: Enhanced edition (2012)
The game:
Very realistically rendered, with realistic day and night settings and beautiful landscape vistas. Also the figures look realistic, even though it is a fantasy game.
The trailer:
A beautifully stylized, comic book / graphic novel style which is gritty, bloody and perfectly reflects the adult oriented atmosphere of the game. It strays far from the in-game visuals. Only drawback, at least for me, is that quality of the animation is quite low, due to the detailed artwork. It's very basic cut out animation, with figures moving sparingly.
Mirror's Edge (2008)
The game:
The game's color use is stylized, with a very stark white and some primary color hues. The figures however are realistically proportioned, as with the rest of the environment, as you are surrounded by skyscrapers and the such.
The trailer:
Telling a bit about the profession of the main character, the trailer sports lots of dynamic animation with figures jumping off buildings and other acrobatics. The style is simpler than of the game. Even more saturated colors are used and the characters have way less detail than in the game to accompany the fast paced action on display. Even though the trailer strays quite a bit off, it manages to have the same atmosphere as the game.
Gotham City Impostors (2012)
The game:
The in-game visuals of this shooter are stylized. It uses bright colors to clarify the differences between players and figures have exaggerated proportions, but its still recognizable and rooted in our familiar reality.
The trailer:
The trailer's visuals are very stylized, with a very distinct gritty and edgy comic book flavor, probably to link it to its inspiration ( the Batman comics). The animation is very fluent and frantic, perfectly reflecting the gameplay of the game. But, compared to this trailer the game looks rather stiff and the characters have more charm in this trailer than in the actual game.
Prince of Persia (2008)
The game:
The game's visuals can be described as very atmospheric and Arabian fairytale like, with lots of bright and warm colors reflecting its desert roots. The game uses a kind of realistic cel shading, which makes it hard to categorize. The figures are realistically proportioned but the way there are rendered is not. Still, definitely a very beautiful game indeed.
The trailer:
This is not a conventional trailer, as it is more a static, audiovisual storybook. I believe they adopted this approach to have that "1001 Arabian nights" feel to this content. Nothing really moves, except for the camera hovering above the "pages". This trailer however strays very far from the ingame visuals as it almost approaches a cartoon appearance, thanks to the skills of the Penny Arcade illustrators. Still, it captures the same fairytale mood and atmosphere of the game, and is a nice way to elaborate on the game's backstory.
Heavenly Sword (2008)
The game:
The game's visuals are are realistically rendered, with heavy emphasis on textures and realistic lighting in an Asian setting. But, main character Nariko's hair is clearly over the top, with long waving strands of red hair to set her apart from the crowd of enemies, ready to be brutalized.
The trailer:
Before the game was released, a series of 5 animated trailers were made to introduce the characters and set up the premise of the game story. The visual style can be described as an edgy, harsh, geometrical comic book style with lots of blacks. Comparable to the Witcher 2 trailers, but way less detailed, less explicit violence and better animated. One of the interesting moments is when Nariko enters the frame, as it is her red hair which is the first splash of color in this animated series. Together with the prince of persia trailer, I believe that these trailers show the biggest visual jump compared to the tie in game.
Conclusion
A lot of developers are realizing the the potential of using other media forms to reach their target audience and pull them in. This happens mainly in the form of animated trailers who tell something about the game's backstory. They make gamers acquainted with the game universe before they actually buy the game.
These animated trailers are very interesting, because they present a different visual take on the game characters and their world. In most cases, they depart quite a bit from the established, more realistic style of the promoted games, creating more recognizable silhouettes of the same characters in process.
Here are some other examples of recent games using traditional 2D animated trailers for promotion. By analyzing them I hope to discover a way to approach the design for my own fictional animated trailer. How did they make the style jump? And how do they complement the game?
The Witcher 2: Enhanced edition (2012)
Very realistically rendered, with realistic day and night settings and beautiful landscape vistas. Also the figures look realistic, even though it is a fantasy game.
The trailer:
A beautifully stylized, comic book / graphic novel style which is gritty, bloody and perfectly reflects the adult oriented atmosphere of the game. It strays far from the in-game visuals. Only drawback, at least for me, is that quality of the animation is quite low, due to the detailed artwork. It's very basic cut out animation, with figures moving sparingly.
Mirror's Edge (2008)
The game:
The game's color use is stylized, with a very stark white and some primary color hues. The figures however are realistically proportioned, as with the rest of the environment, as you are surrounded by skyscrapers and the such.
The trailer:
Telling a bit about the profession of the main character, the trailer sports lots of dynamic animation with figures jumping off buildings and other acrobatics. The style is simpler than of the game. Even more saturated colors are used and the characters have way less detail than in the game to accompany the fast paced action on display. Even though the trailer strays quite a bit off, it manages to have the same atmosphere as the game.
Gotham City Impostors (2012)
The game:
The in-game visuals of this shooter are stylized. It uses bright colors to clarify the differences between players and figures have exaggerated proportions, but its still recognizable and rooted in our familiar reality.
The trailer:
The trailer's visuals are very stylized, with a very distinct gritty and edgy comic book flavor, probably to link it to its inspiration ( the Batman comics). The animation is very fluent and frantic, perfectly reflecting the gameplay of the game. But, compared to this trailer the game looks rather stiff and the characters have more charm in this trailer than in the actual game.
Prince of Persia (2008)
The game:
The game's visuals can be described as very atmospheric and Arabian fairytale like, with lots of bright and warm colors reflecting its desert roots. The game uses a kind of realistic cel shading, which makes it hard to categorize. The figures are realistically proportioned but the way there are rendered is not. Still, definitely a very beautiful game indeed.
The trailer:
This is not a conventional trailer, as it is more a static, audiovisual storybook. I believe they adopted this approach to have that "1001 Arabian nights" feel to this content. Nothing really moves, except for the camera hovering above the "pages". This trailer however strays very far from the ingame visuals as it almost approaches a cartoon appearance, thanks to the skills of the Penny Arcade illustrators. Still, it captures the same fairytale mood and atmosphere of the game, and is a nice way to elaborate on the game's backstory.
Heavenly Sword (2008)
The game's visuals are are realistically rendered, with heavy emphasis on textures and realistic lighting in an Asian setting. But, main character Nariko's hair is clearly over the top, with long waving strands of red hair to set her apart from the crowd of enemies, ready to be brutalized.
The trailer:
Before the game was released, a series of 5 animated trailers were made to introduce the characters and set up the premise of the game story. The visual style can be described as an edgy, harsh, geometrical comic book style with lots of blacks. Comparable to the Witcher 2 trailers, but way less detailed, less explicit violence and better animated. One of the interesting moments is when Nariko enters the frame, as it is her red hair which is the first splash of color in this animated series. Together with the prince of persia trailer, I believe that these trailers show the biggest visual jump compared to the tie in game.
Conclusion
A lot of developers are realizing the the potential of using other media forms to reach their target audience and pull them in. This happens mainly in the form of animated trailers who tell something about the game's backstory. They make gamers acquainted with the game universe before they actually buy the game.
These animated trailers are very interesting, because they present a different visual take on the game characters and their world. In most cases, they depart quite a bit from the established, more realistic style of the promoted games, creating more recognizable silhouettes of the same characters in process.
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