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DICE has taken the first person genre to new grounds with the free running first person adventure MIRROR'S EDGE. Learn what some of the challenges were and how we successfully overcame them when creating a believable first person full body experience. There will be a demo of the animation tools and pipeline that were used to create all of the in-game animations. The session will also cover what DICE did to create and sustain a creative environment throughout the project and see examples on how some of our moves evolved from prototype to a final feature.
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Creating First Person Movement
for MIRROR'S EDGE
Creating First Person Movement
for MIRROR'S EDGE
Mirror’s Edge
Agenda
Intro
DICE The Vision
Team structure
Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
Located in Stockholm, Sweden Owned by Electronic Arts since 2006 260 employees Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge
Located in Stockholm, Sweden Owned by Electronic Arts since 2006 260 employees Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge
Agenda
Intro DICE
The Vision Team structure
Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
The Vision
Through the character experience
First person free running The chase – “fight or flight” Heightened senses experience ∂
The
KAOF’sThe
KAOF’s
Redefine 1st person True immersion Became a mantra on the
team
Through the character experienceThrough the character experience
The Vision
More like a 3P adventure game, translated to 1P perspective
Parkour-like moves Allow the things you always
wanted to be able to do in your ordinary FPS
First person free running
First person free running
The Vision
Momentum is rewarded Assess the situation When the odds are
against you – the chase begins
The chase – Fight or flightThe chase –
Fight or flight
The Vision
How Faith percieves the world
Focus on whats relevant, the rest become peripheral
Clean and fresh
Heightened sensesHeightened senses
The Vision
Agenda
Intro DICE The Vision
Team structure Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
Team
stru
cture
Team
stru
cture
Team structure
5-6 people Team seated together Always one designer, one animator and one engineer assigned to a feature at the same time
Agile development, using scrum The movement team was a perfect fit for the scrum format
2 Week cycles, 2-3 moves Allowed for fast iterations, design adjustments etc.
5-6 people Team seated together Always one designer, one animator and one engineer assigned to a feature at the same time
Agile development, using scrum The movement team was a perfect fit for the scrum format
2 Week cycles, 2-3 moves Allowed for fast iterations, design adjustments etc.
Agenda
Intro DICE The Vision
Team structure
Prototyping Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
Prototyping
Initial concepts First pre-visualization
Animate perception First Person Mesh The Whiteroom
Initial concepts First pre-visualization
Animate perception First Person Mesh The Whiteroom
Initial Concepts
Previsualisation
Fir
st
Itera
tion
Fir
st
Itera
tion
Previsualisation
Secon
d
Itera
tion
Secon
d
Itera
tion
PrevisualisationFin
al
Vers
ion
Fin
al
Vers
ion
First idea, do some mocap, parent the camera to the head, done!
Animate First Person Perception
Animate First Person Perception
Second idea, put some aim constraint on the camera.
Animate First Person Perception
Animate First Person Perception
Third idea, animate it by hand and make it look cool and believable!
Animate First Person Perception
Animate First Person Perception
Animate First Person Perception
Animate First Person PerceptionSame goes for all 1p
animations
Realistic appealing First Person mesh
No volume loss Muscle and tendons Something happening under the
skin
Realistic appealing First Person mesh
No volume loss Muscle and tendons Something happening under the
skin
First Person Mesh
First Person MeshC
om
pari
son
Com
pari
son
First Person MeshFin
al
Vers
ion
Fin
al
Vers
ion
The Whiteroom
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Whiteroom
Agenda
Intro DICE The Vision
Team structure
Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
The Tools
Support all projects on DICE
Support different engines like Frostbite,
BF2 and Unreal3 Scaleable rigs Created for Maya in MEL and API
Support all projects on DICE
Support different engines like Frostbite,
BF2 and Unreal3 Scaleable rigs Created for Maya in MEL and API
The Tools
Design to fit first/third person animations
Both realistic and stylized animations Deal with many characters for cut
scenes High frame rate (no playblasts) No Maya referencing
Design to fit first/third person animations
Both realistic and stylized animations Deal with many characters for cut
scenes High frame rate (no playblasts) No Maya referencing
The Tools
Agenda
Intro DICE The Vision
Team structure
Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration Final Thoughts
Iteration
Movement was a key area of focus
Most moves iterated on 5-6 times
Attention to detailMotion sickness
Movement was a key area of focus
Most moves iterated on 5-6 times
Attention to detailMotion sickness
Context sensitive animations
Layered landing animations
Heavy landings / skill rolls
JumpingJumping
40
Impact animation Guided camera Aiming Dynamically triggered
Wall runsWall runs
42
Fixed metrics at first Became fully dynamic Choose animation based on
height, speed and obstacle shape
VaultingVaulting
44
Agenda
Intro DICE The Vision
Team structure
Prototyping
Tools and pipeline
Iteration
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Successful production methodology Strong belief in the game concept from the
beginning to the end First person restrictions sometimes very
challenging
The whole production – a learning experience
Successful production methodology Strong belief in the game concept from the
beginning to the end First person restrictions sometimes very
challenging
The whole production – a learning experience
Q
uestions?
Q
uestions?
