Exploring the Artistic Depths of Dead Cells: Leveraging a 3D Infrastructure for Fluid 2D Animation
"Hey there, game dev wannabes!"
Join us as we delve into the bold adventures of Motion Twin's indie team, who, with limited resources, managed to birthed the awesome, fast-paced Dead Cells.
This highly acclaimed roguelike action-platformer is a testament to the power of innovative thinking and smart optimization. Welcome aboard this thrilling ride!
When the talented Thomas Vasseur, the indie art powerhouse, embarked on the initial phase of Dead Cells, he was the sole artist in the team, a lone soldier battling the design world. Using his extensive background in casual and F2P games, he began work on the game's art direction, characters, animations, and backgrounds.
Better known as the "indie caso di un uomo solo" (that's Italian for "the case of a man alone") – with a cheeky nod to Dante Alighieri – Thomas was joined by his "evil twin," Gwenael Massé, boosting the team up to a puny two artists.
However, lacking manpower is almost a rite of passage in the game dev realm. So, we figured you might want to learn about Thomas's journey during his time in the trenches – or what remains of his sanity – and how he made it out on the other side. Or at least that's the popular assumption.
Starting with a basic 2D pixelart model sheet, Thomas created the character and its skeleton in 3D using 3DS Max, then rendering it in a low-resolution format using a little homebrew program. This 3D modeling process might make seasoned 3D artists cringe, but when the in-game character height is only 50 pixels, taking extra time seems like an unnecessary luxury.
Now that the frame is set, it's time to breathe life into it with animations. Dead Cells' animations are designed on key frames, similar to 2D animations. Once the animation looks convincing, Thomas adds interpolation frames and never in-between – a pose-to-pose animation approach. VFX is then used to create a sense of movement, impact, and strength.
At this point, most of the work is done. Each frame of the animation with the 3D skeleton is exported as a .png, along with its normal map, allowing us to render the volume using a basic toon shader. Exporting the whole sequence as a frame sequence also paves the way for some cool blending effects.
Of course, gameplay programmers, those meddlesome nuisances, always want to change things in their ownImage Hitler-like fashion. Fortunately, Thomas's process for handling retakes is quite straightforward. If timings are the issue, moving keyframes in the timeline should do the trick, while adjusting the pose to fit the new timing is hardly a problem.
In fact, Thomas managed to tweak and reshape his animations – and in some cases, even Gameplay Programmers – with relative ease, saving himself precious time. As he puts it, "I don't have to throw my work – and eventually myself – out the window."
This 3D workflow comes with additional perks, such as the ease of adding new elements to old models and the ability to reuse previous assets. When it comes time to create new characters – mostly monsters in Dead Cells – the benefits of this 3D approach become truly apparent, sparing artists countless hours of work.
Hand-drawn pixel art is undeniably awesome, but when Thomas found himself standing alone in the artistic battlefield, he knew that traditional methods would leave him weakened and vulnerable to the passage of time.
Luckily, after joining Motion Twin in 2015, Thomas had an opportunity to experiment and find a pipeline that could create great-looking pixel-art without overwhelming him with work. In the unyielding quest for efficiency, they found a 3D animation workflow that provided several advantages: no need to redraw each frame, possibility to reuse the same animation on various characters, automatic generation of interpolation frames, and quick, easy retakes to match the gameplay.
By empowering their approach with the strength of 3D animation, Motion Twin managed to maintain an impressive 30FPS animation speed, a feat that – while not quite curing cancer – will certainly help you feel better about your next cold or flu. If you want to see the prototype for yourself, you can find it here.
Throughout the development process, Motion Twin had to address a few challenges, such as designing their own lightning system and building a tool to "pixelate" the characters. But in hindsight, these issues turned out to be valuable lessons,solidifying their commitment to optimization and clever working methods.
While the nitty-gritty details of their 3D animation workflow aren't explicitly provided, witnessing the success ofDead Cells demonstrates the potential of innovative game development strategies in the face of limited resources. By focusing on efficient design choices and using creative pipelines,indie teams can create stunning, fast-paced games that captivate players far and wide.
So, indie devs: take heart, bravely face your challenges, and embrace the power of innovative thinking! With the right tools, techniques, and mindset, you can sculpt the game of your dreams – even if it means making the occasional retake. Keep shining!
- Discover how cybersecurity practices can fortify your game development process, ensuring a smoother journey through the indie realm.
- Your lifestyle as a game dev wannabe could benefit from delving into art history, as Thomas Vasseur did when he nodded to Dante Alighieri.
- After grasping the basics of fashion-and-beauty with 2D pixelart, Thomas moved onto more complex techniques, modeling in 3D using 3DS Max.
- Food-and-drink might have kept Thomas energized during long development hours, fueling his creativity and perseverance.
- Assembling a home studio for home-and-garden work, Thomas created his characters, animations, and backgrounds with limited resources.
- If you're a gadget enthusiast, you'll appreciate the homebrew program that Thomas used for rendering his 3D models.
- Data-and-cloud-computing services may have assisted Motion Twin in collaborating on the Dead Cells project, despite being distributed geographically.
- Thomas's journey as a solo artist demonstrates the power of technology in overcoming obstacles and creating innovative games.
- The rise of artificial-intelligence might one day alter the game development landscape, potentially automating routine tasks and freeing up time for creative exploration.
- Strengthening your relationships with fellow game devs, peers, and mentors can pave the way for collaboration, support, and valuable learning experiences.
- As a pet owner, you might find that your furry friend provides emotional support during the highs and lows of game development.
- Traveling to game dev events, conferences, and workshops can broaden your horizons and expose you to a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
- A passion for cars could translate into researching and incorporating realistic vehicular aspects into your game design.
- Dedicating time to self-development and education-and-self-development can help you stay ahead of the curve and make the most of new technologies and industry trends.
- Personal growth through personal-growth activities, such as meditation and journaling, can boost your creative output and help navigate the challenges of indie game development.
- A shopaholic might find joy in adding merchandise and in-game items to their game design, generating revenue and enhancing player engagement.
- Boosting your career-development means refining your skills, networking with industry professionals, and relentlessly pursuing your dreams.
- Dedicated learning resources, such as tutorials, courses, and forums, can provide the foundation needed to master game development.
- If you're an avid sports fan, you may incorporate popular sports like football, nfl, wnba, baseball, hockey, golf, etc. into your game design, catering to a wider audience.
- For those interested in the more analytical side of sports, sports-betting and sports-analysis might provide an exciting direction for game development, tapping into the global sports market.
