One of the many charms of Urban Myth Dissolution Center is its Pixel art-style animation.
We interviewed Hafhaf-oden ( https://twitter.com/ohanhan ), the graphic designer behind 'Urban Myth Dissolution Center.' Using the game's opening scene as an example, let's explore its intricate creation and development process.
①Making the Storyboard
The process for Urban Myth Dissolution Center begins with Oden sketching out the storyboards. While they have a clear picture of the final image in mind when drawing, they intentionally leave some parts loosely drawn, giving room for further improvement in the next phase of rough sketches.
②Background Design
The background design is also done alongside storyboarding. The game aims to pursue a sense of realism and create a world that feels both authentic and immersive. Thus, substantial attention is given to maintaining authenticity even for locations that may not be featured prominently in the game. Once the layout is put together, it is rendered in 3D and placed under the following rough sketches.
③Sketching the Rough Draft
This background modeling process sets the stage for illustrator Kikkyawa (https://twitter.com/OvercomePeanuts) to breathe life into the game's characters based on the storyboard. The synergy between background modeling and character illustration proves invaluable throughout the development process. For example, if the team decides to adjust the camera angle to create a more dynamic scene, having the background already modeled eliminates the need to redraw the background from scratch. Allowing the illustrator to focus entirely on sketching the rough draft of the characters.
④ Creating the Pixel Art
Once the background modeling and sketches are complete, they then move on to creating the pixel art. When compressing the sketches to fit the size required for the pixel art, some details may get lost. This is where Hafhaf-oden meticulously selects and adds missing lines to ensure that each character and background pixel art accurately represents the original sketches.
⑤Animation Process
Finally, the characters and backgrounds are layered together, and animations are added to the characters to bring the scene to life and complete the final version. In this pixel art animation scene, the layers for the background, Azami Fukurai, and her hand are separated. By animating each layer independently, including the movement of hair, clothing with lace details, and Azami's outstretched hand, the goal is to visually immerse the audience in the mysterious world of urban legends. While we focused on the opening movie for this community post, pixel art animations are generously used throughout the game in various story-cut scenes. According to Hafhaf-oden, the plan is to implement as many pixel art animations as possible. We hope you’re as excited to see them as we are!