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ROBOTECH: Invasion - GAME CONSOLE TITLE
PROJECT:
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Robotech: Invasion
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COMPANY:
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Vicious Cycle Software / Global Star
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TIMEFRAME:
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January 2003 - September 2004
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SOFTWARE:
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3DS Max, Photoshop, Adobe Premeire, proprietary game editor
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PLATFORM:
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Xbox, PS2
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COMMENTS:
My main role during the production of Robotech: Invasion was character setup and animation. I created the rigs for most of the characters in the game and animated about 50% of the character motions. Character types ranged from giant transformable mecha and Invid aliens to variable cyclone armor and humans.
I modeled and rigged the main player character and his transformable cyclone motorcycle. I developed a rig so the models could be easily animated and transformed. These two models acted together as one when in armor mode, the parts of the armor acting as children to the body parts of the rider. When in cyclone mode, the rider acted as a child of the bike. Finally, the rig allowed the rider to leave the bike and go on foot. This same rig was used in both first and thrid person perspective during game play.
I conceptualized and helped to create our in-game cinematic pipeline. The system allowed all cameras, lights, characters, and props to be animated together in one 3DS Max file and exported into the game engine. This enabled cinematic animators to take advantage of all of Max's keyframe tools to frame shots, refine timing, and create complex character interactions. Once the cinematics were completed in Max, they were exported and ready for implementation in the game.
I supervised a small team of animators in creating the in-game cinematics. Using story boards created by the art director, we blocked in camera angles and rough character poses. Then we went back and refined character animation.
I developed a facial rigging system that uses morph targets to represent various facial muscle groups. It allows for a wide variety of of facial expressions using as few targets as possible, giving better real-time performance and accommodating game engine limitations.
I applied my facial animation rig to all of the main characters in the cut scenes and created all of the facial animation and lip synch without the aid of thrid-party tools or plug-ins.
I created particle systems and effects for weapons fire, projectiles, explosions, thrusters, weather, etc. I developed a system that allowed each weapon to have a unique hit effect on each of the different types of surfaces while also minimizing the number of particles and effects used.
Toward the end of the project I was in charge of creating and editing the opening movie. I captured footage from the game and created the movies using Adobe Premiere.
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BEN CLOWARD - Technical Artist
