Marvel Super Hero Squad Video Game Developer Diary #2: In-Game Visuals Watch a video clip and check out this developer diary about the in-game visuals.
"Marvel Super Hero Squad" is an Adventure-Brawler title coming this year to the Wii, developed by Australia-based Blue Tongue Entertainment, and will be published by THQ for release on October 20 for Wii, PS2, PSP and DS.
In this diary entry, we talk to Lead Artist Julian Lamont and Lead Programmer Alister Hatt about the in-game visuals.
Marvel.com: How did you go about developing the art style for the game?
Julian Lamont: The art style of the game was inspired by a mix of the toy line, the upcoming "Super Hero Squad Show" and some great work by our concept artists. During production we had a strong relationship with Marvel and it was good fun seeing the TV show develop at the same time we were creating the game. We had access to lot of the show's production art which helped create the strong UI and unlockable cards. The in-game characters and environments also reflect the bright, energetic Super Hero City that will appear in the show. Aside from the show source, we also drew on the mountains of reference from the Marvel Universe for our environments and also for the unique personalities of all the characters.
Marvel.com: What kind of work did your team have to do in order to get this game looking as good as it does on the Wii?
Julian Lamont: The team made really good use of the Wii's hardware capabilities, as well as the tools that the programmers provided us with. I think we've managed to achieve a nice vibrant look onscreen that works for the 3D look of a property that—aside from the toys—has only existed in 2D. The final result is a great looking Wii game that has a huge range of recognisable Marvel content that should satisfy both new and old fans.
Marvel.com: "Marvel Super Hero Squad" features 21 playable characters, which is an impressive roster! What kind of challenges were there in terms of animating all 21 characters?
Julian Lamont: This was very challenging as the character move sets have a lot of depth with chainable melee attacks, range attacks, environmental threats, finishing moves and takedowns just to name a few of the elements. When this depth was combined with the unique powers and fighting styles of the Marvel characters, we had to create literally thousands of unique animations. We tackled this workload by prototyping a lot of the moves first,before full animation, as well as focusing on Iron Man and Hulk to make sure we had the basic combat mechanics nailed before expanding on to the other characters' abilities. There was still a huge amount of work so we had quite a large animation team to tackle this workload. We also worked with our outsourcing vendor, DigiArt to give all the characters their unique traits that makes the game so much fun.
Stay glued to Marvel.com over the next month as we spotlight all the characters in the game, present some developer diaries from Blue Tongue (the team creating the game) and much more! And don't forget to get your copy of "Marvel Super Hero Squad" on October 20 for Wii, PS2, PSP and DS.
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