Zoic Studios creates an attract opening cinematic for “PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.”
Culver City, CA -- Culver City/Vancouver-based visual effects house Zoic Studios casts kinetic silhouettes on video game stars of all stripes for the attract opening cinematic in the highly anticipated PlayStation video game title PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for SuperBot Entertainment in conjunction with Sony Santa Monica Studio. The crossover fighting video game allows four players to brawl it out with characters from various PlayStation franchises including God of War, PaRappa the Rapper and Sly Cooper, as well as third-party franchises such as BioShock.
Zoic Studios Creative Director Levi Ahmu crafted the overall design for the 2:27 attract cinematic, which went live online on November 8, 2012. The trailer has received over 640,000 views and over 25,000 shares with 95 percent positive feedback on YouTube alone.
The game is now available exclusively on both the PlayStation3 and PlayStation Vita systems and has an ESRB rating of “T” for Teen.
PlayStation and SuperBot called upon Zoic to create an attract cinematic for the highly-anticipated game that would authentically represent all of the various characters and their signature fighting styles, while still incorporating the PlayStation brand.
An avid gamer, Ahmu was excited to get his hands on such beloved characters from such a wide range of game titles. He heavily researched the specific in-game movements and nuances of each featured character to make the viewer feel as if they had just stepped out of the game. With each of the characters having divergent visual qualities, Ahmu created an aesthetic that would streamline their looks while still allowing a good impression of each character. He tied in the familiar PlayStation flowing blue ribbons in the background and cast the characters in drawn silhouettes. As each character began their dynamic action, one of their signature traits is highlighted in various fluorescent hues.
Notes Ahmu, “We worked with SuperBot to develop the high-contrast visual style you see in the trailer. It uses color against monochromatic blue tones to highlight the unique attributes of each character—all against a background reminiscent of PlayStation’s flowing ribbon-like aesthetics.”
Source: Zoic Studios
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
