Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 11:00 PM
Netflix has shared a video detailing the making of process for Pokemon Concierge, the latest stop-motion animation set in the world of Pokemon that just released on the streaming service. The behind-the-scenes video details how Pokemon like Psyduck, Dragonite, and Pikachu were animated in the series.
The making of video covers the animation process behind the Netflix series, showing how the rigging was done for the puppeteering. Pokemon were given small details to make them more emotive and the protagonist Haru, was also given many different faces to allow her to express a variety of emotions.
Pokemon Concierge was first announced on February 27, 2023 during a Pokemon Presents as a collaboration between Netflix and The Pokemon Company, and focuses on a Pokemon resort on a tropical island. It is at this resort where Haru (JPN: Non, ENG: Karen Fukuhara) works as a concierge alongside her friends Alisa (JPN: Ai Fairoz, ENG: Imani Hakim) and Tyler (JPN: Rita Okuno, ENG: Josh Keaton) as they help humans and Pokemon guests alike enjoy their vacation.
The video of the making of Pokemon Concierge can be viewed below:
Pokemon Concierge is developed by Dwarf Studios, known for their production of Netflix's Rilakkuma and Kaoru, another stop-motion animation series that features characters created by San-X. The studio has also developed Domo-kun animated shorts. The stop-motion animation was directed by Iku Ozawa and written by Harumi Doki. The concept art and character design for the stop-motion animation based on the Pokemon franchise was done by Tadahiro Uesugi.
Pokemon Concierge is available to stream only on Netflix.
The post Netflix Shares Making Of Video for Pokemon Concierge appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 9:00 PM
In an interview with Famitsu, Zenless Zone Zero producer Li Zhenyu talked about how he and his team crafted the world of New Eridu. He also states that the world of Zenless Zone Zero is completely separate from the pre-existing Honkai and Genshin universes.
Though Zenless Zone Zero takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, the story is anything but pessimistic. He wants to focus on human-oriented plots, as well as a sense of community and city life. He also wanted to share his childhood experiences of hanging out with his friends at the arcade, talking about movies at the video rental shop, and listening to music at the CD shop. That's why he set the story in such an urban environment. These details were present in the closed beta as well. The Proxies run a video rental shop. Something you can do from time to time is recommending movies to customers.
While you'll be able to explore areas outside New Eridu, Zenless Zone Zero will mostly focus on that one city. As you can see from the designs, there are beastmen and robotic lifeforms. "Coolness" is a major factor behind a lot of the team's decisions in the world and characters. Li wanted to create the idea of a post-apocalyptic border-less city that acts as a melting pot. From a character design standpoint, the Zenless Zone Zero team wanted to create something the player has never seen before. So it thought about the different varieties of people that would appear in a post-apocalyptic world, as well as how they can depict this heterogeneous society. It welcomes ideas from players as well.
Zenless Zone Zero is in development for the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. It'll come out in 2024.
The post New Eridu in Zenless Zone Zero is a Melting Pot of Species appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 8:30 PM
HoYoVerse will be at Comiket, which will run from December 30 to 31, 2023. You'll be able to find them selling Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail goods at Booth #2511. [Thanks, Game Watch!]
Aside from the above two games, you'll also be able to get items based on Honkai Impact 3rd. Depending on how many items you purchase from each intellectual property, you might receive a gift. You can check out the official webpage it has for its line-up. In general, its items range from keychains to standees to mousepads.
Some more unique items are the Klee's Jumpty Dumpty mug and a plush of Taroumaru. The mug in particular is something that you can get online from either HoYoVerse's official shop or resellers. At 2000 JPY ($14.20), buying it directly from HoYoVerse at Comiket is a much cheaper option though. As for the Taroumaru plush, it'll cost 3000 JPY ($21.30). If you purchase from the booth, you'll be able to get a special bag that shows Paimon, Kiana, and March 7th. It'll also have the "Tech Otakus Save the World" slogan. However, there's only a limited number of these bags.
Comiket will run from December 30 to 31, 2023. You can see some of the goods that HoYoVerse will release via its official website. Genshin Impact is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. Honkai: Star Rail is on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.
The post HoYoVerse Comiket Booth Will Have Genshin, Star Rail Goods appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 8:00 PM
In an interview with Famitsu, Zenless Zone Zero producer Li Zhenyu discussed how his team worked on coding the combat. He believes that he and his team have created one of the best battle systems in the current action game scene.
In our preview of the closed beta for Zenless Zone Zero, we commented on how similar the combat is to Honkai Impact 3rd's. The Famitsu interviewer asked Li how he and the team differentiated their games. He states that how heavy each hit feels, how smooth the action is, and how good it feels to play are what differs Zenless Zone Zero from Honkai Impact 3rd. The impact and sense of rhythm on-screen in battle give the player a "very exciting" experience.
A strong sense of "feedback" in how players handle the characters is something the team really focused on. They expressed this through the Break and QTE systems, as well as in emergency support. The emergency support system is when the game prompts you to switch characters and use their switch attack after you take damage. This battle style makes it easy for newcomers to control their characters like veteran action game players. By making everyone easier to control, the team lowered the overall difficulty. In turn, this made the fun of action games more accessible to a wider audience.
Incidentally, the Zenless Zone Zero team does not plan on implementing any auto-battle functions. It's also started developing on endgame content. However, there is no roadmap yet, nor is there a complete vision of what endgame content in the game will look like. Li will keep everyone posted once the team has come up with a concrete idea.
Zenless Zone Zero is in development for the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. It'll come out in 2024.
The post How Zenless Zone Zero Combat Differs From Honkai Impact 3rd appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Friday, December 29, 2023 7:30 PM
Eight Bit has shared the character designs for Nagi and Reo as they'll appear in Blue Lock: Episode Nagi. This movie will cover Team V's time during the First Selection Arc. [Thanks, AnimeTV!]
The key visual for the two actually shows them from when they were on Hakuho High School's soccer team. Nagi and Reo used to attend the same high school before Ego invited them to join the Blue Lock program. The school did not even have a soccer team until Reo founded it so that he could aim for his goal of winning the World Cup. Though the boys are much newer to the game than most other characters in the series, Hakuho High School never lost. It was only when they entered the Blue Lock program that the duo first experienced defeat.
You can watch the trailer for Blue Lock: Episode Nagi here:
Both Nobunaga Shimazaki and Yuma Uchida will reprise their roles as Nagi and Reo, respectively. Shimazaki's previous roles include Kazuha in Genshin Impact and Iok in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. He was also Arjuna, Dantes, and Ritsuka Fujimaru (Male) in the Fate series. As for Uchida, he portrayed Megumi Fushiguro in Jujutsu Kaisen, Ash in Banana Fish, and G'raha Tia in Final Fantasy XIV.
Blue Lock: Episode Nagi will air in Japan on April 19, 2024. You can watch Blue Lock on streaming services such as Crunchyroll.
The post Blue Lock: Episode Nagi Key Visuals Show Nagi and Reo appeared first on Siliconera. |
