Astro’s Playroom was the first approach of thousands of players to PlayStation 5. The title, included as standard on the console, is not only the second great adventure of Astro Bot in video games, but a staging of the technological capabilities of the hardware of new generation of console and a tribute to 25 years from PlayStation. Team Asobi has explained how he captured that essence with the guest characters.
From paper to screen; more than just character skins
Team Asobi’s goal in recreating characters from iconic PlayStation sagas, both first party What third party, is that they were not only recognizable for their aesthetics, but for their behavior. Jamie Smith, animation director of Team Asobi, admits that they had a great time creating these characters, but they had to assume “the great responsibility of offering the fun and quality” that “did justice” to those characters.
As he explains, the first step is to sketch the events on paper. Toshihiko Nakai is a key figure in this context, the main conceptual artist of the Japanese studio. While studying the history of PlayStation games to select characters to make Astro, he began to draw cameos of all kinds. “The selection process was simple, if a cameo could be recognized immediately, it made us smile and the geek inside us jumped with joy, it was that the first selection filter had passed,” says Smith.
The use of recognizable presses or emblematic tools was essential for visual recognition; that it was not difficult to recognize who it was, but that it was not excessively obvious either. “It had to be fun to figure it out, even for players who knew where the cameos originated from. ” For this it was necessary to have all kinds of knowledge of each game on their part. As he underlines, Nakai’s role was decisive due to his high knowledge in the PlayStation universe.
3D recreation and animation process
On the other hand, they noticed the comic tint of the whole. Characters that make you smile immediately … while being respectful. With everything clear, the next phase went through the three-dimensional modeling of the characters. “The modelers took out their inner cosplayer to create clothing and other items for each scene, modifying the size when necessary to give all the elements an adorable finish that will fit the world of Astro like a glove ”, the director deepens. Weapons, tools, clothing and a lighthearted humorous touch were the formula for the success of the result.
The most complicated thing was the animation. His focus ranged from concepts like fast, frenetic, and fun. All the animations, he explains, were done by hand. Frame by frame. “Apart from looking for these funny scenes, we thought that, maybe, you would like to give him a punch or two to see what happens (accidentally, of course)”, he adds. And if, they involved the original creators of those games from the beginning; they did not work without consulting them.
Astro’s Playroom is available exclusively for PlayStation 5. As soon as we turn on the console for the first time it will start downloading the game; a display of originality that shows us in detail how far haptic response technology, adaptive triggers, 3D sound or immediate loading times through the SSD memory can go.
The future of Team Asobi is already underway; They work in a franchise “for all ages.”
Source | PlayStation Blog
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