- Pierre Alexandre
Spider-Man GDC notes

Script to Screen : the Development Diary of «Marvel’s Spider-Man»
Brian Wyser (Lead Animator on Spider-Man PS4), Insomniac Games
**please acknowledge that those notes aren’t exactly representative of the speaker’s presentation. I tried to stick to the slides as much as possible. Those notes are here to give you a first taste before the original presentation releases on internet**
COMBAT
. Spider-Man would climb on his enemies during fights, not just simply punch them (explore new ways for interesting combat)
. Who’s holding the camera? questions we asked ourselves...so different camera settings were created to manipulate them with precision
. 90 min of cinematics… 12 animators, 2 years...it was daunting
SETUP
. previz
. layout/animation
. performance capture
. lock n’ release
. polish to final
PREVIZ
. 1 scene/animator
. iterate!
. integrate it ASAP
CINEMATOGRAPHY
. environment can help
. use depth (think with planes/layers)
. what’s the mood, emotion, subtext?
. show emotion
EDITING
. emotion, story, rythm : feel the emotion through editing
. power of discontinuity : 2 shots following each other showing the same action (e.g. : a shot with a huge kick on an enemy, the following shot « rewinds » a bit showing exactly the same kick, from a different angle. Showing twice the same thing to accentuate it)
. mocap isn’t everything
INNOVATION
. seamless transitions from cinematics to gameplay
. issues, bugs? Often because of miscommunication —> importance of meetings
. many different Spider-Man costumes the player can put...so sometimes, just brute force it (come back and re-animate for a specific outfit)
FACIAL ANIMATION
. include lighting ASAP (for eyes reflection, readability…)
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