Developer Ninja Theory has revealed another quick look at Senua’s Saga: Heblade II, with the studio’s latest video focusing on dramatic facial animation. Introduced at the Game Developers Conference, Ninja Theory’s use of Unreal Engine 5 allowed the studio to create more nuanced and subtle facial movements from Melissa Juergens, visual effects artist rate for Senua.
This tech demo includes overt acting when the actress announced that she was going to kill herself, as well as more sophisticated moves and movements from Juergens. Although Ninja Theory used a lot of advanced technology to increase the realism of the Hellblade sequel, studio has also opted for more low-tech solutions, including a homemade device that incorporates a toilet plunger into its design. You’ll also want to avoid leaving clothes around developers, when they use a torch to make clothes to see what the materials look like after they’re burned.
Theory Ninja has been working hard on Hellblade II since it was announced in 2019, with one of the recent gameplay trailers was released back at the 2021 Game Awards. That video shows Senua working alongside a group of warriors to take down a giant monster, and it has been confirmed that the game will takes place in Iceland. A release date has yet to be announced.
Unreal Engine 5 has quickly become one of the more popular tools for game development since it was first announced, and a number of high profile games will be created with this toolkit. The list so far includes The Witcher remake, Dragon Quest XII: Flame of DestinyAnd Fear classamong others.
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