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Anticipation Grows For Amanita’s Botanicula

aaron — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:01:16 +0000

Jakub Dvorský and his Czech-based game studio Amanita Design are readying their next point-n-click release, titled Botanicula, which focuses on five tree creatures who are “on a quest to save their home’s last seed from a pack of evil parasites.” As in earlier Amanita games, like Samarost, the natural environment plays a big role in the design of the game, and here in this teaser you can see that mushrooms are characters. I was actually mushroom hunting in the Czech Republic this summer, and can verify that this is an awesome national pastime. Animation in the game was handled by Jaromir Plachy.

For more on Amanita, read our 2005 interview with Jakub.

Weebls Stuff Trailer For Russian Dancing Men Game

aaron — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:41:30 +0000

There’s a Weebl’s Stuff game set to drop this month, that sets gameplay amongst some of their more popular Flash-animated shorts. In this trailer for Russian Dancing Men, you’ll spot favorites like Crabs, Badgers, Magical Trevor, Amazing Horse and of course Weebl and Bob. They’re making it for iPhone and iPad, but also Android down the line.

Phillips Slays Dragon Age Animation

aaron — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:20:10 +0000

Dragon Age: Legends, EA’s popular Facebook game, includes an intense opening cinematic that was animated by none other than Adam Phillips. It was animated over 48 days using Animate Pro 2.

Phillips Reveals Dashkin Cinematic Opening

aaron — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:45:28 +0000

Adam Phillips, the mastermind behind the Brackenwood saga, is getting set to release his Daskin game (which he created along with Sean McGee). Below you’ll see the opening cinematic for the game, and soon you’ll be able to play it for free at bitey.com. Phillips used Toon Boom Animate Pro to create the animated elements. In the final freeze-frame shot, most of you will spot the game’s title, but it is laid in there subtly.

Harmony Arcade Team Release Castle Smash Trailer

aaron — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:53:17 +0000

Michael Mueller and his friends recently started a game company called Harmony Arcade, and their first release is available on Facebook. Castle Smash is a social game and it “is all about the look on your friend’s face when you arrive onto the battlefield with a solid gold slingshot.” Personally, I like the look on the horse’s face half-way through this trailer:

Klei Team Drives Shank Into The Gaming World

aaron — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:26:54 +0000

Vancouver-based Klei Entertainment launched their latest game yesterday – Shank. You play Shank, a bruiser who chops people up with knives and chainsaws. The 16-person team used Sketchbook Pro and Flash to build the game, which is available on PS3 and XBOX360. The creative director, Jeff Agala, is probably best known as the director of Atomic Betty. Here’s a trailer:

Animated Trailer For Online Game Magic

aaron — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:11:03 +0000

Here’s a trailer for the Russian online game Magic, which is not to be confused with the Wizards game Magic: The Gathering. Animation was produced by Toonbox.

Ubisoft Builds UBIart – Flash-like Software For Games

aaron — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:59:30 +0000

Developers at Ubisoft in France have hatched a new animation tool called UBIart, that focuses on “interactive creation.” It’s a proprietary tool, and the fact that they’re promoting its existence makes me think they’ll offer it to the public at some point. With user-generated content invading the video gaming world (like LittleBigPlanet), it would make sense, especially in light of Ubisoft’s announcement of ManiaPlanet, a “user-powered” game coming later this year. UBIart appears to work like Flash – or probably more like Toon Boom – allowing the user to import any medium and then animate using rigs.

The artist working the tablet here is Christophe Villez, a graduate of Gobelins, and his work is then animated by Anthony Le Du.

… and this piece discusses the UBIart framework, and then leads into a trailer for Rayman Origins.

Powerhouse Charges Epic Mickey Cinematics

aaron — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:30:22 +0000

Over at Cartoon Brew, you may have spotted the recent trailer for Epic Mickey the Wii new gaming title produced by Junction Point Studios. The 2D cinematics in the game were produced by Powerhouse Animation, who also produced the new Risk: Factions game we highlighted yesterday. Busy month for Powerhouse! The game is due for release in December 2010. Here’s a short look at one of the cinematics, which don’t appear to include a great deal of animation or elaborate lip-sync, but the layouts and models look great.

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Powerhouse Conquers Risk: Factions Cinematics

aaron — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:44:28 +0000

Risk: Factions, the latest video game version of the board game, launches today on Xbox LIVE Arcade. It was produced by EA and Stainless Games, but the cinematics were produced by Powerhouse Animation. I had a hand in that pairing last year, so you might see my name zip by in the credits. Here’s one of the cinematic chapters:

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