Activision: Wipeout: Create & Crash

Gasket paired up with Activision to create a cinematic and tutorial animations for the fourth installment in the Wipeout video game series: Wipeout: Create & Crash. With a timeline of six weeks, we created exciting ways to introduce new controls, new characters, obstacle courses, and made a tutorial on how to use their new course creator feature. The tight timeline also meant organization was paramount to remain on schedule and maintain a high level of quality.

We worked closely with Activision and Behavior Interactive to match the assets and characters in the game as it was being developed. Animation and scripting began with concept art and rough character models that were updated as the game’s design reached completion. We added subtle details and textures to the game models so they could look their best when we rendered them at maximum quality.

Gameplay clips provided by Activision were used to capture the look and mood of the new sets. The Halloween set in our cinematic, for example, we chose to light with green and purple lights to match their spooky in-game environment. In the nighttime finale at the end of the cinematic, we utilized additional spotlights and lens flares to give the course a dramatic feel. 

SCRIPTWRITING

Our scripts were crafted to capture the tone and humor of the show, putting thematic emphasis on the new characters and courses. Writing for Matt Kunitz and Scott Larsen was tricky because their dynamic is different than the show hosts, but we found a balance between explaining gameplay and keeping the viewer entertained.

In addition to scripting the main cinematic piece, we were also responsible for creating a tutorial to demonstrate the new course creator for the Xbox, Wii, and DS. The addition of this feature was a challenge due to the length of the tutorial piece, as it added 1:38 of additional animation and rendering to the scope of the project. To be as efficient as possible without sacrificing quality, we were able to render portions of the tutorial while the rest of the main cinematic was being set dressed and animated.