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Author: Lauren Brady

Interview with Stu Bayley, Director at REALTIME

“When I work it’s like I’m in a time machine, a whole day can fly by and I’m just absorbed in what I’m doing. That is a gift and I don’t take it for granted.”

What makes a great Director of games trailers? Where do they get their inspiration from and how to they develop their design style?

Director Stu Bayley spoke to Muse.World about all of this and more, including the process behind making the award-winning trailer for Subnautica: Below Zero for Unknown Worlds. The trailer recently picked up the award for best animation / special effects at the Vega Digital Awards.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021: Review

For the car enthusiasts among us, it was encouraging to see the Goodwood Festival of Speed take place after a Covid-enforced hiatus last year. The event opened its doors last Thursday as part of the UK Government’s Event Research Programme and as such could run at full capacity as far as visitors were concerned, although it definitely impacted the number of motor manufacturers in attendance.

In any case, I was very happy to be there – if only as it felt like progress on the return to normality. So, ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts for my little round up of the highlights:

Genesis

Much like Nissan’s Infiniti and Honda’s Acura, Hyundai used the Festival of Speed to launch its Genesis brand, including the G70 Shooting Brake pictured, which is unique to these shores. It is not the easiest task in the world to break the European prestige market without any heritage as such, but Genesis seems to be including all the right ingredients in its recipe.

Ineos

Goodwood was the first opportunity to get up close and personal with Ineos’ Grenadier, fondly thought of by many as the ‘real’ replacement for the workhorse Series III Land Rover Defender. Certainly, the extremely rugged construction and serious-looking ironmongery, visible within the wheelhouses and exposed door hinges, leave us in no doubt whatsoever as to its intentions.

Pininfarina

A quick rock down to Electric Avenue and it was lovely to see the beautiful yet sustainable Battista on show and accessible to the public via the very friendly Pininfarina staff team. Just like its sister car, the recently christened Rimac Nevera, deliveries begin later on this year for those with €2m burning a hole in their ecologically sound, recycled cotton-lined pockets. 

Lamborghini

Lamborghini took the opportunity to share the swansong Aventador, the Ultimae, with the appreciative Goodwood audience. Sporting a final-iteration 780PS V12, I’m sure this will fly off the shelves as we tick off yet another brand making the transition to hybrid, if not full-electric power.

McLaren

Woking’s finest continues its tradition of warm hospitality for all visitors, open chequebook or not, and welcomes you to a sit (and dream) in the stunning Elva.

The real star of the McLaren stand, however, was the new Artura, making its public debut in the UK and really looking the part. The public car was displayed in its now famous Flux Green finish but if you ask me, the car looks best off its tall show plinth and closer to the ground, to be approached as you would on the street. It’s a real testament to its design, so here’s a snap of it at the back of ‘McLaren House’ looking mean and moody in its satin paintwork:

Lotus Cars

Finally, to the storied British brand Lotus, and it’s unanimous star of the show; the new Emira. While the electric Evija still looks totally fresh as it takes its place amongst the new ‘holy trinity’ with the Pininfarina Battista and the Rimac Nevera, the sweet-as-a-nut Emira, billed as the final internal combustion-engine or ICE Lotus, saw queues around the block to have a closer look. Very well judged with even better pricing (starting at under £60k), my head and my heart are both telling me that the new £100m Lotus production facility is going to have a job on its hands to keep up with demand…

What a welcome return to an automotive event: breathe a sign of relief, everyone! EV and hybrid reveals are soon to comfortably outnumber their ICE counterparts, but it seems that the public’s enthusiasm will never be eclipsed!

 

REALTIME team up with Codemasters for F1 2021 ‘Braking Point’

F1® 2021 is a new next-generation racing experience launching on Friday July 16, featuring the teams, drivers and circuits for the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship™.  

In Braking Point, the brand-new story mode, players take on an epic journey, as they rise from the ranks of Formula 2™ to a shot at stardom in the world of Formula 1®. It immerses players into the glamorous world of F1®, giving a taste of the lifestyle both on and off the track: the rivalries, emotion and dedication needed to compete at the highest level.  

REALTIME was tasked with creating the dramatic cinematics for the ‘Braking Point’ story mode, from emotive performances with the protagonists to edge-of-your-seat track action. The game allows the player to select a team, with distinct branding, colours and uniforms. 

“F1® 2021 was our first major cinematic project where UE4 was used to replace a CPU renderer… the image quality is incredible. Even though it’s a game, the sky was the limit as to how good Codemasters wanted it to look.” Says Ian Jones, CG Director. 

 

What video games can learn from TV  

Video games might be the relatively new kid on the block when compared to film, TV, and music, but it has quickly become the most profitable industry. While video games have always trended upwards, the recent COVID pandemic certainly put more wind in its sales and drove it to new heights. 

But despite being the biggest entertainment industry around, it’s built on a foundation created by its peers. Would video games be as successful as they are without the lessons it learnt from TV or film? I’m not so sure. So, let’s look at what video games can and have picked up from the more senior industries… 

Pushing boundaries 

As technology has advanced, so too have video games. We’re a million miles away from the likes of Pong or Pac-Man. With the release of the latest generation of consoles – along with the reveal of what Unreal Engine 5 can do – we can push the boundaries of what games can achieve. 

How we tell stories has only become more refined as the room to do more has expanded. And you only have to look at film and TV to see where we’re drawing inspiration from. Some video games want that same level of prestige; to be a defining moment. Today, video games are full of spectacle and drama, pushing more and more. The narrative drives the gameplay instead of vice versa. 

Some have even adopted an episodic format to mimic TV. Where were you when the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead released episode by episode? It was a moment in the industry where everyone was hooked by the story of Lee and Clementine, and it’s because of its TV influences that it managed to be such a hit. 

There’s a bit of Indiana Jones in Uncharted. There’s a touch of Star Wars in Mass Effect. We even see video games cross the boundary to become TV shows and films themselves; HBO’s The Last of Us is sure to be a heart-breaking must watch.

Technology 

Part of this drive for more emotive narrative is our ability to better capture the drama. Taking a leaf from Hollywood’s book, motion-capture technology allows us to bring an actor’s exact performance to the game. How they move and how they emote are transferred to the game flawlessly. 

We’ve just wrapped on a series of dramatic cut-scenes for a game releasing this summer. Our mission was clear: we wanted to capture the actors’ performance and translate that into the game. Using innovative performance capture technology from our friends Di4D, we were dedicated to getting as realistic performances as possible to translate to the screen. We wanted to tell a story and bring the players into it, too. 

The technology also means the actors can be, well, actors. They can make character choices that reflect who they think they are. It goes along well with the maturation we are seeing in some series. Just look at God of War, which went from a gore-fest hunt for gods to an emotionally driven gore-fest hunt for closure. 

Saying all this, technology isn’t a requirement for a compelling story. The fact that creating a game is more accessible means the doors are open to countless indie developers who can tell the story they wish in a more lo-fi way. Something like Undertale or Disco Elysium are built on a strong narrative foundation and don’t have the same bells and whistles other AAA titles do. Because they don’t need them. It mirrors indie movies, which do exactly the same. 

Video games have taken what TV and film have created and ran with it. Those industries walked so video games could run. And we’re extremely thankful for it. They say we’re in a golden age of TV and film, but I would say we’re in a golden age of games, too. Who knows what the future holds; all I know is I’m excited to see where it goes. 

At REALTIME, we know the importance of a strong narrative, both in your game and in your trailers. To discuss how we can help you, reach out to me at [email protected]