You Will Wish Warframe's New Animated Shorts Were Full Anime Series
Awesome visuals by THE LINE.
Digital Extremes released two animated shorts for Warframe – Orion and Sirius – featuring highly saturated anime-like visuals that deserve to be in an entire series. Jade Shadows: Constellations was created for the game's new chapter in collaboration with animation studio THE LINE, which worked on The Mountain for Gorillaz, Hades 2 launch trailer, and some Overwatch cinematics.
The development started with the metalcore band ERRA's music, which inspired THE LINE with its riffs.
“Music tells a lot about how a film is going to feel, but also how it's going to look,” THE LINE director Louve Sarfati Karnas told Creative Bloq. “And when I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, if I close my eyes, the music is very textured, very gritty, very intense’. So I'm gonna emulate that visually.”
Together, the music and graphics teleport you into the early 2000s right alongside the makers: “I used to make my own Dragon Ball Z music videos […] I used to sit on my PC with Windows Movie Maker and make Linkin Park and Dragon Ball Z videos,” shared Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford. “And my friends and I would share them […] it was like a social currency in my friend group.”
Digital Extremes
Fueled by countless AMVs, Karnas imbued themselves with "that type of energy," and the influence of fan edits is clear in how shots change and interact, guided by TouchDesigner.
Digital Extremes
“I think what I'm most proud of in this film is the sense of progression, not just narratively, but also in terms of intensity and visual identity. It always finds a way to surprise you and take you in places you didn't necessarily expect,” Karnas said.
Digital Extremes
The project also influenced the game's content: “The direction of the update is taking is firmly a result of this piece,” Ford explained. “It's not like we're done the update when we show this trailer, it's like, okay, this trailer is our now, our bar.”
The short is adding something “new to the tapestry of Warframe,” and you will see it when Jade Shadows launches in June. The update introduces a new quest "that will once again put you in control of the Stalker as he navigates the complexities of fatherhood."
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