A Miniseries of Videos with Character Animation about the Zany Game Monster Hustle
When we make videos about games at Alconost we try to convey the exact same feelings players can expect to experience in the world of the game. Sometimes we use gameplay footage to do this, and sometimes we model scenes using graphics from the game. The second method allows us to do more than just convey the game’s personality. It also lets us tell a unique story that, in just a few seconds, immerses the viewer in the atmosphere the developers spent thousands of hours creating. This was the method we used to make a miniseries of videos about the game Monster Hustle.
The Game
Monster Hustle’s plot involves a lazy pharaoh who prefers pizza to home cooking. But a spell the pharaoh casts to make a magically delicious pizza awakens a group of mummies living in a pyramid. And they’re obsessed with pizza!
The player controls a team of these mummies. They need to battle for valuable resources, explore the pyramid’s nooks and crannies, develop their monsters’ abilities, compete for their clan’s dominance, and spawn new generations of insane pizza-hunters.
Objective and Results
Our objective was to make two 15-second videos that not only show the viewer the game’s ancient Egyptian setting and primary verbs (stealing pizza and creating a family of monsters), but also convey its unusual atmosphere, which is dark, hilarious, and crazy, all at the same time.
The game’s developers wanted the videos to be dynamic, funny, and even bold so the experience of watching the video would be as close as possible to the one waiting for the player in the game.
Here’s how it came out:
Production
The developers shared a selection of the game’s graphics with us to use in our animations, as well as their own vision for the videos’ storylines. And , in order to give us a better understanding of how the videos should make the viewer feel, they showed us an earlier promo video made out of gameplay footage. Thanks to the specific background information they gave us and our proactive approval process, we were able to generate detailed scenarios as quickly as possible.
In order to convey the developers’ plot ideas, we needed visual details that were not included in the materials they had originally given us. To make sure all the art in the video was consistent and matched the game’s visual style in every detail, the development team drew a few new art assets just for the videos.
When making the videos, we focused on the animation’s expressive qualities. Although we usually make videos with narration, in this case the lack of a narrator helps the viewer focus on the visuals, which are packed with events.
Based on the script, we planned to animate the characters’ facial expressions to make their emotions expressive and instantly readable. Since the developers provided us with layered images of all the characters, we were able to make character animations efficiently and with the level of personality required for the videos.
Alconost would like to thank Monster Hustle’s development team for the constructive discussions we had with them during every phase of the project, as well as for preparing additional graphics for us. We would also like to thank them for generating a creative atmosphere of teamwork that was perfect for creating videos about this wacky, mischief-filled game!
If your awesome game needs a video of its own, let us know — we’ll be happy to help.
About the author
Alconost creates videos for applications, games, websites and businesses. We make videos “on a turnkey basis”, from draft scripts to voice work. Into 70+ languages!
Alconost also specializes in localizing games, applications and websites into 70+ languages.
Want to discuss your project? Book a call with us!
