Spec Ops from TronicStudio on Vimeo.

Tronic and Marco Brambilla Create and Destroy Dubai
in Epic HD Trailer for Take 2’s “Spec Ops” Game

Dubai glistens in all its luxurious glory as a monstrous storm approaches to crush
the city. In the aftermath of a cataclysmic desert storm, two rogue commando
units fight for control of a ravaged Dubai city in an epic: 90 HD promotional trailer
for Take 2’s highly anticipated Spec Ops multiplayer game. Designed, animated
and produced by design and animation studio Tronic (www.TronicStudio.com), in
collaboration with director Marco Brambilla, and featuring the haunting vocals of
Bjork’s Storm, Spec Ops marks Tronic’s first deployment in the world of console
gaming.

Working from Take 2’s creative brief, Tronic partners Jessi Seppi and Vivian
Rosenthal drew deeply on their architectural training (both have Masters in
Architecture from Columbia University) to create a futuristic Dubai before and
after the storm, as well as a large cast of characters and numerous fast-action
sequences.

Tronic, known for its innovative CG imagery with a distinctive architectural
aesthetic, produced a polished mini-movie that provided the aesthetic template
for Spec Ops’ subsequent development. Unlike typical game trailers, whose
characters and environment are designed and modeled in advance of the
promotional production, the Spec Ops’ trailer preceded the game development
and allowed for Tronic to design and model all the characters and environments
from scratch. “As one can imagine, this made the project more exciting because
it required every tool in our creative arsenal, and a tremendous amount of
design, modeling and rendering power to create a platoon of photoreal
characters who encounter enemy groups who move rapidly through the
crumbling urban environment,” says Tronic’s Jessi Seppi.

After finishing the concept art, Tronic tested a variety of advanced animation
techniques for environment and character development, before preparing for a
motion capture shoot. Over the course of the six month-long project, Tronic
pushed the creative envelope on every front, from 3D character modeling,
texturing, animating to compositing. “We discovered that we not only enjoyed the
process of working with games, but it was a good fit since it calls for motion
capture and other interesting technologies that fit well with our design abilities in
relation to characters and abstraction,” said Rosenthal, whose previous game
experience was a series of animated virals for online game GAIA.

A key challenge was the design and rendering of the environments with their
constantly shifting perspectives. “Every environmental scene includes a long shot
that shows another view of the city, which required the creation of a huge number
of visual assets since we did not re-use shots,” said Seppi. “For every shot we
wanted to create a before and after feeling, moving from present day Dubai to
after the destructive storm.”

Tronic developed the complete visual architecture of Dubai, mixing together
existing buildings with ones of their own design. “We built a huge database of
visual assets to tell the story of an opulent Dubai and its destruction. From
extensive Zbrush work for the characters, to hard and soft body dynamics in
many of the scenes, to advanced particle systems like Krakatoa and Fume
Effects for the sandstorm and explosions, we got to do it all,” declared Seppi. “
We also employed fracturing and custom scripting tools to control breaking glass
and sync it with gunfire, the wind and sand. It was a big undertaking but well
worth it. A true labor of love.”