Development Info Project Eternity Kickstarter Update #38: Meet the Devs - Mark Bremerkamp

[Infinitron]

Tags: Obsidian Entertainment; Project Eternity

Today we have another filler update installment in Project Eternity's "Meet the Developers" series. Now with 90% less forced humor! Meet Mark Bremerkamp, lead animator. He doesn't talk much.

Q: Hello, Mr. Bremerkamp! What is your job on the Project Eternity team?​

A:​

Lead Animator​

Q: What are you working on this week?​

A:​

Initial attacks for the light spear (1h thrust) and the pike (2h thrust)​

Q: What is your typical work day like on Project Eternity?​

A:​

First drink coffee then check my e-mail and look to see if there are any meetings that I need to prepare for. Then I usually look over the work from the day before. I like to always go back with a fresh set of eyes to see what worked and then I'll make some notes/changes. After all that I get to animating the fixes or I'll move onto a new animation.​

Q: What are you most looking forward to on Project Eternity? What are you looking forward to animating?​

A:​

That’s an easy one...Creatures. It's always fun to animate strange and creepy critters.​

Q: What other games have you worked on?​

A:​

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Alpha Protocol, Fallout New Vegas, and New Vegas DLCs.​

If you'd like to know more about Mark's favorite food, drinks, games and inspirations, you can read the entire thing here.

 

[villain of the story]

I wonder if he's the one responsible for the quality facial animations in BL and AP. If he is, it's sad that he won't get to do similar work here again.

 

[Ogg]

Initial attacks for the light spear (1h thrust) and the pike (2h thrust)

Am I the only one who's slightly aroused?​

 

[Irenaeus]

Yeah, P:E could benefit from BL style talking heads in dialogs. They should have set that as a stretch goal and raised more 500K.

 

[Harold]

I wonder if he's the one responsible for the quality facial animations in BL and AP. If he is, it's sad that he won't get to do similar work here again.

I don't know about AP, but he was the lead animator on Bloodlines so... yeah, dude knows his shit.

 

[Roguey]

Bloodlines's quality facial animations is more the result of Valve's quality tools than an actual person: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Faceposer

Most games use FaceFX which is merely decent and requires a lot more work to get something really good.

 

[villain of the story]

Well, facial animations HL2 were overrated crap while Bloodlines was brilliant. Dude certainly knew his shit.

 

[bussinrounds]

Q: What's your favorite game?
A:
OK well...that's a really big question because like many different games for different reasons. Old school games are really near and dear to my heart. When I say old school I'm talking about Intellivison Games like the Treasure of Tarmin

Fuck yea. ToT was my favorite Intellivision game. That and Tower of Doom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Dungeons_&_Dragons:_Treasure_of_Tarmin

 

[Roguey]

Well, facial animations HL2 were overrated crap while Bloodlines was brilliant. Dude certainly knew his shit.

I'd say that's because their cartoonier look allowed them to get really expressive. Bloodlines's over-the-top expressions would produce an uncanny valley-like effect on HL2's character models.

 

[villain of the story]

Cartoonier? Over the top expressions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kPKjHWA7NQ4#t=514s

HL2 characters are at least as cartoony and both their facial and body language animations are quite over the top, to the point of looking silly. "Look, look, I'm talking, like, totally authentic". One of the most overrated POS games.

 

[Scruffy]

Initial attacks for the light spear (1h thrust) and the pike (2h thrust)

Am I the only one who's slightly aroused?​

by thursting spears?

 

[Ogg]

Initial attacks for the light spear (1h thrust) and the pike (2h thrust)

Am I the only one who's slightly aroused?​

by thursting spears?

obviously

 

[Scruffy]

Initial attacks for the light spear (1h thrust) and the pike (2h thrust)

Am I the only one who's slightly aroused?​

by thursting spears?

obviously

so... ?

 

[Roguey]

Cartoonier? Over the top expressions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kPKjHWA7NQ4#t=514s

HL2 characters are at least as cartoony and both their facial and body language animations are quite over the top, to the point of looking silly. "Look, look, I'm talking, like, totally authentic". One of the most overrated POS games.

You're showing me black and telling me it's white so I dunno what to say. There's this: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/File:D1_eli_010008.jpg
And then there's this:

 

[circ]

RTwP

 

[EG]

Cartoonier? Over the top expressions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kPKjHWA7NQ4#t=514s

HL2 characters are at least as cartoony and both their facial and body language animations are quite over the top, to the point of looking silly. "Look, look, I'm talking, like, totally authentic". One of the most overrated POS games.

You're showing me black and telling me it's white so I dunno what to say. There's this: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/File:D1_eli_010008.jpg
And then there's this:

 

[FeelTheRads]

OMG CARTOONY FACE LOLOL

 

[Esquilax]

No, I've played Bloodlines many times, and while the facial animations are generally quite good, at times when you're talking to someone, their expression gets locked into some sort of shit-eating grin that looks kinda creepy. I played Half-Life 2 a long time ago, so I can't really remember enough to compare, but Roguey isn't off on this one.

 

[Excommunicator]

First drink coffee then check my e-mail and look to see if there are any meetings that I need to prepare for. Then I usually look over the work from the day before. I like to always go back with a fresh set of eyes to see what
worked and then I'll make some notes/changes. After all that I get to animating the fixes or I'll move onto a new animation.

Sounds intense

 

[Saxon1974]

Good grief, just give us game updates or dont post at all...

 

[FeelTheRads]

No, I've played Bloodlines many times, and while the facial animations are generally quite good, at times when you're talking to someone, their expression gets locked into some sort of shit-eating grin that looks kinda creepy. I played Half-Life 2 a long time ago, so I can't really remember enough to compare, but Roguey isn't off on this one.

Well, exactly. That sounds like a bug. Not that different from a retarded freeze-frame. I don't see how this characterizes the animation as cartoony.

 

[Irenaeus]

Cartoonier? Over the top expressions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kPKjHWA7NQ4#t=514s

HL2 characters are at least as cartoony and both their facial and body language animations are quite over the top, to the point of looking silly. "Look, look, I'm talking, like, totally authentic". One of the most overrated POS games.

You're showing me black and telling me it's white so I dunno what to say. There's this: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/File:D1_eli_010008.jpg
And then there's this:

This girl is supposed to look insane/retarded. She's a ghoul at the Confession night club.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/showshot.php?/vampirebloodlines/walkthrough/images/screenshot38.jpg

 

[Roguey]

This girl is supposed to look insane/retarded. She's a ghoul at the Confession night club.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/showshot.php?/vampirebloodlines/walkthrough/images/screenshot38.jpg

 

[aris]

yeah, I clearly remember that many of the facial expressions were quite off in bloodlines.

 

[The Bishop]

They weren't "off" and that's not the point Rogey is making. They were exaggerated. Just like theatrical actors can often speak in unnaturally loud voice or gesticulate intensely, this is just a way of enhancing expressiveness of an otherwise insufficiently expressive artistic tool.