Following the release of all 7 episodes of Alien: Isolation The Digital Series last week, IGN also published an article in which Kinga Smith from Reverse Engineering Studios and Fabian DuBois from DVgroup talk about pitching the idea to Fox and some of the choice making that went into adapting the game for the Digital Series.
“We then made storytelling choices based on the idea that we would be going deeper into Amanda Ripley’s psychology – to discover her demons, her fears, her motivations. The final series is comprised of three types of scenes: brand-new scenes that are rendered from scratch, cinematics taken directly from the game, and first-person scenes from the game we re-shot, edited and inserted a CG model of Amanda Ripley. Viewers will get to enjoy an exciting narrative that doesn’t repeat the Alien: Isolation story, but completes it.”
Concept art from Alien: Isolation The Digital Series released via Alien Theory on Twitter.
You can head on over to IGN to read the complete interview. If you haven’t already, you can also watch all seven of the episodes on IGN as well.
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You're a legend, thank you.
Thanks for that!
Thanks for another great pod-cast. It's fairly accurate. I haven't watched the series since the first time when it was released. I am just watching it again now as I am working on a design project. It's playing on my iPad as I work. Mind you, I am watching the fully linked up version which was recently released here by David's Creation. I have to say, it's very much enjoyable. It works as a unified film. It's certainly not annoying me as I'm working.
The new Critters series is the same. All episodes add up to 70/80 minutes. Why not just release it as a feature?
Gonna be giving this a view soon. It'll be interesting to see the series all in one go. Felt like there were constant breaks that interrupted the flow of the Digital Series.
https://youtu.be/2JlTvTG_6D0
You’re not wrong, but I think I’m mostly thinking of the character in 3, the captain (it’s been a while since I’ve played it). His inclusion turns everything into something that feels different and petty. The first two games are more psychological while the 3rd is something else. Still need to finish it.
However, this has turned my attention to this Youtube gameplay movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbp-01epFmk
I don't think either game is bad, but both trilogies are similar in that Parts 1 & 2 are one thing while Part 3 feels like another thing.
To be fair, I haven't finished Dead Space 3 yet. But beyond the gameplay itself being quite a departure to the uniform consistency of Dead Space 1 & 2 (think consistency as in Gears of War 1/2/3 consistency), the fact that
I think it's some of the Alien artwork from the Isolation press material. This was just another press material piece too.
To be fair, we only know her story extends as far as Resistance. We don't know how much further it goes or how far Fox is going to be taking Amanda.
Or perhaps something that gives a better understanding of the workings of the Company. I know how shit big companies are at internal communication so I wouldn't be surprised at all to see different elements of WY working towards the same ends but without awareness of each other. That's completely in the realms of possibility from my own experiences. Perhaps, it might just be good to see that in more black and white for people.
I'd be more excited for something like this - especially an animated AvP, whether it gets a theatrical release or not - than a new Ridley Scott film. This has been something I've wanted since that first viewing of Final Fantasy and those early morning showings of Roughneck Chronicles.
I really like Mass Effect 3
But yeah, I'd heard the second was really good and the third wasn't. I just never got around to them for whatever reason.
Listening to this made me realize that I was focusing entirely on the positives. I mean, I certainly noticed a lot of the negatives (especially the poor animation and horrible editing) but there were things like the "epilogue" and the surreal dream sequencs that I liked so much and have wanted to see in an Alien story for so long, that I think I wasn't judging the thing as a whole. As one of you mentioned that is the only fair way to judge something like that and I'll have to admit that as a whole, its a mess. There is some imagery and art direction in there which rivals some of the best the franchise has to offer, but the framework doesnt really hold together. Too bad the rest of it was so rushed because I feel that there are sequences that really work littered among and otherwise slap-dash presentation.
I'd actually prefer to see this story theatrically to most things, and Im not 100% sold on the idea of Amanda continuing on for long. I like the character but at this point it's starting to get absolutely ridiculous to keep assuming all of the stories in the franchise have been covered up by the company.
If they want to keep the franchise going the need to make a theatrical film or TV series, that addresses some degree of what is going on in WY. The suspension of disbelief required to swallow all of this having been swept under a rug is just silly and is just no longer working IMO.
I still would be thrilled to see a proper animated / computer-animated Alien series in the vein of Final Fantasy, as Hicks mentioned. I especially thing this is the only way AVP will ever work theatrically, but they need to go back to the source, and make a film that links WY's perspective to all these events while maintaining the air of mystique ALIEN and A:Isolation managed to embody.
Dead Space 2 is great. Dead Space 3 is the Mass Effect 3 of Dead Space.
Ah, gotcha.
Nothing. We just spend the last few minutes of the podcast episode talking about the new restoration.
Gorgeous. I loved so many of the free flying shots of the Alien in this.
Perhaps. It's just not something I picked up on.
BTW
The 4K 100%'s a superior version.
Picture's better, sound is better.
https://tinyurl.com/DGeoffAlien4K
I particularly liked these shots.
https://scontent.fper6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/53325241_361340287795539_243126871582048256_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ht=scontent.fper6-1.fna&oh=f27ebf29f5f6f992e073a3fd2ab02265&oe=5D265CFB
https://scontent.fper6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/53352651_430289741060697_4503368562424938496_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ht=scontent.fper6-1.fna&oh=c9811e7b2e39e4aa5a1a3e3f71b23154&oe=5D279C05
https://scontent.fper6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/54255362_1265732086937717_3514605445220139008_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent.fper6-1.fna&oh=35d1a8c2c13f4c56acf0fe7e5b84fdc6&oe=5D202E85
Always said the original was the best Alien game ever made until Isolation came around, it just didn't have the Alien in it.
I haven't seen anyone else mention that. Glad it wasn't just me!
It does seem to be doing pretty well with the people who never got to experience the game so it seems to have done the job in that respect!
Another Deadspace fan! The Old One will be pleased! I've still not played it myself but it's installed and waiting for the time.
I concur. Enjoyable podcast as usual. Even as someone who hasn't played the game a whole lot (but is a big admirer) I took Xenomorphine's line in that it was free, enjoyable for what it was and didn't kill any buzz for me. That said I totally appreciate those who have lived and breathed the game being disappointed.
Hicks, glad to know I'm not the only one who picked up a 2001: A Space Odyssey vibe about the dream sequence. Yes, the heads were odd and surreal. I'm sure that was the point.
Xenomorphine, I agree the function of the web series was to bring casual fans and people who did not play Isolation into the fold, and it worked. And you're right, it was no doubt a lot of work on no budget.
Personally, I'm completely repulsed by the idea of sitting through the further adventures of Amanda Ripley, but I guess other people like it.
Ridgetop, you really like AVPR?! That's great! I enjoyed it in the theater. It was a hoot and a good popcorn movie. It's a shame the TV commercial gave away everything including the end. I watched it again recently and it still wasn't horrible. It's got some good points, some really disgusting ideas brought to life, a couple of darkly humorous sight gags, and some bad points, but OK!
I agree Alien/Aliens stories could work as animated features. Deadspace:Downfall, anyone? That's a festival of blood! And a guilty pleasire. Dead Space:Aftermath is interesting and brutal, too.
It's a shame 4K doesn't reveal more detail in the film, but I guess the source has resolution limits. It was shot 40 years ago, so maybe the greater wonder is that it's still important enough to receive special treatment.
Anyway, thanks for the discussion.
I think it was just Amanda's voice reading Ripley's dialogue because they would've had to pay Sigourney Weaver to use her likeness. Same thing with Michael Biehn and Hicks in Alien 3.
And YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Nzf477FAc
That's right. The complete Amanda model didn't exist in the released game, because in the process of optimising the 3D assets they culled all unnecessary polygons from the models, which included parts of Amanda that would never be seen by the player.
However, If you go to one of my earlier posts, you'll see an earlier stage of development during which Isolation was a 3rd person game, and the complete Amanda model did exist. (But she looked a little rough.) Presumably the Digital Series producer got a hold of that.
Actually, the biggest lesson out of all this (for me, anyway) has nothing to do with the technical curiosities.
In reviewing the 70 minute show again I could see that this movie serves as the perfect demonstration of what story structure is all about; or rather, what a story is like when it suffers from the lack of structure. They tried to enforce their own kind of structure with the Amanda-floating-in-space scenes, but it was a flimsy artifice that didn't really work. The story was just as episodic and paceless as it ever was.
In fact, calling it a "movie" is probably the best way of sabotaging it. Marketing it as a cutscene compilation is a better way of positioning the audience's expectations; which is kind of what they did do, but unfortunately I, like most people, just didn't pay enough attention to what they were announcing. So I have to accept some of the blame for my own disappointment.
TC
Secondly, regarding the low poly Amanda model, I don't think one actually exists in the game. I have 2 reasons for thinking this.
The first is that when I was looking for Amanda models, I found a forum where the members were saying that they were having trouble ripping the model from the game. They were getting parts but not a full 3D model. I'd look for the site again, but this evidence is backed up in my next reason...
...which is this:
https://youtu.be/ClJIJwNaeRs
Interesting, eh?
And sure, the behind-object part is a little more complicated, but 15 years ago, in movie school, a friend of mine told me about a program which could select and follow a specific part of the shot. Surely if it was doable 15 years ago, you'd have no trouble to do this now. Otherwise personally, if I had to do this simply, I'd just add back the chair or other elements in the shot after integrating Amanda. A little quicker than to always erase a precise part of her frame after frame.
I guess we'll never know for sure what went on, but continuing to speculate for the curiosity value...
I had another look, and I'm not sure they are composited. Are you thinking this is the case from this quote from the makers?:
I think this is a rather ambiguous statement, and could just as easily mean they converted the 1st-person scenes into 3rd-person scenes by going back into the game engine but his time including the (low-poly) Amanda model.
ON THE OTHER HAND some of the shots DO look very odd (as though composited on top):
In this top down angle of Amanda walking past Ricardo, look at the dodgy shadow she's casting on the floor. Not only is it very low res and lacking in density, it also sits on top of the existing shadows being cast in the room. Surely a sign that she is comped on top, yes?
https://i.postimg.cc/yNQft6K6/After-Talking-To-Ricardo2.jpg
But then again, in this shot, the shadow from the clamp laying on the floor seems to fall on her foot, which would be very difficult to achieve if she was comped:
https://i.postimg.cc/qRNmTfBs/Meet-Axel2.jpg
Plus, sometimes she crosses behind other objects in the scene. Not a problem if you were willing to rotoscope an animated matte around (in this case) the chair backs, but I don't think they had the budget for that kind of messing around:
https://i.postimg.cc/bwRV0HFt/Talking-To-Taylor-WS2.jpg
This actually happens quite often:
https://i.postimg.cc/YSqndGJy/Find-Motion-Tracker2.jpg
But then, going back to the scene where she converses with Taylor early on in the movie (and probably the most egregious shot of all), look how horrible Amanda's close-up is integrated into the background, exactly like she was poorly comped (you can even see a dark edge around her highlighted hair):
https://i.postimg.cc/SNCvRp6V/Talking-To-Taylor2.jpg
There are also many shots where they have added a random jiggle to the camera to simulate a hand-held effect. When Amanda is in the foreground, it creates a disturbing "swimming" effect, which is normally a giveaway of an imprecise 3D match move. IOW, they had a background (without Amanda) which had lots of camera movement, and tried to add a new Amanda to the foreground, having to duplicate the camera movement in her element too, but not quite getting it right.
BUT, this same swimming effect can also occur if you don't use the right sort of jiggle on your camera; namely, you want to make your camera jiggle through rotations, not translations.
What does this all mean? Danged if I know...
TC
Sure, there's more you could have done (The Hive, i.e.), but I enjoyed this more than Prometheus and Covenant.
Right, but what I'm saying is that the third person shots aren't rendered in game. The background is, but Amanda is rendered separately and then composited into the shot.
Given that info, there's no reason they couldn't have used a higher quality model.
Probably because the model featured in that artist's Artstation page was too high-res for use in the game engine, because it was made for offline rendering of the cutscene cinematics. It's also likely that this high-res model had incompatible shaders applied to it, such as a "sub-surface scattering" shader for realistic skin, and a special hair shader (which seems to be missing), that were also incompatible with the game engine.
Here's a reel by one of the Isolation animators who worked on both the in-game animations (for playback in realtime inside CA's custom game engine) and the cinematic cutscenes which were pre-rendered. If you look carefully you'll see the low-poly nature of some of the in-game scenes (e.g. cylinders that are faceted instead of rounded - look at the explosive bolts scene.)
TC
I was just wondering why they didn't use the models on the artstation page, since it seems the artist worked on A:I.
It's possible that they did for the new scenes of Amanda in spacesuit floating among debris. The model and textures and lighting look a lot better here than in the new in-game scenes. I guess they had to create all new assets for these scenes so it suited them to go the extra effort.
But the new 3rd person scene angles (e.g. Amanda talks to Taylor in the Torrens commissary) used the in-game assets supplied by Creative Assembly, and their workflow required that they be rendered mechanima style (i.e. in realtime with their game engine). So in these cases either they had to create their own low-poly Amanda model because it wasn't a pre-existing CA asset, or if it did come from CA then it came from the early prototype builds when Isolation was still a 3rd person game.
https://youtu.be/cJ7xtDvUxEc
TC
I think the Tongal shorts were a means for FOX to try and generate ideas for the franchise. I'm still upset I missed the deadline because I failed to factor in the time zone differences and hope to one day release my short script for fans to read, but as of now Im glad that I didn't just blindly share my ideas because in the fine print it read that Fox owns any ideas you submitted. Standard or not, not my speed.