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PROJECT : Gears of War “Mad World”
DIRECTORS : Joseph Kosinski, Anonymous Content, With David Fincher, Creative Consultant
AGENCY : McCann Worldgroup
CLIENT : Epic Games, Microsoft Games Studio/Xbox
The Goal: Create a commercial that reflects the actual look of a next-generation HD video game.
When Epic Games approached Digital Domain to create the teaser for its big Microsoft Xbox 360 title Gears of War, developed for the new Unreal Engine 3, it was like a light bulb had switched on. The company was already familiar with the game engine through director David Fincher, and saw it as sufficiently advanced in visual quality, tools, and real-time rendering to create film and broadcast content as well as video games.
They jumped at the chance to put their belief to the test. Working with McCann Worldgroup, Anonymous Content director Joseph Kosinski, and Fincher, who joined as a creative consultant, Digital Domain created the Gears of War spot entirely within the game engine itself.
The Approach: Develop the spot inside the game engine itself.
Creatively, the goal was to place the game’s tough-guy protagonist, Marcus Fenix, in an emotional scene that would make viewers feel as well as see the destruction of his post-apocalyptic world. To execute the concept, the team storyboarded and previsualized the spot, then conducted motion-capture sessions to detail movements for Fenix. Using the camera within the game engine, they were able to move through the levels that had been completed to pick the objects they wanted to re-create in the spot. They also animated the CG Fenix – all inside the game engine. The result is a cinematic-feeling teaser that mirrors the actual game in terms of realism, detail, texture, and physics.
The Result: More efficient creative process, converged worlds of film, games, and advertising.
Using the real-time game engine gave Digital Domain the benefits they had anticipated. It freed them from the time and cost constraints of traditional 3D software and rendering engines, which gave artists more time to explore creative options and brought the client’s spot to market faster. And the look of the final product – broadcast in high definition and shown on theater screens – erased any doubt about the quality of output from real-time game engines.
With the Gears of War spot, Digital Domain helped Epic Games to sell more than three million units in its first ten weeks on the market. It also helped to bring the converging worlds of entertainment, commercials, and games one step closer together.
May 25th, 2009 at 10:31 am
sick ad for a sick game…
June 15th, 2009 at 6:50 am
I thought the ad was really good but I was disappointed with the game.