Inside Look: Cinematics - Bridge

May 08, 2009

It actually started off as a button-press event, with differing camera angles. We tried from the front, the side, various angles, free cam. We ended up trying out a mixture of both. So you start as a side cam, and it transitions to a front cam as you progress… ALL in real-time gameplay. The scene really portrays, and engrains even more… that Wolverine is uber… he is elite… it’s going to take more than a helicopter, missiles, and a collapsing bridge to stop him.

There were a few challenges along the way, though.

At first, the pieces were just objects with no real damage states. Around this time, the guys at Unreal added what’s called “Fracture” to their engine (which is of course what we used to build the game). This makes a dynamic piece of geometry that can be broken piece by piece, even seeing the inside of the broken model. So now, as you dash across the collapsing bridge, pieces of debris and dust surround you, and it makes the situation feel much more intense, as many of you will see!

Another issue was the helicopter. The placeholder model required a lot of tweaking, and it didn’t have a real way to “shoot.” It was around the time of developing this sequence that we decided to implement real helicopter A.I. This AI would follow a determined path, shoot on cue, have sounds etc. In fact, the entirety of the Bridge mission uses this implemented heli A.I.

I think it turned out pretty well. It made setting up the heli much easier. I’m pleased with the end result, and I’m anxious to see what people think of it when it arrives in stores!