Arwen - out-of-game animation and layout, character designs
Kiera - in-game animation and layout, UI, graphic design, promotional material, and editing
Jenna Yow - promotional material
Early Conception
The idea for the animation came about the day it released, with myself and Arwen both stating we wanted to animate the song. We decided to animate it together, with each of us taking portions of it and editing the two sections together.
Arwen and I worked on a google doc while calling, these were our initial notes and ideas - the right image contains some images of the members to inspire each of the outfits. (img cred. from top right - @mejiwoo103 (instagram), @HopeSmiling0218 (twitter), SBS Inkigayo, BigHit Ent, BigHit Ent, @toomuch_RM (twitter), International BNT, @winterVerry1230 (twitter), @sensation1204 (twitter)
The story of the animation was centered around the song itself and the journey of BTS as a group: starting from small beginnings but, through determination, reaching the top. To transfer this experience into the animation, we chose to make it a story of the seven members working together to beat a video game. We chose to make it an RPG, as they have compounding growth, and every experience is worth something - just like the story of BTS.
Drafting began with a couple of simple assets, we wanted the game to be a top down isometric, with general aesthetics and mechanics looking like an RPG from the late 80's, each member would try out playing and join in to try to beat the game.
At this point Arwen and I had decided we would use Adobe Creative Cloud to transfer files to each other, as Arwen uses Animate and I use Photoshop. I would later use After Effects and Premiere to refine and compile the animation.
character test, mock UI, mock logo, and quick concept art
We had a few ideas on aesthetics and wanted to do some tests, including testing the difficulty of animating top-down. From this point I had drafted the colors to use through out the entire animation, and with some feedback from Arwen we had picked out a general idea of where to go.
Designs
drafts by Arwen, discussed and colored on call with Kiera
For the final character designs, we chose to pick looks that fit the member's personal styles and had unique looks and silhouettes. The out-of-game designs were simplified from the 2017 BTS Festa concert event. The hair colors were chosen based on their hair from the promotion of the album MIC Drop is from.
The external environment was to be a simple living space with a couch and some random bits and bobs - a little less formal or furnished version of a proper living room.
Pre-Production
the first shot of the animation in animatic form
After discussion, a rough animatic was made as more of a rough skeleton for which person would have shots when, and when key points or specific movements would happen. Both of us were given a lot of room to improvise outside of those key aspects.
two early screenshots of the in game progress, a 3d model made in sketchup and a rendered background using it
Early production consisted of myself making 3D models and backgrounds and Arwen drawing the exterior rooms. I would make 3D models, use a technique to give them a flat yet textured look, and would add on hand drawn elements to make the space feel less computer rendered.
rough enemy designs
I made some rough enemy designs based on each album's artwork and aesthetic. Some of them are direct references to music videos or songs from the album.
PRoduction and assembly
an alpha-numeric system I made to keep track of awards, members, enemies, and songs
Organization was key to make sure nothing was repeated or skipped over, with the amount of content and specific dates in the game parts of the animation, I made sure to place everything as accurately as possible, only switching MV order when thematically appropriate.
player sprite animations
background model organization
Each background and setting was based on a music video, and each appear in album-release order. This is to call back at the various spaces they've beaten or staked a claim in, and how they continue to move on.
Seokjin's in game sprites
Yoongi, Hoseok, Seokjin, and Namjoon's defeat poses.
In game sprites were drawn and animated separately and combined with the environment, UI, and enemies in After Effects. As the sprites were imported, each sprite's variations (attacks, hurt animations, etc.) were grouped with its idle loop animation to keep the project organized. The same workflow was used for enemies, trophies, etc.
assembly of the in game footage in After Effects
The final in game footage was cut up in premiere and interspaced with Arwen's footage. In some cases game footage was green screened on top of Arwen's footage to make the TV look on. As most of the work was placed in the animation creation, the assemblage was pretty smooth for the massive undertaking.
Final Animation
The animation is very strong, filled with references and a love letter to where BTS came from and where they are now, myself and Arwen are very proud of the product.
Screens for achievements, trophies, high scores, and defeat were created on top of 20+ stages and enemy designs. 40 songs were referenced, with representation from all 10 full BTS albums that were released at the time. Each of the seven members also received one loop animation, at least one basic attack animation, and a special.
