men in motion.(Technology Information)

A SAMURAI BATTLE SCENE PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF MOTION CAPTURE

To achieve more realistic animation in games, developers have been using standard motion-capture techniques to create unique, compelling character movements. Links DigiWorks of Tokyo, however, has taken motion capture in games much further--six times, in fact--while creating an opening cinematic sequence involving six characters for Capcom's upcoming Onimusha: Warlords game, expected to be released this month, for the PlayStation 2 console.

Using a Vicon 8 system from Oxford Metrics, Links DigiWorks simultaneously captured the motions of six actors for integration into samurai battle sequences that appear in the cinematic. "With the Vicon 8, which was introduced last year, we are no longer limited to capturing the motion of just one person at a time," says Koji Ichihashi, president of Links DigiWorks. "Previously, when we needed two or three people in a battle scene, we'd have to capture the motion of each one separately, and then try to match them up in a scene. By shooting all the movement at one time, the actions and reactions of the actors during a light scenario remain natural, fluid, and realistic."

Onimusha's opening cinematic sets the stage for the game's story line, depicting agile warriors battling to the death on behalf of their powerful, fearsome warlords during 1560 feudal Japan. The video console game, which is loosely based on historical events, blends fiction with fantasy through extraordinary 3D images that take advantage of the PlayStation 2's highly touted graphics capabilities.

Capcom wanted the game's opening sequence to be of similar quality, so Links DigiWorks hired Japanese dramatic feature-film director Shimako Sato to help stage the drama. Using a Vicon 8 system, the Links DigiWorks team shot several takes of six actors, specially trained in samurai movements, performing various fighting actions during a four-day motion-capture session. To capture all the motion at once, the group used 12 cameras set up around a 20-meter square area that contained rigs, props, and wooden hills to help depict the terrain where the action occurs in the cinematic sequence. The movements of the props, including spears and other weapons, were also captured during the session.

The most challenging part of the project, according to Ichihashi, was sorting and analyzing the motion data from the 100-plus reflective markers placed on the actors and props. "We had to determine which markers belonged to which characters in the scene, which was an extremely complex process, because the actors were moving around so quickly and hidden by each other's ...