The release of the highly-anticipated action role-playing video game, "Xenoblade Chronicles 2," has arrived. Nintendo Switch players will certainly be looking to get their hands on the title. To share some details about the creative process involved in making the epic game, the title's chief of character design wrote a behind-the-scenes account of what went into creating the game's central characters.
Masatsugu Saito, the lead character designer of "Xenoblade Chronicles 2," wrote about his experience working on the characters of the game on Nintendo's website. He said the process of creating the characters began after reading the plot outlined by director Tetsuya Takahashi.
Saito said that he then attended screenplay conferences with some of the creatives behind the game. He noted that in the plot, the main characters seemed very lively, and their emotions and words were very "clear and moving."
This observation made Saito decide on one of the signatures of "Xenoblade Chronicles 2," the characters' eyes. "Putting emphasis on their eyes allows a variety of emotions to be expressed during cut scenes," he shared, "and makes it easier to see the character's expressions, even when they are far away."
Saito also decided to give the characters some color coding. The main characters Rex and Pyra, for example, are blue and red respectively. This color coding makes it easier to locate the characters even from a distance.
Another small detail that was purposefully included to the design of the characters was the difference in the way they walked. "One request that I made was that each character have their personality reflected in how they walk," said Saito. "I think their personalities come through quite well."
Saito previously worked on character designs in a number of anime titles. His style adds a distinct anime-like art style to the game.
"Xenoblade Chronicles 2" has already been released for the Nintendo Switch.
