"We studied the line weights, how the thickness of the tapers would change from frame to frame on all of the old cartoons," he adds. "We mimicked that to the best of our ability."įocusing was imperfect as well in classic films, so everything in Cuphead is slightly blurred. "It's nothing like the digital crispness we're used to." "That saved us a ton of time, and was probably a major contributor to why we were eventually able to finish the game," Moldenhauer says.Īnother key to capturing the feel of the classic Depression-era toons was exacting recreations of the technical imperfects of the era. "If you go back and study old film-not just cartoons, any old film from the period-nothing was perfect," Moldenhauer says. (The team did try a cel test, but found that it didn't make much difference in game.) Then instead of inking and painting on a cel - as traditionally done - they inked on paper and added color digitally. To create Cuphead's animation, everything was first drawn on paper. We mimicked that to the best of our ability. The response from the people they showed was so enthusiastic that they decided to pursue the concept.Įmbracing the classic art style, including the flaws "We studied the line weights, how the thickness of the tapers would change from frame to frame on all of the old cartoons. "So, we pulled in some Mickey Mouse and some Popeye and made this kind of Frankenstein pieced-together scenes." Let's just try it, as a laugh,'" Moldenhauer says. "We just jokingly said, 'Hey, why don't we just make a game look like 1930s cartoons, since that's is one of our favorite animation styles of all time. The 1930s cartoon look that they settled on, however, originally started as a joke. One approach would have had the game initially looking like preschool art, and as players continued on the art would gradually improve, as if the artist was maturing. The team at Studio MDHR went through several different styles before they hit upon the signature aesthetic. Hitting upon a unique art style "We just jokingly said, 'Hey, why don't we just make a game look like 1930s cartoons, since that's is one of our favorite animation styles of all time?'" How was it done? And did the developers, who were initially a three-person team, realize what a world of hurt they were in for, tackling such a specific and demanding source material?Ĭhad Moldenhauer, creative director at Studio MDHR, talked us through their process, and their deep commitment to capturing every nuance of their source material. everything about the game's aesthetic is a perfect recreation of the FDR-era output of Disney or Fleischer Brothers animation studio. The wobbly/rubbery motions, the appealingly rounded main characters and the bizarre adversaries, the abrupt shifts from cutesy to surreal and unsettling. But no conversation about Cuphead can avoid touching on its astonishingly accurate evocation of the look and feel of the cartoons of the 1930s. The game has stirred debate over the role of difficulty in video games. It went on to sell over a million copies in two weeks. The run 'n gun adventure developed by Studio MDHR released at the end of September after facing several delays.
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