How God of War Ragnarok Uses Autodesk Maya for Making Animation

[@jamfilledjars]

As someone who just graduated my 3D animation and VFX course, and who wants to do character animation (specifically fight choreographies), this is phenomenal stuff. I love watching this just as much as I love studying the movements of certain animators (Monty Oum is a massive one for me).

[@ClassCreatives]

Awesome to hear congrats on graduating! Complex fights in games and movies are continuing to push the bar higher, camera work as well as the movements of the characters are becoming more and more complex to keep viewers engaged. Interestingly, the core workflows have remained unchanged, and it's really now all up to the creative imagination for what can be achieved!

[@coatMVs]

Monty's work is also a huge inspiration to me, the way he made everything flow was unlike anyone else.

[@jamfilledjars]

@@coatMVs Hence why he’s one of the biggest inspirations for myself as well. The biggest thing about his animation style (and why it worked so well) had to do with his camera work, visual storytelling and overall flow and usage of environment. The CT fight is a great example of that: the camera is almost always grounded and follows the characters movements, staying within the constraints of the enclosed space. Tex learning and adapting to CT’s clone gimmick on the fly is a small slice of visual storytelling via show don’t tell, and the flow of combat plus the usage of the environment (all four of them getting bunched together because there isn’t much wiggle room) just makes for a memorable fight scene. All of that in about a minute, lol.

[@Kinji_Hakari]

@@ClassCreatives hey, is it possible for you guys to make a video and use Poseidon's god of war 3 character model, give it a trident and animate it, give it some moves and show Kratos fighting him

[@morbid1.]

Blender is professionally used in 3D modelling but for animation still lacks a lot to be efficient in game dev pipeline. Maya and Mobu is the way to go right now.

[@ClassCreatives]

Def true, big studios are still using these workflows today for the most versatility and tool usage to get the highest fidelity movements. For several decades now Maya and Mobu are the tools that have brought some of the most iconic games and movies to life.

[@AlexiosLair]

It already has a lot of tools similar to Maya and it can be used in animation very well.

[@ClassCreatives]

@@AlexiosLair Blender is great for indie studios and smaller teams, but for the AAA market the mobu and maya combo is tough to break when the demand is super hyper real movements with complex character meshes supported by a lot of internally developed franchise tools

[@AlexiosLair]

@@ClassCreatives obviously proprietary software like Maya that was polished for industry for years is going to be prominent in AAA titles :) The comment wasn't specifically refering to AAA titles, but rather generalizing the overal state of Blender which is not really true at this point. Unlike Maya, it provides better accessibility to the tools, that is making it popular among indie devs.

[@meiduza]

@@AlexiosLair Maya is not a proprietary software, it's an industry standard across -several- industries. And Blender has -acceptable- animation tools, but they aren't powerful or efficient enough on their own for multi-take mocap editing & tweaking the way MoBu handles it. It's getting there, but until Blender implements Story, Pose Tool, and a equivalent, it will not be a viable alternative.

[@paulbarcos]

I've been using Maya for 4 years and 2 years in that is animating. My dream was to work on big AAA company and/or feature film company. I hope it will come.

[@ClassCreatives]

Great to hear Paul! Keep going! It can take quite some time to get a nice reel tailored for a specific targeted studio. It’s nice to see studios opening up a bit more post pandemic for hybrid and freelance work, but also beefs up some of the competition out there. It’s a tough field to break into, hope we can help you on that journey!

[@joshnizzle]

2 of the greatest games of the last 15-20 years. From the art direction, the animation, the story, basically every aspect of the game feels expertly hand crafted and executed with the greatest attention to detail to achieve the highest quality level in the industry. The second game was criminally robbed the game of the year awards. Elden ring is a game with amazing combat and exploration but as a complete product it’s just not as grandiose and astounding in every aspect of the game compared to GOWR. I love Elden ring and it’s one of my favorites of all time but GOWR was head and shoulders above in all but combat and world exploration.

[@morbid1.]

People think reusing animations is just like some "copy paste" and done... in most cases they need to be retarget and fixed for new props and models, it saves a lot of time but it's not "drag and drop".

[@ClassCreatives]

Very true Kotu even with the unreal marketplace assets, there still can be some tweaks necessary based on silhouette and application to get the movements to feel “right”. Reusing does help cut down some of that planning phase and testing phase but definitely still requires some r&d with different meshes.

[@asiebnawaz2632]

Such high quality content for such a small channel..great job

[@ClassCreatives]

Thanks for your comment Asieb! It means a lot to us to hear when it resonates with someone as we spent weeks researching this subject and putting it together in the most interesting and educational way we could. Hope you enjoy the new GOW installment as much as we are!

[@johnvermintide]

yea its really surprising

[@asiebnawaz2632]

@@ClassCreatives Appreciate the efforts...keep growing

[@matthewmorrison3745]

Oh dude this channel is a diamond in the rough!

[@ClassCreatives]

Thanks Matthew that means a lot to us! Thanks for your support on the channel

[@KillerTacos54]

Love watching videos like this

[@DD-nk4fb]

Wow! Would love to learn about the same from Sekiro.

[@ClassCreatives]

Thank you for your suggestion, we are going to look into offering more behind the scenes videos like these, we agree Sekiro is a great one!

[@DD-nk4fb]

@@ClassCreatives That would be really great! I'm an animator myself and Sekiro is my fav game. Hence do love to know more about the implementation of keyframe animation in gaming. 😊 Sadly havn't found a single WIP preview in any site.

[@ClassCreatives]

@@DD-nk4fb Would love to help you with any keyframe animation feel free to send us an email! Your channel has some good WIP utilizing reference keep up the work!

[@DD-nk4fb]

@@ClassCreatives That means a lot! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@Ira_Avaritia]

5:20 okay what happened to these attacks in GOW 2018!! They look so much cooler & cleaner then the basic axe attacks we got in the final game!! I wish they went with these!!

[@ClassCreatives]

Hey Lucifer (your katakana name) we agree that the axe attacks were special in the 2018 version, was a tough request to top the combat achieved there!

[@SukhdeepMultani]

A variation of the attack is actually still in the game, it's the alternative axe swing skill where you press R1, pause momentarily then press R1 again

[@ClassCreatives]

Good catch, noticed this as well, when leveling up and unlocking a variant of the move. A lot of the same combat is actually in place w the latest release

[@Rextryker]

My only issue with Kratos's design is that when you look at the legs, from the model they used for the legs they look uneven in proportion to the upper torso, as if he has more muscle above than below. They should enlarge the musculature of Kratos's legs and that is reflected in the fact that the pants he wears look wider on the thighs. Also, it bothers me that there are no armor models for the shins, as if it were not necessary to do it there because it cannot be seen in the combat chamber; however, it is an essential detail when playing because it adds more personality to Kratos' armor.

[@godzillazfriction]

na, only issue is that kratos isn't in his actual canon height

[@ClassCreatives]

It’s interesting for sure there’s no armor upgrades for the lower body in 2018 or ragnaraok, Kratos has always been upper body focussed in the franchise, it prb helps cut down some dev time, he doesn’t have much for lower body attack move sets either so it’s understandable.

[@sebastianmorenoleal7624]

Really interesting. Thanks for the info. Liked and subscribed.

[@ClassCreatives]

Thanks for your support Sebastian 👊 much more on the way!

[@SlashRfnR]

I'm from the future, the game is amazing. It's a must have for the story alone.

[@johnvermintide]

wow.. thats amazing

[@aislancesar3473]

Hey nice video bro, I subscribed. I have doubt about triple A rigs, why the model is sliced in several parts? Is for blendshapes? How it is welded in animation?

[@ClassCreatives]

Thanks for your support Aislan! In AAA production oftentimes rigs/meshes will be segmented so that animation software like Maya will run closer to real-time for blocking in shots. Early in production meshes may also not be finalized and this allows the creation process to run simultaneously. When animation polish and final meshes are complete animators will swap in higher resolution meshes for finer details like fingers and facial movements.

[@MINUTE3336]

Please make a tutorial on How can we make game animation like running, climbing like uncharted games in maya for unreal engine and how can we export these animation in unreal engine 5 and How can we make Key animation like GOD OF WAR GAMES And Can we make game cutscene in maya ? merci de faire une vidéo dessus

[@ClassCreatives]

Great idea! The climbing would be a good one for our list. We have several running tutorials and professional courses on the topic already some on our KZbin channel. We just released our masterclass on attack combos which will show you how god of war style animation attacks are made utilizing reference and motion capture fundamentals. We also show you how sequencer works and how to utilize motion capture for cameras to create cinematics in Maya for engines such as Unreal, just like in real AAA production.

[@MINUTE3336]

@@ClassCreatives Thanks for reply Please make a video on climbing animation in maya like uncharted 4 game

[@CloutBoySus]

Really great info! subbed!

[@ClassCreatives]

Really appreciate your support and that it was informative!

[@alexruas6235]

Yeah. Tekken 7 has reused animations old as tekken 4 i believe.

[@ClassCreatives]

It's a very common practice, and it's a tough one to break since die hard fans will be wanting gameplay and movements that they are used to, so creating something new needs to feel fresh, but still familiar to fans of the franchise.

[@xanzuls]

it's always the artist not the tools.

[@Caglayan07]

Damn that's what I call good content. Btw I love those memes may I have some pls :d

[@birdsarcasm]

kratos as drunk Ron swanson.. that's something i never expected to see..

[@ClassCreatives]

😂🍻

[@Mrsmifff]

Considering all major studios use maya for animation. This makes sense lol

[@ClassCreatives]

It’s a tried and true workflow and many franchises have been built around it, so tough to change what works 🤷🏽

[@Mrsmifff]

@@ClassCreatives no i agree 100% I'm a maya 3D animator myself and it's all I've ever used or seen used

[@nathunterstudio8391]

God of war 4 -5 animations were made in maya version 2015 ?😮 seem they don’t like the upgrade maya version 2018-2023

[@ClassCreatives]

Believe it or not a lot of major AAA games utilize older versions of software. Oftentimes several years pass before updating. As you know many games take years to create. Studios stay with older versions so tools do not break and production is not interrupted from software updates.

[@Bikkufootballtalks]

i heard mobu software for 1st time can you explain it ?

[@ClassCreatives]

Hi Nature, yes mobu= Autodesk Motion Builder, it is typically used in AAA game studios for motion capture, many studios such as Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica assemble the motion in mobu and then the animation is further polished and animated in Autodesk Maya.

[@Bikkufootballtalks]

@@ClassCreatives oh thank you for your explanation

[@Bikkufootballtalks]

@@ClassCreatives sir, do we need degree to join MNC company like sony or just skill and portfolio are enough?

[@ClassCreatives]

Typically portfolio and skill sets are all that is necessary for most AAA studios. So learning online from schools such as ours, work great. Tech companies may require a degree for full time benefits, so it depends on what type of career you are searching for! Many top AAA artists do not have degrees, visa approvals may be a different story however…

[@Bikkufootballtalks]

@@ClassCreatives oh thank you for clearing my doubts.

[@MINUTE3336]

Please try to upload video fast 🤣🤣🤣 And please make next video on climbing animations for game in maya, Can we make game cutscene in maya ? I am not rich, I can't arrange motion capture suit 😅🤣😂😂 thats why I am asking that Can we make game cutscenes in maya ?

[@musicased9591]

No wonder the opening chest animation is the most clunky and annoying animation in the entire game. The video they used to recreate the animation is just some woman in a public bathroom trying to angrily rip something open instead of use the intended strength neccessary to lift the object. It's so jarring

[@ClassCreatives]

😂😖

[@danebrennand]

The animation in this game is absolute dog shit compared to the animation in Elden Ring/Souls etc. Because they use 3DSmax/CATRIG and havok physics extras to their animation. Rockstar North also use 3DS max for GTA. Both these series of games have very fluid seamless animation that blends in with alot of weight and purpose but still has decent control. God of War has this awful snappy floaty slidey feel to everything, animations look like playback rather than natural. Very few repeated animations, bosses are where it's really obvious. Just watch Kratos vs Odin and then go watch idk Gehrman from Bloodborne or Genchiro from Sekiro. The difference is stark. Maya animators tend to animate for what looks cool in a Maya viewport, but everytime it seems to get ingame it turns into just this gross chop and change flip book situation. This is a problem I see in like 99% of games where animations don't blend nicely and everything has to start from a hard idle frame or it's just an abrupt cut. Elden Ring you can have animations that start inbetween others and blend in and out of other actions really seamlessly like running/sprinting/dodging etc. Animators need to animate more for the end result not what looks good in their viewport, because I don't care how individually cool the animations of God of War may be, in practice in the actual game they look janky and bad.

[@ClassCreatives]

Some really good points made. Overall Maya does have limitations after all these years with how gameplay move sets blend, it’s a mixture of the software and the game engines. Many of the AAA Sony titles operate very similarly and have not changed from multiple console generation updates. The fluidity has improved but as you stated when changing states there is a floatiness to the transitions during gameplay. A mixture of Maya, 3ds, mobu toolsets would be great for animators in one package, but doesn’t appear to be something that will happen, instead studios try to create custom workflows and toolsets to get as close to perfect as they can. The best animators are also utilizing Maya for cinematics in general and that leads to gameplay limitations of blending as you stated above with most studios abandoning 3ds. It’s a great topic to address and with Autodesk owning all 3 softwares we would think all of these tools would have been implemented by now, but as you stated isn’t the case today unfortunately.

[@rbdriftin]

All lies! Everyone knows all games begin with highly detailed graphics /s

[@ClassCreatives]

😂 🎯

[@litt420]

imagine being scammer :DDDD