Back again with me, Lasheli, in another devlog of My Lovely Wife! Phew, I can't believe it's already the 7th one.
Today, I'd like to share about the animation and sound works in My Lovely Wife.
It should be different topics, right? That's right.
But we have one multi-talented man in our studio working on both! Please welcome Faiz Andrevano, the animator and sound designer of GameChanger Studio.
1. For starters, please tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello, I'm Faiz, the sound designer and animator of My Lovely Wife. My journey in game development began in 2015 as I worked as a visual artist intern for GameChanger Studio. My focus was to create assets for Ascender, GameChanger Studio's 2D Explorative Platformer.
As an artist, my interest is not limited to only visual art. I have also developed a passion for music since high school. During my time in college, I started to experiment with DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Garage Band using my PC, and continue doing so even during my time as an intern. From there, I was given the opportunity to become a sound designer for My Lovely Daughter in 2016 and My Lovely Wife in 2018. For My Lovely Wife, I use another software for support, which is Fruity Loops.
My Lovely Wife is actually my first project as an animator. I had the chance to expand my knowledge and experience in using animation software called Spine there. With Spine, I can produce a smooth animation, not only for the characters but also for the environment.
2. How's working on My Lovely Wife been for you?
What can I say, working on My Lovely Wife has been a nerve-racking yet exciting experience for me since I have to level up my animation and sound-designing skills simultaneously.
But let's start with animation!
First one: character animation.
Each character has its own animation state, which depicts their expressions. Succubus characters have three animation states, which are Idle, Happy, and Angry. For every animation state, it's important to pay attention to the character's gesture and facial expression, as it shows their personality.
(Animation state)
I had a lot of discussions with other artists (Raswan and Yosi) on breaking down and deciding the parts of each character that would get animated, and on exporting the assets from Photoshop to Spine.
(Assets breakdown)
One of the hardest to animate is the Lyst's hair tentacles and shawl. Each tentacle has a different keyframe to make the flow more natural.
(The Lyst's animation breakdown)
Second one: Succubus-Killing and Consummate Love feature animation
When Jake has to kill a succubus, the process is depicted implicitly. He is seen using his dagger to stab a heart-shaped object, which is the logo of the game.
While in Consummate Love, players are given an implicit depiction of Jake making love with his succubus. For this, I made an animation of a blooming rose, with the logo of the game appearing from it. It's a bit tricky to combine the frame-by-frame animation and the mesh animation of the flower, so Yosi had to draw the shapes of the flower from a bud into a fully blooming rose. To avoid jaggy animation, I added some in-between animation frames by moving the mesh around.
Third one: room window animation.
This gimmick has been applied to My Lovely Daughter before. Animating for this feature is not as complicated as the others, since I don't need to draw the creatures/things that appear on it frame-by-frame.
The fourth animation work: the city's dynamic environment
It consists of a flock of birds, the pedestrians, the river, and the shape of the clickable buildings when it's hovered over. In the process of creating a dynamic environment, I worked with the programmer (Kristopher) who helped place the assets into the game and animating png assets through Unity.
Phew. I think that's all for the animation work, now it's time to talk about sound engineering! I created the game's SFX and background music.
The SFX includes buttons, UI, and character VO. Creating sound for My Lovely Wife has been a unique experience for me since we get to collaborate with the music students of the UIC College.
(Sound listing for My Lovely Wife)
I actually learned a lot from those students, who received formal music production education. Aside from the SFX and BGM that I created, you can also find the works of those students in the game.
Btw, I voiced one of the succubi (lol).
3. With all the stuff that you have to work on, how do you manage your priority list?
I prioritize based on the production timeline and the workload of each department. I can't work on animation if the artists don't provide me with the assets. If that happens, I will prioritize working on sound first.
For sound, I started with VO first. Even though the visual design of the succubi wasn't yet completed, I took reference to the character's archetype created by Lasheli, the writer. Here, I guided the voice actors/actresses and did some experiments with their recordings.
(VO listing)
When it's done, I then start to work on succubi's animation. During this time, I give all my focus on animating. However, of course, it wasn't smooth sailing. I often feel overwhelmed with my workload, and sometimes it's hard for me to set priorities. (Prioritize priorities!!). It's also a challenge for me to detail the assets for every scene in the game, starting from the main menu to the whole gameplay.
4. Which work do you enjoy doing the most?
I really enjoy working on animation! Because I can listen to my favorite music while working. When I work on sound, I can only listen to the project and also song references over and over again. Sometimes it feels like I'm being brainwashed by my own music, having it playing on loop non-stop.
(Succubus animation test — From left to right: Faiz, Raswan, Yosi, Kris)
5. Which work is the most challenging for you, and why?
The most challenging one is creating SFX and BGM that match the art of the game to boost the game's mood and nuance. There are already many revisions and inputs that I receive during the making of BGM, from instrument selections, song dynamics, the inconsistent volume of sound, to the tone. Moreover, since My Lovely Wife's setting is in the Victorian era, I need to emphasize piano and orchestral music. Meanwhile, I can't play piano at all and have never arranged a piece of classical-themed music before.
(Piano writing and velocity arrangement)
I wrote the piano for the BGM digitally. I arrange the velocity and tempo in such a way so that it sounds natural. Mixing is also a challenge for me when I make music using many instruments. I need to balance the sound of the instruments and decide which should be the dominant one.
6. As usual, we need a word or two from you to the future players!
It would be a pleasure for me if the players can get immersed in the story and gameplay of My Lovely Wife, while enjoying the BGM and SFX, and also the animation. Enjoy playing with your waifu!
That concludes our interview with Faiz!
My Lovely Wife is planned to be released in early 2022 on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox.
Follow us on Twitter for more development trivia: @MLWthegame
Thank you for reading, and see you on the next devlog!