Hello, everyone!
Welcome to another Site-02 Transmission. This month’s Community Showcase is, alongside the regular showcases, primarily dedicated to showcasing a particular project made by many of the skilled animators in our community.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump straight to it!
SCPlease Reanimated
Our old MTF models, as a final way to say goodbye.
In May, a group of over 20 artists came together and chose to re-animate, in parts, a classic animated series from the game’s humble beginnings: SCPlease, whose first video released in 2018.
With the 14.0 update around the corner, this video seemed like a great way to celebrate that older version of the game, while also celebrating the modern creative community. Without further ado, here it is. Keep reading for an interview about the project with two of the involved creators !
SCPlease Contributor Interview
With the help of the Anomalous Animators (previously Secret Animators) group, we managed to get in contact with some of them so they could talk about their work on the project, how they felt about it, and to give some behind-the-scenes insight.
Here’s commentary from two of the project members. The first is from Windop: head manager of the collaboration project, and animator of Part One as well as the outro sequence.
How did the Anomalous Animators project start?
“The idea to make some sort of collab was very spontaneous. The person who came up with that idea was Noxplis on the official SL Discord. The same day I created a Discord server, shortly afterwards, we got about 20 people on the collab, some left, some joined throughout the project.”
How did you decide on reanimating SCPlease?
“We had a ‘suggestions’ channel where any animator could submit their ideas. The one with the most votes won. The idea of re-animating SCPlease was stuck in my head for a long time, but I couldn’t find the courage to do it alone. So I decided to submit the idea and then everyone was for it.”
How long did this take to make? How long did you intend for it to take?
“It took us almost four months. How long was it supposed to take? One to two months. But the deadline was constantly moving due to some people leaving, too little progress, etc. The final deadline was much more strict — anyone who wouldn’t meet it would get removed from the project. And this interrogation tactic worked! One guy who did nothing for four months made his whole part in a day and submitted it a couple of hours before the deadline.”
What’s the future of the Anomalous Animators project?
“First, we had to set up a new name other than ‘“Secret Animators’ as we ended up not liking the old one. But for now, everything is stale. We plan on making more original future projects and getting more talented animators on the team!”
The second member interviewed was Shazir Zaman: animator of the intro, Parts two and 22, and creator of the video thumbnail, among other assets. He can tell you more himself: “Hi there, my name is Shahir, also the founder of StudioHexyne, creator of the ‘Happy Nation’ animation for SCP:SL characters. I am from Bangladesh (probably the only SL player from there lol).”
How did you become a member of the project?
“It started as a discussion in the SL-cord’s #art-discussion channel about trying to remake/make an animation of an SCP-related song or existing animation, i.e. SCPlease as a collaboration with the SCP:SL art community. It then spiraled into Windop creating a discord server originally known as ‘Secret Animators’, now called Anomalous Animators. I was then invited by Windop, because I was in the aforementioned discussion.”
How was the experience of working together on the project? Would you do it again?
“The experience was awful! I'm just joking. It was great working with a bunch of people who loved the game and its creators, however, it did get into our heads when the deadline extended thrice or more, and several artists left without notice. In the end, I would definitely join again if I have the time (and patience).”
Were there any guidelines or storyboards set out for all the animators other than the original SCPlease video?
“There weren't any specific guidelines for the artists. The storyboard was just the original video, and we could add our own elements based on our personalised style while attempting to retain continuity with the previous [part]. All while keeping it within Youtube's guidelines and avoiding excessive brainrot.”
What were some of the shared assets you had to create and disburse between all of the animators?
“I made an edit of an SCP-079 rig I found in DeviantArt to give it a face rig (not the cartoony one or the drawn one, which were made by A77 and Iamtrappedatmshq respectively). I made the textures for the captain hat, although that model was yoinked from Fuse. The boombox was a texture edit from a Sketchfab model I found, which I did painstakingly optimise and re-uv a bit.”
That concludes this piece on SCPlease. A special thank you to Windop, Shahir Zaman, and the rest of the Anomalous Animators team for bringing this project and the community together in this way! Events like these are a testament to a community’s health, and we love showcasing not only our contributors’ individual skills, but also their capacity to come together as a group.
Now, onto the works from individuals in the community. Most of these works were sourced from the #art-showcase channel in the official SCP:SL Discord.
Art
First, we have an advertisement for BLAM-O’s very own SUPER BALL, made by Burning Memory.
Second, a document for the Jailbird’s emergency storage at Site-02, made by wantedparts
And finally for this section, a render of an MTF agent using said Jailbird in a fight against SCP-939 by lithodorus.
You may have noticed the previous artwork uses the new MTF model coming in the 14.0 update. As of the (currently ongoing!) 2024 SCP:SL Art Contest, the new human models have been made publicly accessible for download and use in your own work. You can access them here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1N01MC6WoUMRHohX9AV-E1kDfzDYiEtm3
Videos
You can see the new models being used in the next two videos from our community members. The first, an insight into the life of the noble and stubborn Chaos Insurgent that drives the van into Site-02, by DrPri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DfMHfGu8p4
In our second video, MatveyMotion shows us the hard job of our MTF benefactors, as well as Site-02’s aggressive anti-littering policy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awPws3sV_nQ
A special thank you to MatveyMotion, not only for this video, but also for their work rendering the MTF in the banner of this Site-02 Transmission!
PAX AUS 2024
Earlier this month, one of our staff members attended PAX AUS in Melbourne, bringing lots of SL goodies to share!
It was an absolute blast meeting all of you in real life, and we hope to attend more conventions in the future.
Conclusion
That’s it for this installment of Site-02 Transmissions. 14.0 is right around the corner, and the development team is working hard to ensure it’s ready. Expect news in the coming weeks regarding the update, especially regarding the status of the 14.0 Patreon Beta, which will run for a certain period of time prior to the update’s release.
As mentioned previously, the 2024 SCP:SL Art Contest is currently ongoing! The artists in the community have been hard at work making their submissions, and it will soon be time for the public to vote on which ones should be showcased in-game.
Be sure to take a look at their submissions at https://art-contest.scpslgame.com/
If you have any art you’d like to see in a future Community Showcase, our team finds art from many different social media sites, but the best place would be the Art Showcase channel in the official SCP:SL Discord.
For news about future updates to the game, be sure to check the Steam and X pages. For exclusive information and early access to future updates, such as the upcoming 14.0 update, check out our Patreon.
Thank you all for reading, and thanks to all the community members involved in Anomalous Animators and beyond which make Site-02 Transmissions like these possible.
And as always, see you in the dark.
– Northwood Studios