80 LEVEL

While League of Legends fans are enjoying K/DA's new FIRESTARTER music video, we asked @ForticheProd's director Marietta Ren and animation supervisor Rémy Terreaux about the work on the animation, VFX, and camera, found out what 3D software the studio uses, and learned what technique the team implemented for the first time. "The 3D effects are designed to look like paint; we add textures and color nuances that would be difficult to achieve in 2D without spending a great deal of time on them. We then blend these with 2D effects that reshape the overall form of the fire and make it more graphic. We switch back and forth between the two techniques, with the goal of making it nearly impossible to tell the difference between them. This is particularly true for the wave-shaped fire and the big explosion in the middle of the clip. All the FX artists came up with ideas to refine this fire. It’s a true collaborative effort!" See how the MV compares to Arcane: 80.lv/articles/take-a-look-b…

Pain-T is an exploration-driven metroidvania where color is your greatest weapon. Restore a world drained of paint, overcome hostile creatures, unlock colorful powers, reveal hidden paths, and paint your own destiny. Demo: store.steampowered.com/app/3…

For years, two companies decided which mobile games players ever saw. That is starting to change, and it changes what your next launch can look like. Skich Co-Founder and CEO Sergey Budkovski breaks down what that means for devs. Learn more: 80.lv/articles/mobile-game-g…

How do you restore a mostly-forgotten 25-year-old D&D PC RPG without source code or any supporting materials? SNEG Co-Founder Artem Shchuiko explains how in our latest interview. “None of it, unfortunately. No source code, no tools, no documentation. The only thing we had to work from was the retail editions released around the world and whatever was on those discs.” Full interview: 80.lv/articles/this-forgotte…

If you could build your home on any creature, which would you choose? Tell us in the comments for a chance to win one of 5 Notmads Steam keys! Here you can build your home on a giant living beast, master magic, and explore a fantasy world solo or with friends in this open-world action RPG. Read the full details here: 80.lv/articles/80-level-cont…

.@SeterMD shared a breakdown of how he animated VALORANT's Hush using Spine 2D and After Effects. See the full process and check out more of his work: 80.lv/articles/how-valorant-…

Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) have reportedly been talking about acquiring Unity. Just months after they bought EA: 80.lv/articles/silver-lake-p…

Key members of the KPop Demon Hunters team broke down how the airplane sequence featuring How It's Done was made. Watch: 80.lv/articles/breakdown-cre…

Wētā FX has shared a behind-the-scenes look at its VFX work on Disney's live-action Moana and offered insight into some of the challenges it faced during production. Watch: 80.lv/articles/w-t-fx-reveal…

Learn to build complete modular game environments with Blender, Substance 3D & UE5: from blockout to final portfolio-ready renders. Check out this new 8-week course by Sierra Division Academy and Studio Gobo’s Ben Keeling: 80lv.pro/be5ff8

A fan petition asking the Canadian government to save BioWare gathered more than 2,700 signatures, enough to be presented in Parliament. Read more here: 80.lv/articles/petition-aski…

Check out this adventure & puzzle-solving game. You're a cat trying to escape from the crumbling Water Cities. Collect enough balls of yarn to buy a place on a vessel that is set to take you away. Demo: store.steampowered.com/app/4…

Rockstar has shared 39 new GTA 6 screenshots showing Vice City's nightlife, Leonida's nature, and closer looks at Lucia and Jason. Check out: 80.lv/articles/rockstar-shar…

The full Quixel Megascans library is going free (again). You can now use its assets to train AI models: 80.lv/articles/entire-quixel…

Stardew Valley's 1.7 update might be its biggest yet and could release next year. Developer ConcernedApe says Clint and Sandy as marriage candidates are "just the tip of the iceberg": 80.lv/articles/stardew-valle…

Canva is laying off more than 1,200 employees as part of a broader business restructuring. Its severance package is notably generous: 80.lv/articles/canva-announc…

This week’s 80 Level Newsletter: Amazon turns Fallout Shelter into a reality show, Rockstar built about 600,000 animations for GTA 6's NPCs, and Ubisoft says no Assassin's Creed remakes are in development. Sign up and don’t miss the next one! 80.lv/subscribe

Massive Effect: The BioWare Story, a new documentary about the studio, has been in production for two years, since before BioWare's closure was announced, and will feature all three co-founders. Details: 80.lv/articles/massive-effec…

The filmmakers behind The Cat in the Hat explain how Autodesk Maya helped bring the film's very different cinematic styles together. Take a behind-the-scenes look: 80.lv/articles/how-the-cat-i…