Dragonkin: The Banished - Cinematics

Learn more about the cinematics of Dragonkin: The Banished:

How Cinematics are made in Dragonkin

Meet Lea Martel, our cinematic artist

Hello Dragon Hunters,

Today, we want to share a behind-the-scenes look at Dragonkin’s cinematics.

These were all created by Lea Martel in collaboration with our awesome animation, 3D and VFX team too. If you are interested in how they managed to bring cinematics to life, you are in the right place as we are going to dive into details!

But first of all, let’s explain…

Why does cinematics matter in a Hack & Slash?
Cinematics are a way to ground the narrative, heighten immersion, and highlight the moments that matter the most.

In Dragonkin, we employ a variety of cinematic types, from class or major-encounter introductions, panoramas, and key story moments to emphasize critical events.

In ARPGs, players are almost always on the move.

They’re either busy tweaking their Ancestral Grid, theorycrafting, or roaming through maps fighting dozens of enemies. Cinematics create a little downtime where the player can have a moment to pause and breathe. After a hard-fought boss fight, for example, a cinematic lets them fully soak in the victory, relish that sense of accomplishment, or appreciate the stakes of the world through characters and boss introductions. Panoramas make the world more grounded and can even help the player to scout the area from afar.

Another thing, especially tied to Hack & Slash, is that the camera usually is set above the player, for gameplay purposes. With cinematics we can break that perspective, giving the game a new dimension. By moving the camera closer and framing the world from unfamiliar angles, we can show environments on another lens .

Ideally, cinematics are designed to be meaningful and memorable, creating a “wow” moment for the player, reaching a point where the game can “show, not tell” and not rely on solely exposition.

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Thanks Couchpotato!