Final Frontier and Le Cube craft showdown for NARAKA: BLADEPOINT

Final Frontier announce the creation of another animated film for Netease’s martial-arts driven battle-royale game, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT.

The latest 2D short film from Final Frontier Entertainment, serves as a launch piece for the game’s new Chapter SHOWDOWN - GELID YUSHAN, and a new Player Versus Environment (PvE) game system.

Animated in Le Cube's signature dynamic style with fluid transitions, the action is reminiscent of anime, but choreographed with the moves and sequences distinct to Wuxia-style sword-craft.

The film centres on fan favourite heroine, Viper Ning, as she faces off against the demonic Mother of Kunlun, in an enormous and cavernous temple. Ning seems destined for defeat before lifelong rival blade master, Justina Gu, emerges to fight by her side, the ensuing battle intercut with flashbacks to the protagonist's complex past.

Director Ralph Karam says: “To reflect the magnitude of this epic face off, I wanted there to be a palpable feeling of tension, that builds and intensifies until the final climax. There needed to be an oppressive atmosphere of terror, and the constant inescapable feeling of Ning’s struggle against a formidable opponent. The music was a key component in achieving that effect. To enhance and escalate the tension, we layered sound effects rather than going with melodic music.

In terms of technique, we found a smart way to paint the background over a 3D structure and later animate it as a 2D asset. That helped us a lot to speed up the design process. Our experience producing the first film helped us to maintain aesthetic coherence this time round, especially with the fine ink and texture work, which ultimately gives the project its unique personality.

The main challenge was to be true to the game’s existing character and environment designs, and also the specific way that the characters needed to move, while at the same time making sure we were adding our own vision, style and unique touch to the film.

My favourite moment is when the Mother of Kunlun looms forward and emerges from the shadows, fearsome, eyes blazing. Again, it was all about playing with the light and shadow and sound to create that chilling sense of dread. I also love the effects, which infuse the action with extra dynamism.”