LEVEL-5 has released the first in a series of “Behind the Scenes” videos to accompany the build-up to the Western release of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for the PS3. The video takes us on a tour of the LEVEL-5 studio, with a look at the stylish entrance designed to lift the perceptions outsiders have of game studios, the production floor with planners and artists working away, and the motion capture studio.
LEVEL-5 is not the kind of studio you might associate with motion capture, since its most famous games are pretty far away from the likes of Beyond: Two Souls or Tomb Raider, which are the kinds of games that are known for using the technique to improve realism. But the team did use motion capture in “quite a few” scenes in Ni no Kuni, though designers went over the movement afterwards to ensure it didn't look too human in order to keep in line with that famous animated Studio Ghibli look.
A demo for Ni no Kuni is available now on the PlayStation Store, and it's definitely worth a try. I'm not the biggest fan of JRPGs, but I've really enjoyed my time with this one.