Gazillion Entertainment has released a video demonstrating how the characters in free-to-play Marvel Heroes make their way into the game. It's a really interesting look at the design process, showing how the team works through from the initial brainstorming phase to playing the final character in the game.
After the team has had a brainstorming meeting that results in the addition of a new character to the roster, that character is handed to both the design team and the art team. The design team has its own brainstorming meetings, coming up with the powers the character should have and how they'll fit into the game, mindful of the need for balance and yet obviously keen to end up with a hero players will love and want to play as. The art team works on getting the character to look as close to the hero as it appears in the Marvel comics as possible. It can take up to two weeks to create the model for the character.
Once the model is created, with texture maps and all the rest to make it react realistically to light, it's then “rigged” (given a basic skeleton) so that the animators can create the character's movements like running and using powers. Once that's done, the effects team bolsters these movements by adding things like the power effects, like the lightning that comes out of Thor's hammer.
Aside from being interesting for people curious about how games are made, this in-depth look at the design process is also reassuring for those who'll just want to play the game, as it makes the promise that the characters will all be very close to canon and unique to play as. Dozens of characters have already made it into the game, but more will be added if the team has time. Marvel Heroes is due to launch later this year.
