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A Realtime Robojam

Last year, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) launched the first Buzz! Junior game to compliment their highly successful PlayStation2 game series Buzz!

Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party was the first Buzz game aimed at young players aged 6-9, and following its massive success, SCEE are launching the second junior version, Buzz! Junior: RoboJam, due for release on the PlayStation2 in early summer 2007.

As with all the preceding games in the Buzz series, SCEE again chose the team here at RealtimeUK to produce the intro sequence for the game.

"The brief from SCEE for RoboJam was to create an intro which introduced the main characters from the game, along with some of the actual game play elements." explains Stacey Lewis, Account Manager at RealtimeUK.

The setting for animation was concocted at a brainstorming session we had with SCEE and the games developer. We agreed that a boot camp would be the perfect setting and we introduced a robot sergeant character to serve as a narrator. We also scripted training activities that the Robots are attempting to complete in the intro.

From a styling perspective we took inspiration from children's cartoons, including some of the retro cartoons from the 1970's.

Our Animation Director, Chris Fenna scoured the game levels and selected a number of scenarios that would be visually dynamic and give the audience a real flavour of the game. At this stage Chris explains "the script almost splits into two sections, the first being the arrival of the new recruits at boot camp and seeing them failing at the tasks set by the sergeant. The second stage moves on to show the recruits demonstrating that practice makes perfect and mastering the tasks."

The storyline was certainly the biggest challenge and one of the most time consuming parts of the project as there was a lot of action to squeeze into just 60 seconds. A firm storyboard was developed, and once approved by the SCEE, it enabled our production team to create an animatic of the entire animation, giving everyone a clear understanding of the shots, pace and flow of the sequence.

The animation relied quite heavily on ensuring the cartoon timing and styling was correct, however this meant that the pace was quicker than with previous Buzz! intros and we could fit in all the required action into the 1 minute time frame.

RealtimeUK Managing Director Tony Prosser comments "The joy of doing this sort of project was that it felt like a mini-movie because it has a start, middle and end and as such works independently from the game. It is also a great boost for the team here at RealtimeUK that SCEE have such confidence in our creative abilities."

SCEE were delighted with the final result. Ivan Davies, Senior Producer, commented "RealtimeUK have repeatedly raised the bar with each project they deliver. They have continually advanced, not just their animation skills, but also their creative abilities and delivered another quality animated intro."

Images reproduced with kind permission of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). Buzz!TM are trademarks of SCEE. All rights reserved.

About RealtimeUK

RealtimeUK is a production house that creates stunning computer-generated 3D imagery and animations and is widely recognised for producing CG films that make a real impact and deliver awesome image quality. They have a successful history of producing imaginative animations for both hyper-real and stylised games.

RealtimeUK also work with some of the world's leading advertising agencies, producing high-impact CG animations for both online advertising campaigns and product websites. They have worked on high profile projects such as Prehistoric Park for ITV, Vauxhall VXR and the new Honda Civic launch and their animations have produced proven results for clients.

To date, RealtimeUK's client base boasts such well known names as Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Vauxhall, Juice Games, Ford, THQ, Jaguar, Evolution Studios, Namco and Codemasters. Their track record and impressive client list has enabled RealtimeUK to win some of the most exciting contracts in the industry. A range of project examples can be viewed at www.realtimeuk.com

RealtimeUK has built up an impressive bank of CG animation and imagery case studies over the past 11 years. With a highly experienced, talented and growing team of Digital Artists and animators, RealtimeUK is confident in their ability to service their clients every CGI requirement, regardless of complexity. To find out more about RealtimeUK visit our website at www.realtimeuk.com and judge for yourself the quality of the work results provided.

For press enquiries please contact Dene Landucci on 07967-177779 or e-mail d.landucci@btinternet.com or call Laura Bentley 01772 - 682363 or e-mail laura@realtimeuk.com

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