WAR Cinematic Trailer – Part Four: Empire vs. Chaos
Following the Elf fight,
we continue the ongoing Realm vs. Realm® battle with the Empire and Chaos
facing off in the final duel. By far the most controversial of the three fights, the ending to
the video created a firestorm on the message boards. We knew this would happen as soon as we
allowed one side to defeat another. However, it was important that we ended the video with a bang,
or in this case, a cracked skull. This is Warhammer after all. Draws are for the weak!
If you are one of the people that read way too much into the ending of the video, let me set the record straight. The video is in no way a reflection of the final game balancing and certainly does not mean Chaos is more powerful than the Empire. It’s a video, we needed an ending, and the Empire drew the short straw. Ok, there was a bit more to it than that.
In the original script, the Empire did indeed emerged victorious, with the Chaos Warrior going down in a hail of bullets. Of course, the entire Army of Order was then faced with an even greater threat as the massive Chaos Daemon appeared.
It was our goal to use this video to set the stage for the beginning of the game, with "the good guys'" backs against the wall as Destruction came at them from all sides. Even when they were victorious, another, more powerful foe was waiting for them. To us, this constant struggle for survival is what Warhammer is all about.
As we've mentioned before, the original script proved to be too ambitious given our budget and changes had to be made. The revised script lost the pistol-wielding Empire Soldier and the final appearance of the Daemon, and again had the Empire winning. This just felt too clichéd (good guys always win!) and didn’t sync with our goal of showing the Empire and its allies with their back to the walls.
As you can see from the storyboards, we took another crack at the action. This time it was Chaos that emerged victorious. Just when you think the Empire is making a comeback, the Warrior Priest is struck down by a crushing blow. Oh, how we smiled, even though we knew this new direction would be controversial.
Click Image to View Storyboards
Next, work began on the concept art for the characters. As the development team was focused on Greenskins and Dwarfs, there was very little game reference to share with Blur. Thus we turned to Games Workshop for their original reference material and input.
The choice of including the Warrior Priest in the video was a no-brainer. He is such an iconic character in the Warhammer universe that we knew he had to be a featured career in the game. (At this early stage, it was one of the few careers we were absolutely certain would be in the game.) We weren’t exactly sure what to make of the skull cap but the first pass certainly need a little more “flair” in the form of skulls and scrolls!
With the Chaos Warrior we needed to strike a balance between the over-the-top behemoths seen in Games Workshop art and their potential portrayal as player characters in the game. Chaos Warriors started off as men, after all, under all that armor.
You’ll see that references to Tzeentch throughout the image, from the birds on the pauldrons (which we’d eventually lose because they looked like parrots perched on his shoulders) to the mutated, talon-like arm (which was not as visible as we would have liked in the final video). We’d add even more during the modeling phase.
Based on the storyboards and concept art, Blur next created a very rough first pass of the video. The goal was to bring the storyboards to life to make sure the action and camera angles worked as planned. There are a couple of great moments in the animatic that I wish we would have been able to work into the final video, especially the head butt and the clenching of the fist, cracking of the knuckles scenes.
Click Image to View Animatic
As you can see in the above images, the first Warrior Priest model needed a good deal of fine tuning but he certainly was looking like a capable fighter. Why we kept the skull cap for so long is one of those lingering questions that I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer, but we finally came to our senses. We’d eventually change the robes to the more iconic red as well.
The Chaos Warrior certainly turned out to be a bloody, imposing monster of a man. With spikes, mutations, and cruel weaponry, he embodies all that Chaos represents. We just had to change up his helmet as the circular decorations on his helm kept being mistaken for bug eyes. As the feedback image below (right) shows, Blur’s attention to detail when creating the video was nothing short of spectacular.
With the character models now built, it was time to drop them into the action. Though we’d been planning this fight for a long time, actual work on this segment did not begin until after E3 and the release of Namco’s fantastic Warhammer: Mark of Chaos video. After seeing their Warrior Priest and their Chaos Warriors do battle (not to mention their massive Daemon), we knew that we had to up the ante with the most brutal slugfest possible. This needed to be a fight between two individuals, where survival was the only reward.
In stark contract to the "dancing" of the Elves in the previous segment, this conflict is as gritty as it gets, with fists and bodies being used as much as hammer and mace. It is quick and vicious, with the combatants doing anything possible to win. This is why the original ending (see above video) seemed so much at odds with the rest of the video. After the vicious knee to the side (where, yes, the imbedded axe head is driven even further into his gut), the Priest staggers around for several seconds while the Chaos Warrior takes his sweet old time finishing him off.
In our estimation, the Chaos warrior would finish off this insignificant foe as quickly as possible to move on to greater slaughter. We experimented with a rapid "knee-bash-out" ending (see video below) but it was a bit too quick.
In the end, we settled somewhere in between. The Chaos Warrior still moves quickly to finish the duel, but the Priest has just enough time to see the approaching final blow. If you look closely enough, you’ll see the Priest raise his left arm in one last, futile attempt to fend off the attack. Even in the face of death, the Warrior Priest did not stop fighting.
In this final version of the video, the environments are completed, special effects are in place and the great little details in the video (like the Priest’s burning eyes and his prayer to Sigmar) are seen and heard for the first time. Final sound is added and the Empire vs. Chaos battle is complete.
Click Image to View Video
To learn more about the making of the WAR cinematic trailer, check out the Catapult sequence, the Orc vs. Dwarf battle, the Elf fight, and the Warhammer Alliance interview with Jerome "Jed" Denjean, CG Supervisor, and Leo Santos, Animation/Layout Supervisor, from Blur Studio.
If you are one of the people that read way too much into the ending of the video, let me set the record straight. The video is in no way a reflection of the final game balancing and certainly does not mean Chaos is more powerful than the Empire. It’s a video, we needed an ending, and the Empire drew the short straw. Ok, there was a bit more to it than that.
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Step One: Scripting the Movie
In the original script, the Empire did indeed emerged victorious, with the Chaos Warrior going down in a hail of bullets. Of course, the entire Army of Order was then faced with an even greater threat as the massive Chaos Daemon appeared.
It was our goal to use this video to set the stage for the beginning of the game, with "the good guys'" backs against the wall as Destruction came at them from all sides. Even when they were victorious, another, more powerful foe was waiting for them. To us, this constant struggle for survival is what Warhammer is all about.
As we've mentioned before, the original script proved to be too ambitious given our budget and changes had to be made. The revised script lost the pistol-wielding Empire Soldier and the final appearance of the Daemon, and again had the Empire winning. This just felt too clichéd (good guys always win!) and didn’t sync with our goal of showing the Empire and its allies with their back to the walls.
Step Two: Storyboards
As you can see from the storyboards, we took another crack at the action. This time it was Chaos that emerged victorious. Just when you think the Empire is making a comeback, the Warrior Priest is struck down by a crushing blow. Oh, how we smiled, even though we knew this new direction would be controversial.
Click Image to View Storyboards
Step Three: Concept Art
Next, work began on the concept art for the characters. As the development team was focused on Greenskins and Dwarfs, there was very little game reference to share with Blur. Thus we turned to Games Workshop for their original reference material and input.
The choice of including the Warrior Priest in the video was a no-brainer. He is such an iconic character in the Warhammer universe that we knew he had to be a featured career in the game. (At this early stage, it was one of the few careers we were absolutely certain would be in the game.) We weren’t exactly sure what to make of the skull cap but the first pass certainly need a little more “flair” in the form of skulls and scrolls!
 |
 |
With the Chaos Warrior we needed to strike a balance between the over-the-top behemoths seen in Games Workshop art and their potential portrayal as player characters in the game. Chaos Warriors started off as men, after all, under all that armor.
You’ll see that references to Tzeentch throughout the image, from the birds on the pauldrons (which we’d eventually lose because they looked like parrots perched on his shoulders) to the mutated, talon-like arm (which was not as visible as we would have liked in the final video). We’d add even more during the modeling phase.
 |
 |
 |
Step Four: Video Animatic
Based on the storyboards and concept art, Blur next created a very rough first pass of the video. The goal was to bring the storyboards to life to make sure the action and camera angles worked as planned. There are a couple of great moments in the animatic that I wish we would have been able to work into the final video, especially the head butt and the clenching of the fist, cracking of the knuckles scenes.
Step Five: Character Models
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 |
As you can see in the above images, the first Warrior Priest model needed a good deal of fine tuning but he certainly was looking like a capable fighter. Why we kept the skull cap for so long is one of those lingering questions that I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer, but we finally came to our senses. We’d eventually change the robes to the more iconic red as well.
 |
 |
 |
The Chaos Warrior certainly turned out to be a bloody, imposing monster of a man. With spikes, mutations, and cruel weaponry, he embodies all that Chaos represents. We just had to change up his helmet as the circular decorations on his helm kept being mistaken for bug eyes. As the feedback image below (right) shows, Blur’s attention to detail when creating the video was nothing short of spectacular.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Step Six: Work-In-Progress Video Footage
With the character models now built, it was time to drop them into the action. Though we’d been planning this fight for a long time, actual work on this segment did not begin until after E3 and the release of Namco’s fantastic Warhammer: Mark of Chaos video. After seeing their Warrior Priest and their Chaos Warriors do battle (not to mention their massive Daemon), we knew that we had to up the ante with the most brutal slugfest possible. This needed to be a fight between two individuals, where survival was the only reward.
In stark contract to the "dancing" of the Elves in the previous segment, this conflict is as gritty as it gets, with fists and bodies being used as much as hammer and mace. It is quick and vicious, with the combatants doing anything possible to win. This is why the original ending (see above video) seemed so much at odds with the rest of the video. After the vicious knee to the side (where, yes, the imbedded axe head is driven even further into his gut), the Priest staggers around for several seconds while the Chaos Warrior takes his sweet old time finishing him off.
In our estimation, the Chaos warrior would finish off this insignificant foe as quickly as possible to move on to greater slaughter. We experimented with a rapid "knee-bash-out" ending (see video below) but it was a bit too quick.
In the end, we settled somewhere in between. The Chaos Warrior still moves quickly to finish the duel, but the Priest has just enough time to see the approaching final blow. If you look closely enough, you’ll see the Priest raise his left arm in one last, futile attempt to fend off the attack. Even in the face of death, the Warrior Priest did not stop fighting.
Step Seven: Final Render
In this final version of the video, the environments are completed, special effects are in place and the great little details in the video (like the Priest’s burning eyes and his prayer to Sigmar) are seen and heard for the first time. Final sound is added and the Empire vs. Chaos battle is complete.
Click Image to View Video
To learn more about the making of the WAR cinematic trailer, check out the Catapult sequence, the Orc vs. Dwarf battle, the Elf fight, and the Warhammer Alliance interview with Jerome "Jed" Denjean, CG Supervisor, and Leo Santos, Animation/Layout Supervisor, from Blur Studio.
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