Contributions:
➤ Skinning Characters & Props
➤ Adaptive Mask Rig
➤ Emotes Implementation
➤ Improved Emotes Animation System
| Overview
As an intern Technical Animator at Ubisoft Massive Entertainment in Sweden, I joined the Vanity team to work on ‘The Division 2: Warlords of New York.’ This experience was a dream come true, as it allowed me to contribute to one of the top AAA game studios. Working within such a huge hierarchy and being surrounded by experienced industry professionals offered me daily learning opportunities.
During my internship, I engaged with the in-house game engine, Snowdrop, primarily utilizing visual scripting to implement assets. Additionally, I wrote documentation for new features I introduced to the game.
| Contributions
Masks
Many masks had an offset issue due to the customizable nature of the player’s avatar’s face. I addressed this by adjusting the mask setup to ensure it always aligned correctly with the face’s bones.
When my supervisors noticed the resolution of this issue, they tasked me with creating a prototype soft mask, a balaclava that conforms to the entire face. This was a new addition to the game, and I was thrilled to see it successfully integrated because of my efforts.
Emotes & Animation System Update
As a member of the Vanity team, I was responsible for integrating new emotes into the game. This role was particularly interesting as it required close collaboration with animators to ensure accurate implementation of all emotes.
The existing animation system for the emotes was somewhat robust, so I streamlined it to reduce memory usage and enhance the blending between animations.
Skinning
I skinned several character bosses using Maya and integrated them into the Snowdrop engine. For creating dangling objects, I utilized Reflex, a powerful DCC (Digital Content Creation) tool, which offered numerous solutions for game rigging physics.
Animated Backpack Trophy
My supervisors were interested in knowing if it was possible to have animated backpack trophies, an apparel item players could collect in the game. This task involved creating a simple rig and animation, and then implementing the asset. Afterwards, I documented the process of creating the model and its implementation into the engine.