RIOT: VALORANT BLAST X TRAILER
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Role: Creative Direction / Art Direction / Design
Client: RIOT GAMES
Produced by: WE ARE ROYALE
BLAST X TRAILER
THE ASK
Riot Games wanted a promotional animation that announced a new and humorous skin line. It was the first of its kind to take on such an approach. The task was to introduce the product and show that the weapon skins are very playful, without sacrificing how powerful they are in-game.
THE BIG IDEA
An in-game toy company called Playzilla made Blast X and would continue to create products for players who enjoy the more lighthearted approach. The teaser introduced Playzilla to players and hinted at the new Blast X skin line. The trailer focused on all things Blast X. The nature of the skin-line was ironic, troll-like, bright-colored, and playful. So clearly, we pulled from in-game inspiration, merged it with bright colors, took on the personality of NERF, and were inspired by Men-In-Black to create a set of “funtastic”, futuristic, and techy promotional animations.
MY UNDERTAKING
I put a treatment together for how I envisioned the two videos. Writing, collecting appropriate references, and presenting kick-started the process. The script came from the Riot team, and it was a fun process to go back and forth finessing it together. We had a strong team of artists, and I directed the full production process. I worked with storyboard artists, designers, animators, 3D artists, and compositors. We made sure the treatment of the product looked fun and premium. I art directed the futuristic environments and designed concept frames during the process. With it being a CG-heavy job, a sharp eye was needed to make sure all areas were finessed.
THE RESULTS
It was a nostalgic pleasure to create a NERF-inspired set of promotional animations. All in all, the team at Riot Games was excited about the promos and the team at We Are Royale had a blast working on videos for such foam-powered products. They really do pack a punch!
On Youtube alone, this animation acquired 514,380 views with 19K likes.
And the fans say:
“Please do things like this. I’m sure it’s a lot of work, but it’s refreshing to see how much care is put into these as well as the dev diaries just to be closer to the community. It is really refreshing.”
“Broooo this is legit brilliant. GG Valorant.”
“Ok, this is actually awesome lol. How does Val keep one upping themselves.”
“Amazing, such a good trailer.” “I love this teaser team.”
