Square Enix’s free-to-play strategy RPG Emberstoria (Japan-only release) breaks ground in a less expected area – 2D animation. In a joint interview with Square Enix, co-developer Orange Cube, and technology collaborators from CRI Middleware and Live2D, Emberstoria’s dev team talked to us about how the game’s animated story scenes are created by pushing Live2D, a tool usually used for simple character breathing or blinking, to cinematic extremes.
Although Emberstoria features 3D models during battles, it uses fully animated Live2D models for its dialogue and story scenes. This decision, content director Makiko Imamura explains, stemmed from the team’s desire to make the game feel more emotionally engaging. “We wanted to appeal to the type of players who fall in love with characters and stories,” she comments. “That meant using realistically proportioned models (as opposed to the cartoonish, “chibi” style of the 3D models). Live2D gave us the flexibility to achieve that without leaving 2D behind.”
But the team wasn’t satisfied using Live2D within the scope of what you’d normally see. Instead, they aimed to rival 3D cinematics using nothing but 2D assets – with dynamic camera movements, lighting and expressions. Scenario planner Ryota Motohashi described their goal as making a story mode that even habitual skippers would want to watch.
“Most mobile games use a static ‘picture book’ format,” he explains. “But we wanted something that would really catch the eye, even for people who’d normally just skip through it.”
According to the devs, one reason why Emberstoria’s visuals stand out so much is the sheer attention poured into the animation process. From the early concept phase, the character illustrators are told to draw as they always would, without compromise – even if it complicates the animation process. Instead of asking for the artwork to be specially layered for Live2D, a specialized in-house modeler handles the separation and rigging, ensuring that each character moves naturally while preserving the look of the original 2D illustration.
Due to Emberstoria’s elaborate character designs, the dev team also pays special attention to texture optimization. Orange Cube manages to pack entire characters onto one or two high-resolution texture atlases, keeping key details upsized and crisp while downscaling less visible areas. Emberstoria even uses mipmaps (normally disabled in similar games), for smoother rendering, even though it comes with performance risks on weaker devices. “We’re always balancing fidelity and performance,” says front-end lead Fumihito Shimizu.
The reason why Emberstoria’s devs go so far to use Live2D instead of opting for 3D models is because it allows them to animate their characters without compromising their hand-drawn quality. “You can animate an illustration while keeping its original feel. That’s something 3D just can’t replicate,” says lead engineer Hosoda.
Live2D Cubism Official Homepage
https://www.live2d.com/
Live2D Cubism Download
https://www.live2d.com/cubism/download/editor/
Emberstoria
https://www.jp.square-enix.com/emberstoria
[Interviewer, editor: Ayuo Kawase]
[Interviewer, writer, editor: Aki Nogishi]
