{"id":52522,"date":"2025-10-01T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=52522"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T04:57:37","slug":"square-enixs-emberstoria-pushes-live2d-animation-to-its-limits-to-achieve-a-hand-drawn-feel-3d-models-cant-replicate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/square-enixs-emberstoria-pushes-live2d-animation-to-its-limits-to-achieve-a-hand-drawn-feel-3d-models-cant-replicate\/","title":{"rendered":"Square Enix\u2019s Emberstoria pushes Live2D animation to its limits to achieve a hand-drawn feel 3D models can\u2019t replicate\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Square Enix\u2019s free-to-play strategy RPG <strong>Emberstoria<\/strong> (Japan-only release) breaks ground in a less expected area \u2013 2D animation. In a joint interview with Square Enix, co-developer Orange Cube, and technology collaborators from CRI Middleware and Live2D, Emberstoria\u2019s dev team talked to us about how the game\u2019s animated story scenes are created by pushing Live2D, a tool usually used for simple character breathing or blinking, to cinematic extremes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u5b8c\u5168\u65b0\u4f5c\u30b9\u30c8\u30e9\u30c6\u30b8\u30c3\u30afRPG\u300e\u30a8\u30f3\u30d0\u30fc\u30b9\u30c8\u30fc\u30ea\u30a2\u300f | \u30a2\u30ea\u30a2\uff1d\u30c7\u30a3\u30b9\uff08CV\uff1a\u7af9\u9054\u5f69\u5948\uff09\u3010\u30ad\u30e3\u30e9\u30af\u30bf\u30fc\u7d39\u4ecb\u3011#shorts\" width=\"1160\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q7fmwOGI_gY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s desire to make the game feel more emotionally engaging. \u201cWe wanted to appeal to the type of players who fall in love with characters and stories,\u201d she comments. \u201cThat meant using realistically proportioned models (as opposed to the cartoonish, \u201cchibi\u201d style of the 3D models). Live2D gave us the flexibility to achieve that without leaving 2D behind.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the team wasn\u2019t satisfied using Live2D within the scope of what you\u2019d normally see. Instead, they aimed to rival 3D cinematics using nothing but 2D assets \u2013 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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u5b8c\u5168\u65b0\u4f5c\u30b9\u30c8\u30e9\u30c6\u30b8\u30c3\u30afRPG\u300e\u30a8\u30f3\u30d0\u30fc\u30b9\u30c8\u30fc\u30ea\u30a2\u300f | \u6731\u5929 \u6681\uff08CV\uff1a\u5c71\u4e0b\u5927\u8f1d\uff09\u3010\u30ad\u30e3\u30e9\u30af\u30bf\u30fc\u7d39\u4ecb\u3011#shorts\" width=\"1160\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oXduFoqJWwQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMost mobile games use a static \u2018picture book\u2019 format,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut we wanted something that would really catch the eye, even for people who\u2019d normally just skip through it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the devs, one reason why Emberstoria\u2019s 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 \u2013 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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to Emberstoria\u2019s 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. \u201cWe\u2019re always balancing fidelity and performance,\u201d says front-end lead Fumihito Shimizu.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1-380x380.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emberstoria-interview-live2d-20250404-334160-tex-1080x1080-1-250x250.jpg 250w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason why Emberstoria\u2019s 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. \u201cYou can animate an illustration while keeping its original feel. That\u2019s something 3D just can\u2019t replicate,\u201d says lead engineer Hosoda.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emberstoria is out in Japan for PC (DMM Games), iOS, and Android.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#eaeaea\"><strong>Live2D Cubism Official Homepage&nbsp;<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/live2d202504\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.live2d.com\/<\/a><br><br><strong>Live2D Cubism Download &nbsp;<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/live2dc202504\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.live2d.com\/cubism\/download\/editor\/<\/a><br><br><strong>Emberstoria&nbsp;<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/emb2d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.jp.square-enix.com\/emberstoria<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">[Interviewer, editor: Ayuo Kawase]<br>[Interviewer, writer, editor: Aki Nogishi]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joint interview with Square Enix, Orange Cube, CRI Middleware and Live2D about the technology behind Emberstoria\u2019s animation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-52522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-pr","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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