As developer S-GAME nears the finish line on its hotly anticipated PS5 game Phantom Blade Zero, it's issued a powerful message that promises no "AI visual tech" was used in the making of the title.
On social media, the studio opened by revealing the fact Phantom Blade Zero is "currently in the intense, final stages of development. With the time we have left, we are pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities."
However, as the use of AI in video game development becomes more prominent, S-GAME stated that "every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists. We will not use AI visual tech that could alter our artists' original creative intent."
Its character models are based on 3D scans of real people, and they lent the facial performance captures, while both the English and Chinese voice acting have been "refined by our dedicated actors and directors, complete with full lip-syncing for both languages".
S-GAME has worked with "master swordsmiths" to have real-life replicas of its weapons created, so its developers can better understand their weight and length, and how they would impact someone's movement.
On the topic of combat, it continues: "Our combat is motion-captured by over twenty highly experienced martial artists. To capture the most authentic kung fu techniques, we consult directly with the masters and inheritors of traditional martial arts schools. When we needed authentic swordplay, we invited sword masters from Mount Emei; when we needed lion dance choreography, we brought in lion dance masters from Guangdong."
Phantom Blade Zero will carry a unique visual identity that S-Game has coined as "Kungfupunk". It came up with this after multiple trips to China so locations from "ancestral halls in Fujian to ancient towns in Zhejiang, and even old steel factories in Beijing" could be scanned.