Bringing Attack on Titan to VR is a task that comes with many difficulties, not least of which being capturing the anime’s art style—something Unbreakable had to meet headfirst. In an interview with Game Rant, the team behind Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable spoke about this challenge and how everything from the series’ art style to its uncanny Titan designs were replicated in virtual reality.
The Attack on Titan series is among the most recognized franchises across both manga and anime mediums. Given its style of action, the ingenuity of its premise, and the monstrous appearance of its Titan antagonists, the series has garnered an incredible amount of visual iconicity. Game Rant sat down with members of the Unbreakable team, including chief content officer Hiroaki Yotoriyama, who spoke about how the iconography of Attack on Titan was translated into virtual reality.
Related
Best Anime To Watch If You Love Attack On Titan
Attack On Titan is a unique experience that can’t be replicated. These anime are similar but shine in their own way.
How Attack on Titan: Unbreakable Brought The Series’ Style Into VR
Translating The Anime’s Art Style
When it comes to adapting anime to the world of videogames, there’s a fairly standard formula to follow. While 2D animation is certainly on the table, cel-shaded 3D titles have really taken off, especially with games like Dragon Ball: Sparkling Zero. The latter type of animation is often better suited for action titles, with the movement of consistent rigs easily facilitating the detailed designs of anime.
Attack on Titan VR‘s art works similarly, with a cel-shaded rendition of the anime’s art style. However, the VR component of Unbreakable throws another element into the mix, complicating the matter. Yotoriyama spoke about how the team brought this translation into being with the VR medium in mind:
“Recreating the look and feel of 2D anime in a 3D space without breaking immersion required meticulous adjustments to details like line work, shading, and texture expression. Especially in VR, where depth perception and lighting have a significant impact, we had to carefully strike a balance between an “anime-like” aesthetic and a sense of realism.”
Depicting Attack on Titan’s Titans in Virtual Reality
Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable‘s Titans are key to the game’s experience. The entire conceit of playing a VR Attack on Titan title is fighting the series’ seemingly unstoppable Titan menace, so UNIVRS had to get them right.
Translating Attack on Titan‘s Titans into a VR space is easier said than done, however. Not only do the Titans’ designs rely on their uncanny aspects (with inhuman movements, extreme expressions, and an obtuse blend of human and monstrosity), but also on the staging that an anime can take advantage of. A VR game, though, can’t cheat the way TV animation or manga art can, so Titans need to look convincing from all angles. Yotoriyama spoke about this problem and how the team managed to realize the Titans in VR:
“We believed that the fear and intensity of the Titans could only truly be felt through VR’s first-person perspective. What we focused on most was not simply making the Titans big, but crafting their presence in a way that players could physically feel.
Hearing the phrase “a 15-meter-tall Titan” doesn’t evoke much on its own—but when you actually look up at one through a VR headset, the overwhelming scale and presence leave a completely different impression. We aimed for that instinctive reaction, where your body wants to take a step back—a visceral connection between sight and emotion. Level design also plays a major role in shaping the type of fear players experience. A Titan slowly approaching from the front creates a very different kind of tension compared to one that suddenly appears from outside your field of view. These differences greatly affect how players respond and how their sense of danger escalates.
By leveraging every element—perspective, distance, movement, and presentation—we’ve worked to deliver a deeply immersive and unsettling experience that truly feels like facing off against a Titan.”
Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable
- Released
-
November 21, 2024
- ESRB
-
M For Mature: Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Language
- Developer(s)
-
UNIVRS
- Publisher(s)
-
UNIVRS
- Multiplayer
-
Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Meta Quest Release Date
-
November 21, 2024
