CASE STUDY.

THQ-Nordic-Nine-Rocks-Games

THQ Nordic | Nine Rocks Games.

Way of the Hunter

Summary

THQ Nordic wanted to announce a brand new IP with the perfect trailer, but they weren’t sure which of several concepts they had would be the ideal one. On top of this, the script was needed and quickly …The esteemed publisher knew what to do – fix its sights on Big Thursday Creative to help them on their hunt for greatness.

Having been blown away by our meticulous approach, the project was expanded from an initial script rewrite to providing a series of creatives for the pre-launch explainers and post-launch DLC expansions, using the experts and resources at BTC for an in-depth campaign with many facets.

Nailing the look and feel of Nine Rocks Games’ epic open-world hunting sim was challenging. Way of the Hunter fans are uncompromising when it comes to authenticity. Understanding the wilderness, animal ecosystems and the dos and don’ts of hunting was essential to building their anticipation levels.

For example, using the wrong weapon on a hunt for a particular animal would discredit the game from the get-go and have fans up in arms. Likewise, showcasing the licensed weapons accurately had to be on point, as the brands have guidelines around how their firearms should be represented. Every creative had to be perfect, which demanded that we fully immerse ourselves into the game and the real-life sport.

With so many moving parts that needed to be portrayed to National Geographic documentary standards, our cutting-edge capture suite proved invaluable in showcasing the in-development build at its absolute best, every time, as our experts learned the game inside out.

THQ-Nordic-Nine-Rocks-Games

#1 – Explainer trailer

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The Brief

Create a trailer that captures the very essence of Way of the Hunter to ramp up anticipation levels.

The Process

Although it has guns, Way of the Hunter isn’t your typical shooter – it’s a hunting sim. To understand the world, we had to unleash our inner David Attenborough – taking inspiration from his wildlife documentaries to find the most cinematic shots and stage-perfect gameplay capture of animals in their natural habitat. We were able to manipulate the world to a certain degree so we could find animals in cinematic spots that looked great, but – just like nature documentaries – we also had to wait for the critters to appear at just the right time.

Once the script and creative ideas were approved and signed off, we went on the hunt for the perfect voice actor to bring the action to life and punctuate it with bullet-point info, such as the game’s 55 sqm of open world and the animals roaming throughout it. Big Thursday Creative were also on hand to direct the VO sessions in the US from our UK HQ in Brighton, ensuring the excellent actor hit the exact notes required.

In the almost seven-minute trailer, we take the viewer on a completely immersive journey – from starting in the lodge and stepping outside into the vast wilderness to tracking the target and taking the perfect shot.

Big Thursday Creative also went on a steep learning curve about ethical hunting. For example, as tempting as it might be to aim for a headshot of one of these magnificent beasts, it’s also unethical. Our capture team delved deep into the hunting world – both in-game and real life – to understand the best practices and standards that needed to be shown. Building up our intricate knowledge and understanding of Way of the Hunter’s world meant we could deliver this deep-dive explainer video that wowed the target audience.

The Result

A wildlife epic that takes viewers on a hunter’s journey while seamlessly delivering the core pillars and groundbreaking features that await them on launch.

#2 – Licensed Firearms Spotlights

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The Brief

Produce two separate creatives highlighting the officially licensed rifles from the world-renowned Remington Arms and Steyr Arms.

The Process

Officially licensed products and brands come with many unseen pitfalls as the demands to showcase them as best as possible are high. This means we have to impress the stakeholders from Remington Arms, Steyr Arms, AND our friends at THQ Nordic. We had to work on flawless CG for the guns, including creating an authentic stage to showcase the each of the weapons. The creative also integrated in-game action for each gun across the two trailers. Like the guns themselves, accuracy in their use was paramount for these trailers.

The voiceovers call out use-cases, history, and information about what makes each weapons so special with a combination of information directly from the manufacturer and extensive desk research. Again, hunting fans would call out any discrepancies, so our scripts had to be perfect, as well as exciting, complimenting the visuals. It all points back to the project’s initial focus – the portrayal of everything we show in the creatives must be accurate and authentic.

The Result

A stellar combination of CG and in-game capture was brought together to showcase these high-powered weapons and excite newbies to the genre and seasoned weapon experts alike.

#3 – Aurora Shores DLC

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The Brief

Showcase the Aurora Shores DLC and the vast new wilderness players can explore.

The Process

With the explainer firmly establishing Way of the Hunter’s vibe, the Aurora Shores DLC allowed us to flex our creativity in a different direction. We landed on a high-end TV look as a wrapper to present the DLC, with some inspiration taken from the title sequence of Yellowstone to hook viewers with scene-setting visuals from the start. Collaboration between the FX artists and the capture team was on point to create a stylised atmospheric matte reveal with ink blooms showcasing animal silhouettes within an Alaskan-inspired colour palette. Ensuring each beast was in the right place and time for this to work was a challenge. For example, the deer had to be snapped in the correct position at a certain time of day to produce a strong, clear silhouette that would contrast against the sky. Solid teamwork was the basis for producing these images.

Quick cuts of the new animals from the DLC and camera pan reveals of the Alaskan mountainous region help to capture the atmosphere of Aurora Shores. New additions are revealed on the beats of the narrator’s words. “Vast wilderness” – an epic shot of the mountains, “unique species” – a brown bear shuffling down a hill. It’s a rhythm that runs through the edit and compliments the stirring soundtrack.

Showing off the landscape perfectly again required BTC’s expert craft. We needed to manipulate the dev tools to ensure the day/night cycle captured the areas in the best possible light… literally. Making a snowy mountain region match the building energy of the trailer required painstaking attention to detail with the position of the sun and moon, but it was worth it for the perfect shots.

For the music, we sourced a dramatic piece of music that would offer peaks, troughs and a climatic build for the edit. We also enlisted the help of a new male voice actor who sounds reassuringly like a man who’s spent A LOT of time in the same wilderness, as a befitting concept behind the bespoke script.

The Result

An atmospheric trailer that makes you want to hit the Alaskan trail. It succeeds in giving away just enough info about the DLC while raising anticipation levels about what is to come. THQ Nordic agreed that we’d hit the mark too – “Thank you very much, really great trailer!”

#4 – Animals of Tikamoon Plains DLC

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The Brief

Create an epic trailer for Way of the Hunter’s first trip to Africa in the Animals of Tikamoon Plains DLC.

The Process

This was the first time we got to play with the finished game engine. It meant we could control all of the cinematics and place foliage, animals and more in the scenes we wanted to build. This was a game-changer, and that classic BTC creativity shines through in this trailer.

As Way of the Hunter heads to Africa, our first job was location scouting in the game world and the real world via Google Maps. This was to build a shot list that would ensure certain animals would be in specific spots at the right time of day/night, crucial for hitting the accuracy demanded by the target audience.

Access to the animals’ animations was excellent but posed challenges, too. We blended a lot of what you see in the trailer to make the animals seem smoother and more natural. As it’s a game engine, there were times when a glitch would kick in, shattering the illusion. But with the magic of BTC editing, you can’t tell when and where these errors happened. Instead, the viewer is treated to a grand tour of the new wildlife they can hunt, from down on dusty trails to up high in bluest of blue skies.

We also spent time re-watching our favourite nature documentaries for inspiration to capture the realism and drama required for this creative. So, for instance, when the camera pans around an Oryx sipping from a lake, observes the lion watching over her land at sunset, and tracks a Helmeted Guineafowl in flight, it captures the feel of best-in-class documentaries as well as the real-world behaviour of the animals.

As we wrestled to tame the beast of a game engine, we also produced a document highlighting various quirks and tips of tricks so Nine Rocks Games could get the best out of their game for inhouse-produced trailers. While other agencies would argue this is “out of scope,” we love to go above-and-beyond to form deep partnerships with our clients.

The Result

A documentary-style trailer that dramatically showcases the new wilderness. We captured the atmosphere of the wilds evocatively in a fitting, cinematic fashion.