Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1495163
j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 3 c g w 1 9 D eveloped by Supermassive Games, The Quarry is an immer- sive survival-horror game featuring photorealistic perfor- mances by a star-studded ensemble cast. Inspired by iconic slasher and monster genre films, players take on the roles of teenage counsellors spending their final night at Hackett's Quarry summer camp in the remote forests of upstate New York. As players encounter suspicious locals and supernatural crea- tures, each choice they make will have a multi-faceted impact on the game's character development, relationships, and overarching narrative. Depending on these choices, any of the nine playable char- acters may face an untimely death by the end of the night. With over 180 possible endings and a script exceeding 1,000 pages, The Quarry is a truly interactive cinematic experience driven by life- like performances from its cast of digital characters. Supermassive Games collaborated with Digital Domain — the Oscar-winning VFX studio known for its work on many acclaimed titles including Spider- Man: No Way Home, Stranger Things, and WandaVision — to deliver the game's nuanced performances. CGW connected with Digital Domain's Aruna Inversin (creative director and VFX supervisor) and Paul Pianezza (senior producer) to learn how the studio utilized groundbreaking facial capture technology and AI-powered character creation tools to bring The Quarry to life. CGW: Tell us about your professional backgrounds. What led to your work in VFX? Aruna Inversin: Prior to my visual effects career, I interned at NASA doing structural engineering and finite element analysis. Aer engi- neering satellites, I attended the Vancouver Film School. As a kid, I always enjoyed films and models/miniatures, and loved the assembly of all different types of material into one seamless film experience. Aer graduation, I began working on episodic TV and television movies as a digital compositor. During this period while in- terfacing with clients, I learned how to work with directors and VFX supervisors on their creative vision. Aer brief projects in Canada and Australia, then another in Northern California, I joined Digital Domain as a compositor on a film. I've been here since. My sixteen-year tenure at Digital Domain has covered 21 films and led me through periods as a compositor, lead compositor, and compositing supervisor — and from there to visual effects supervi- sor! Building on this skill set, I took on the responsibilities of a cre- ative director. That work includes knowing the technical responses within VFX, knowing how to direct talent, and how to direct the crew in placing sets with VFX in mind. Overall, my VFX career spans 25 years. Paul Pianezza: I've been in visual effects for just over 15 years. I first started in motion graphics as a temp office manager, and the studio asked me to stay on as a PA. From there, I went from a coor- dinator to an associate producer, then producer. I have also run dif- ferent departments like editorial and finishing, but I really enjoy being on a project and seeing it through. I've also been able to work on all sorts of projects including film, TV, commercials, music videos, VR, AR, installations, location-based experiences, and more. As to what led me to VFX, ever since I can remember I've always loved and had a passion for visual effects and the entertainment in- dustry as a whole. As a child in grade school all the way through col- lege, I pleaded with every teacher I had to let me turn any project into a film of some kind. And if I couldn't do a film but I could choose what to write about, I would do reports on major VFX houses. CGW: What interested you most about working on The Quarry when you first signed on to the project? Aruna Inversin: The cinematic narrative style and branching path- way of the game interested me the most, along with incorporating our digital human technology, Masquerade, into the real-time space. At Digital Domain, we continue to push high-fidelity digital hu- mans across media deliverables. For our feature films and rendered media, we have the ability to create these humans regardless of the technical overhead. With this real-time project, The Quarry, a new challenge was created and met; the creation and execution of high-fidelity digital performances from established actors that can run in real-time! I was excited to push the boundaries of what a re- al-time engine is capable of, in a games product. Paul Pianezza: It was a great new challenge, but it also just felt like the convergence of everything I loved personally and professionally Digital Domain shot 42 days of motion capture for the project.