Black Myth: Wukong has been out for a little over a week and its meteoric rise is undeniable. Whether that’s selling over ten million units in the first four days, or breaking the record for highest number of concurrent players for a single-player game on Steam, Black Myth: Wukong has been having a great week. Among the promotional material for the game, Bear Gaming has also revealed that some of the stars of the motion capture haven’t been human. Cat Motion Capture was utilized by the team and showcased in a Behind the Scenes video released on Bear Gaming Asia’s YouTube channel.
Creating a motion capture playpen for a whole host of kittens, the cats were suited up with mocap vests and let loose to showcase a multitude of feline experiences. Sadly the cats did not perform as hoped, with them only working for about fifteen minutes at a time after getting the vests on according to Animation Specialist Gao. He also commented that of the data collected by the mocap, only 2% of it was usable. This data is then plugged into a program that simulates movement. These simulations are then reviewed, feedback is given to the program, and then the cycle repeats. The goal of this program was to have all quadrupedal designs be able to be effortlessly inserted into the game by designers without human touch ups, according to Art Director Yanq.
The video also features some development footage of the game, including a scene of a tiger vanguard stalking the player through a jungle, but from the tiger’s point of view. However, once it switches to the player avatar following and attempting to engage the tiger in battle, glitches become rampant. Cut to a year later, and Game Science has shut down. Instead, some of the familiar faces from earlier in the video are deciding to open their own farm.
Worry not, the entire clip was a gag video created for promotion, with real behind the scenes content coming out prior to the parody.
Players can find Black Myth: Wukong on Steam, for PlayStation 5, and the Epic Games Store, with an Xbox Series X/S release on the horizon.