Dazzling trailer teases a crumbling landscape swapped in secrets
By: Amanda Drum
Frost Giant Studios teamed up with Zoic Studios to dazzle fans worldwide with the cinematic trailer premiere for Stormgate. Stormgate is currently in pre-alpha development, scheduled to commence beta testing in 2023. The action-packed trailer, directed by Zoic Studios’ Chris Jones, was crafted entirely with real-time filmmaking techniques in Unreal Engine, leveraging the power of game engine technology to draw players into the world of Stormgate.
The eagerly-anticipated RTS game teased a crumbling planetary landscape filled with treasures and foes as the player uncovers secrets to a long-abandoned past. The story begins hundreds of years in Earth’s future following the near-extinction of humanity caused by the Infernals, a playable alien race hellbent on claiming this planet for their own. These otherworldly demons emerged from Stormgates: seemingly dormant portals that began pouring out demons during powerful solar storms. As the Infernals return to threaten humanity once again, humans must gather their courage—and climb into their 20-foot tall mechs—to save the world.
The launch campaign harkens to devoted fans of the classic real-time strategy game franchises made wildly popular in the 90s with an introduction to a world that leans into that game nostalgia. To achieve this effect, design agency Hamagami/Carroll–the agency behind the logos of Warcraft and StarCraft–was brought on to design the classic look for Stormgate. With a proven track record for crafting award-winning visuals that spark fan frenzy among gaming enthusiasts, Zoic Studios was tapped to further elevate this classic style. Based on concept art supplied by Frost Giant, the Zoic team built all of the assets and crafted the spot entirely in the game engine. Jones worked closely with the Frost Giant team to co-write the script for the trailer, further engulfing eager audiences into the eerie dystopian world of Stormgate.
The trailer is a continuation of Zoic Studios’ pioneering approach to real-time filmmaking technology, with the official launch of the company’s dedicated Real Time Group in 20xx. Similar to the full game engine approach to the Stormgate trailer, Zoic also leveraged a Final Pixel approach in the VFX work for Season 3 of the AppleTV+ series “For All Mankind,” which will release on June 10. Selected as an Epic Mega-Grant recipient in 2020, the Zoic team has worked to refine a parallel pipeline for pre-rendered and real-time asset creation, which has been deployed for top series including Warner Bros’ “Superman & Lois” and “Stargirl,” as well as “SEE” for AppleTV+, “The Boys” for Amazon Prime Video and the upcoming Netflix series “Sweet Tooth.”
Southern California-based Frost Giant Studios was founded in 2020 by Tim Morten and Tim Campbell, veteran game development leaders who helped create some of the most acclaimed and best-selling PC games of all time–as well as some of the most-watched esports–including Blizzard Entertainment’s WarCraft® III and StarCraft® II.
Credits:
Client: Frost Giant Studios
Production: Zoic Studios
Director & Executive Creative Director: Chris Jones
Creative Director & VFX Supervisor: Ian Fenton
Executive Producer: Jason Cohon
Head of Production: Sabrina Harrison-Gazdik
Producer: Zack Whitley
Associate Producer: Jeremy Brooks
Coordinator: Pavleen Kaur
Coordinator: Josh Modglin
Senior Editor: Andrew Renfro
Editor: Adam Williams
Lead UE: Kate Gotfredson
Rigging and CFX Supervisor: Noah Schnapp
Animation Supervisor: Patricia Binga
Animation Lead: Denny Bigras
Gurvand Tanneau: Flame Lead
About Zoic Studios
Zoic Studios is an entertainment company based in Culver City, California, New York, NY and Vancouver, B.C., which creates computer-generated visual effects for film, television, commercials and video games.
“Visual Evolution” is their mission: to evolve the story, art, and technology of the moving image. Zoic’s accomplished artists and producers understand story, process, technique and relationships. Their team has a proven track record of success in a range of media including episodic, film, commercials and gaming. Masters in the fields of 3D, Compositing, and Production Management, their elite reputation attracts top talent and encourages a strong work ethic. Zoic’s relationships with its clients are deep and long lasting. The company is known for results-driven excellence in all endeavors.