Overwatch has been one of the most influential games to hit the market in recent years. Many point to its diverse characters as the largest strength of the game; a team-oriented FPS game is not new, but the playful, unique characters of Overwatch were enough to make the mundane special.
It took hard work. The image-making process of Blizzard is never two-dimensional. Through the characters' looks, movements, poses, dialogues, and background stories, Blizzard was able to paint characters with details and make them truly come to life.
Blizzard's Senior Character Animator Kyongho Hong was one of the contributors in this intricate character-making process. If other artists and animators laid out the basic structures for the characters, Hong focused on breathing life into them. Planning and drawing out every movement of each character was his job. Many point to the cyborg ninja Genji as his masterpiece.
Inven was able to interview Mr. Hong after his lecture on the first day of IGC 2016.
Before coming to America, you worked as a developer at a Korean company for eight years. What motivated you to move abroad?
There weren't any institutions related to animation in Korea, so my ways to study were limited. For a while, I was not really motivated to improve. Going to work and getting paid was enough. But then I saw a clip on the internet. Back then, foreign animators routinely uploaded clips of their work to the web, and the one I saw featured aliens dancing. Something just drove me to analyze the clip, frame by frame, and understand the logic behind it.
The clip made me want to learn animation professionally, academically. But there was nowhere and no one in Korea to support my enthusiasm. I still remember the elderly mistaking my job for counting coins at the arcade when I said I got a job at a gaming company. Public view toward games was clearly negative.
Turning my eyes outside of Korea was inevitable. The San Francisco Art Institute was my first choice, but its high tuition forced me to find another school. Sheridan College, which promised quality education at a much more reasonable price, seemed to be a good place to go. Sheridan is a small village located near Toronto.
You must have learned a lot in Sheridan.
Not being good at English made life difficult at first, but ironically, the obstacle ultimately worked in my favor. Since communicating through displaying my references was much more effective than just speaking, I always had to research a tremendous amount if I were to explain my plans. I never lost the habit, and still go through a lengthy process of research before I start a project.
How did you get into Blizzard?
Looking back, I'm not sure why I had even applied. Even if you are from Canada, you still need a visa to work in America. For that reason, American companies tend to avoid hiring Canadians, so I didn’t have much hope for my application. Nevertheless, I sent in my resume. After seven months, when I had forgotten all about Blizzard, the company called me and offered to continue the admission process.
European and American game companies are known for their lengthy job interviews.
Yes. The longest interview you might come across in Korea would be about 30 minutes. At Blizzard, you get to stay at the company for a day and talk all day long. You get to have a conversation with numerous team members and really connect with some.
When you talk with an individual for about two to three hours, you get to see the real person. The longer you converse, the better you understand the person. The company could evaluate whether I was fit to work as a member of the team, of the company, by exploring [relationships]. You might say the company and I interviewed and evaluated each other. This was my first such interview, so I passed out from fatigue when I returned home.
The biggest impression I got from the interview was that everyone I met was so nice. Not a single person stressed their superiority or complained about anything. I guess the admission process was clever enough to sieve out grumblers. The company was left only with the people who knew how to work as a team.
Genji was chosen as your favorite character. Out of numerous characters you worked on, why did you choose Genji as your favorite?
I conducted the overall animation of Genji. I worked on the third perspective view of Genji, while my teammate was in charge of the first perspective view. Naturally, I spent countless hours animating the ninja and got attached to the character.
The biggest challenge of animating Genji was animating his ultimate, Dragonblade. The easiest characters to animate are the ones who look directly forward, such as Reaper. Genji, on the other hand, always stands to the side. When he draws his blade, an outbreak of movement occurs: arms are raised to their highest, legs are twisted, and limbs are tangled. It was very challenging.
In addition, other derived movements of the ultimate, which include additional motions such as tumbling, had to be animated separately. The biggest issue with Genji was creating his strong-but-also-quick look and feel. Sometimes, we needed to push it a little to achieve the image we wanted: if you look closely at Genji’s ultimate animation, you may notice physically impossible postures and movements, such as a 180-degree turn of the waist.
You also worked extensively on Bastion. What was the biggest challenge in animating Bastion?
It was no joke. I participated in animating Bastion from the very start, which included designing every little component of the character. The design needed to meet certain requirements, and the transforming process had to be realistic. When you look at Bastion, Recon mode includes all parts needed to assemble Sentry mode. It's five times the work compared to other characters.
Moreover, Tank mode, his ultimate, was added after the release of the game, making our job much trickier. Bastion’s ultimate was modified for the balance of the game, you see. Thus the original Bastion design is missing some parts from the tank mode. The caterpillar and the barrel, for example, appear only in Bastion’s tank design.
Though developing, production, and art are known to be the three key components for game development, production usually takes the biggest share. Blizzard is said to be an exception. What makes it possible?
The company actively encourages artists to participate from the early stage of developing and provides the necessary environment. Producers usually take on the role of an "idea box" rather than a dictator. I think the overall atmosphere of the company contributes the most.
I was used to a system where I was required to take instructions and act accordingly. Blizzard employees, on the other hand, always ask the question of “why?” At Blizzard, in order to give any kind of instruction to an employee, the employer has to always provide a legitimate reason behind it. They need to explain the necessity and the expected outcome of the instruction. This process opens doors to new ideas and, ultimately, creates a better game.
Do you have any advice for young artists and animators? Any last comments?
I always give the same answer to these types of questions. I imagine some people will want to hear something along the lines of “be passionate about games.” Sadly, being passionate is no longer an asset. It's baseline. It's expected. Debating for hours about the tinest of change in a game, for instance, is now supposed to be routine. It's nothing special.
Passion is great. Keep in it your heart. But first, hone your skill. You have a dream. Figure out what you need to know and learn to achieve it. Chances are always around the corner when you are capable of seizing them. Make sure you won't let something slip due to incompetence.
I didn’t mean to sound this didactic. [apologetic smile] But I hope you recognize the importance of capability. Passion is not enough. Strive to improve. Then your dreams will become reality.
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