The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) has been used in many groundbreaking films and games and it allows us to accurately reproduce a wide range of emotions, such as happiness, anger, shock and surprise. This, in combination with animated wrinkle maps, allows us to recreate in precise detail the very different ways in which each character expresses those emotions.

“With the new FACs technology, for the first time we can create realistic facial expressions that capture each character’s emotions in their own individual way,” says Mario D’Onofrio, the Technical Art Director on the new game. “Many of the details that go into our facial animation are very subtle, but they really define the nature of a character. The way Bellatrix shows anger, for example, is very different to how any other character shows anger.”

“The characters are really tested in the new game and go through a range of emotions,” explains Mario. “The new facial system allows us to show that emotion, helping you really see and feel what our heroes are going through on their dangerous quest.”