A secondary creation of “Pocket Monsters” produced by domestic designer dottHD-2D style video’ is attracting attention. Townscapes such as Masala Town and Kuchiba City are beautifully reconstructed using 3DCG and pixel art.
HD-2D is a technology that combines old-fashioned pixel art pixel art with 3DCG screen effects. It was first used in Octopath Traveler, which was released in 2018. In addition to being used in various works including the sequel “Octopath Traveler 2”, it is also used in the remake version of “Live Alive”. It is also known as the specialty of Square Enix 2nd Development Business Headquarters Division 6, commonly known as “Asano Team”, and is also registered as a trademark by the company.
Mr. dott reproduces such HD-2D style graphics by himself and produces various fan-made videos. Among them, videos that recreate Masala Town and Kuchiba City from “Pokemon” and walk around the city are attracting a lot of attention.
First, let’s take a look at the Masala Town video released last December. A masala town surrounded by trees is constructed with pixel art and 3DCG. The cityscape has a three-dimensional effect and depth, and the texture of the water is beautifully expressed. People and plants are built with pixel art, and people look like Octopath Traveler-style heads and bodies. There are also effects such as the flickering of flowers and the smoke from the chimney of Dr. Okido’s laboratory, and the scene of the city is drawn.
Even in the video of Kuchiba City, the cityscape is reconstructed in an HD-2D style. Features such as houses with orange roofs and long piers have been reproduced. You can also see expressions that make use of HD-2D techniques such as the fluctuation of the sea surface, the floating boat, and the light of the town at dusk, and you can enjoy the scenery of the city reinterpreted in the HD-2D style. You can also see Pokemon such as Wanliky and Poppo in the city, and they are expressed in pixel art.
In addition, each video uses a shallow depth of field effect, creating a nostalgic and fantastic atmosphere as if you were looking into a miniature model. This point is also an expression that follows “Octopath Traveler”.
Mr. dott also has a video explaining HD-2D and works that used this technology in the pastpostWas. According to the description of the video, “I like HD-2D expression so much that I’m studying it on my own.” The HD-2D style videos of the “Pocket Monsters” series are said to be produced with Unreal Engine 5. For such HD-2D style videos, it seems that they want you to enjoy them as fan art.
Mr. dott’s Twitter account conveys various information about HD-2D works and HD-2D style graphic production. Also, some HD-2D style video production processes are shown, so if you are interested, you should check it out. In addition, Mr. dott is planning to release a HD-2D style video of Enju City today. Let’s also pay attention to this video.
