Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Kena’s Creation

Ember Lab, an independent animation, digital, and gaming studio introduced Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a new gaming platform for the console on June 11, 2020, during Sony showcasing. The game will be out in the coming week.

The protagonist of the game, Kena is a young spirit guide seeking an abandoned village to discover a sacred mountain shrine. The spirits and adorable black creatures known as the Rot, will Kena in her adventures.

Details regarding the intrinsic design of Kena were shared in a PlayStation Blog. The animation director at Ember Lab gave the fans a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of character design.

Rodrigo Gonçalves built the prototype model which he refined and explored through real-time techniques for various details like her hair. Carlos Ortega collaborated with Rodrigo for his clean 3D character work. Additionally, finer textures and alpha card techniques were added for better detailing.

Image Courtesy of Ember Lab via PlayStation Blog

“Kena’s original character designs were created by Wanchana ‘Vic’ Intrasombat. He was a close collaborator on our commercial projects in the past, but this time he had a blank canvas and we can see so much of his charming and unique view of the world in all of the character designs.”

Prototype Model

For the character to look wise and experienced, the original younger design of Kena was changed to a much knowledgable and sophisticated older one.

“Kena was realized in 3D for the first time by Rodrigo Gonçalves. He built the prototype model and later continued to refine and explore real-time techniques for various details like her hair. We also collaborated with Carlos Ortega, who many revere for his beautifully clean 3D character work.”

Image Courtesy of Ember Lab via PlayStation Blog

• Ember lab also initiated a library of expressions to pose various movements in Kena animation. This base concept was used for other animations too. 
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits is scheduled to arrive on September 21 for the PS5, PS4, and PC through the Epic Games Store. The game is a timed console exclusive so it may come to other platforms in the future.

If you have any questions regarding Kena: Bridge of Spirits, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.

Make sure you also subscribe to our push-notifications and never miss an update from the world of video games. Follow us on Twitter @spieltimes for the latest PS5 restock and drop. Until next time, Stay Safe and Happy Gaming!