Prelude
This is the storyboard for the opening. It was mostly OK to go, but some tutorial elements were added at the beginning of the project. Those elements were then toned down once things were tweaked in the latter stages of development. The final version's camera work was a little different.
This is a scene showing two characters running into a back alley; I think it has a feeling of despair. This storyboard was to be recreated in-game, so I made sure to pay attention to the details. You'll notice that this isn't that much different than the final in-game version.
This is when Leon is searching for healing items for Helena. The BSAA vehicle has crashed into a wall, and its passengers have been infected. There had to be a lot of cuts for this scene which proved to be a lot of work for me.
This is a scene where a zombie shows up. The scenario writer already had dialog written for me, so I drew this with that in mind. When the dialog and events on screen just couldn't be matched up properly, I had to work with the game designer on my floor to change the lines as we went.
This shows the player's first encounter with a zombie, so I gave it extra attention. It sets the tone for how zombie fights would be, so it needed impact. The zombie's attack is very tenacious in this storyboard, but an event planner eventually simplified it for the final version.
This area is the same as it is in-game. The director wanted Leon to search for anything useful as he prepared for the next battle. The pace slows down a bit here.
This is where the action starts to pick up in preparation for the climax. I tried to put in as many over-the-top elements as I could think of. The staff here couldn't help but laugh.
A theory arose that maybe Hunnigan was a spy, since she only ever led Leon and Helena through dangerous areas. :) This is around the time that a missile carrying the virus was dropped, causing panic in the area. I would have liked to draw people in the street running around in pain if I had the time.
Leon never gets a break! Check out the wave of cars flying down the road from the explosion. The people on my team thought this would be great to do if it was possible, and, thanks to the staff in the event section, we pulled it off.
Even though I had entered the latter half of storyboarding by this stage, I had to have everything finished within a week. Lots of adjustments were needed, compromises had to be made, and it was a difficult time — it felt like I was walking on a tightrope.
I wrote a note that the helicopter's flight should be acrobatic, but that's probably easier said than done. This is the first stage you play in the game, but it was the last stage we created in development.
Having an agent like Leon as your main character is pretty convenient when you have a game where the main character needs to be able to handle any kind of vehicle. I don't know if the building he crashed into was where he wanted to go, but he made it to where he needed to be.
it's a mystery as to why there are so many zombies under the floor here! My guess is that when the missile dropped, everyone took shelter underground. The storyboard shows a chandelier here, but we wanted something that would make the player feel more like they were in China, so it was changed for the final game.
This is the final scene where our heroes witness what happens to the last remaining BSAA member. Well, thank you for your time. Now play the game to get the full story — you could even try watching the finalized cut-scenes alongside these storyboard images!
