ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

The ACE COMBAT series is a pioneer of flight shooting games in which the player becomes a fighter pilot and carries out operations. Flapper3 has been involved in the production of two titles in the series.

For "ACE COMBAT INFINITY," released in 2014, he was in charge of directing and producing the intermission movies and briefing movies that play during the story. For the latest title, "ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN," released in 2019, he was involved in a wide range of production and direction, from proposing the concept to the menu design, UI, fonts, etc., in addition to the briefing movie that explains the operation details before the sortie.

Detailed design of the briefing movie

The briefing movie that plays before the start of a mission is an important part in which the player can check the details of the operation, the terrain, the enemy forces, etc. When producing visuals with this much information, it is essential to abstractly symbolize the details.

In ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN, we designed the game to use point cloud representation to graphically convey to the player the "thick and realistic clouds" that were a major feature of the game. This allows the player to specifically grasp the thickness of the clouds and the situation in the mission area.

It also allowed us to introduce new elements into the design whilst staying consistent with the traditional brief, which was expressed in abstract terms.

Aiming to improve efficiency by developing plug-ins when creating the Briefing UI

The UI for the briefing movie was created based on the OS of a military computer. As a basic element of the OS, we came up with the concept of organizing information on a vertical axis. This vertical axis is based on the motif of a single line stretching into the sky of an "orbital elevator," which has an important meaning in the storytelling of this work. It is used as a common design element not only in the briefing movie but also in the main menu.

Another feature of this game's OS is that all the vertical axis lines and the elements actually displayed on the map are connected with 45-degree diagonal lines to link the information. Because designing these takes a huge amount of time, we developed an original plug-in that automatically connects the lines, making the process more efficient.

Design work that supports storytelling

We also changed the design of the briefing movie itself to match the development of the story. The regular unit's briefing is presented with a 3D map that allows for advanced display, assuming the use of devices equipped with a high-performance OS. On the other hand, the briefing for the punitive unit, where members who have committed crimes gather, is presented with a 2D map displayed on an outdated OS, assuming the use of older devices.

These differences help players to more easily imagine the setting that appears in the game. In this way, we change the design to match the story, and we are particular about creating and directing the game so that players can gain a deeper understanding of the world of the game.

An original font that deeply expresses the worldview of the game

We proposed, produced, and directed the concept for the font used in the game UI, briefing movie, etc. In order to deeply express the worldview of the game, we proposed a typeface with a rugged military image. We aimed for a simple yet easy-to-use design, such as fixing the width to a certain extent, with the expectation of localization into each language.