This is the second of the trilogy of trailers I did for
@pathoftitans!
After the enormous success of the Gondwa trailer (million plus hits across multiple uploads on Youtube and large player count increases), it was settled that this in-game approach really worked. So, what was next? Nightstalker.
When I heard the update would contain buffs for raptors at night, I immediately saw how absolutely horrifying it would be for players when the sun sets, and they hear the faint sounds of a raptor pack slowly hunting them down. I envisioned this suspenseful sequence to draw the viewer in, using the context of Gondwa as a setup to the warm and open tone, only for it to slowly descend into an unnerving feeling piece as the sun sets.
I wrote in this little family of Albertas (who would become recurring characters), and how while they slept the hunters in the night would lure the baby into the dark and kill it. Which I used to immediately push into the horror of the night sequence.
This was also how I established the structure of the trailers, where we contextualize the player experience with the story using gameplay cinematics, and then use a high energy sequence in the middle to go over features, all while thematically tying it together to the overall theme.
I wrote, directed, captured, and edited this piece and had an insane blast doing it.
Some eagle eyed viewers may have caught the parents of the family coming after their child's killers in the rain during the montage, where we show them fighting them off, inadvertently saving another family from the same fate. I thought that added a nice connection to the tone of revenge.
Now... the ending. This came in fairly late in the process, but I remember imagining this "after credits" idea where we saw the two Alberta parents after they win the battle, scarred and bleeding, leaving the other family and their child saved. We follow them for a decent amount of time, then we see the other baby dino still alive as the sun rises, living its day, getting a second chance. But... we come back to the Alberta parents returning to the body of their own child. I shot it in a way where we sit with them just enough to feel the mourning they are going through.
The lesson being, death is permanent, and nothing is a perfect ending. I wanted this unfortunate reality to hit, where we pan up and see another day rises in the harsh world of Path of Titans.
When the trailer came out, it was a bit insane how positive the reactions were. I received so many deeply emotional messages and emails from fans about how it made them feel, and seeing how effective the very ending of the trailer was for people. The analytics were also hard to believe.
Something was clearly working!
#PathofTitans