Cyberpunk 2077 has released a new behind the scenes video showcasing the game's lip-syncing technology. The featurette interviews several members of the team responsible for all of Cyberpunk 2077's facial animations.
CD Projekt Red's long-awaited RPG finally arrives on December 10. Notorious for repeatedly delaying its release, the Cyberpunk 2077 developer continues to catch flak far and wide, with KFC recently mocking Cyberpunk 2077's delay announcement.
The roughly three-minute video focuses on the heads of JALI Research, the group behind the faces of Cyberpunk 2077. JALI co-founders Pif Edwards and Chris Landreth go into detail about the mechanics behind their technology. One of the biggest initial points made in the video is the way that the character's mouths move. "It's automatically generated on a face based on audio dialogue, audio speech from a voice actor" Edwards explains. In other words, the mouths move to match the audio, rather than the audio trying to match the mouth. This would explain how the game is capable of pulling off its full lip-sync ability for every language dub available. JALI CEO Sarah Watling explains that the software's 'procedural solution' enables this facial development at a 'tremendous scale.'
The video then goes on to explain how players are able to easily alter their style of speech. Players can alter their voices, among many other things, by simply changing an attribute. For example, players just need to drag a cursor to change their character's speaking level from mumbling to a yell. This will then reflect in both the audio and the facial animations accordingly. JALI's ultimate goal is for players 'not to notice' the lip sync or facial animation tech, and to experience full immersion in the game's story.
The barrage of new Cyberpunk 2077 content stems from the recent broadcast of the Night City Wire. It's possible the broadcast is intended as a consolation in place of the game's actual release, originally set for today. It would seem that audio has taken quite a large precedent in CD Projekt Red's RPG, perhaps the most of any title in recent history. An exclusive interview with Cyberpunk 2077's composers further details the myriad of elements that comprise the many sounds of Night City.
JALI's lip-sync tech is certainly far from the only impressive piece of tech being utilized for this highly-anticipated game. Gamers that are particularly hungry to learn more about Cyberpunk 2077 can watch the new trailer which offers a deep dive into Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay.