With the Stellar Blade demo now already out ahead of its release on April 6, the game’s developers, ShiftUp, are now doing their usual marketing rounds to hype the upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive. In particular, a recent interview with Famitsu reveals a lot about the game.
As per @Genki_JPN on X, “the movement of things such as clothes and hair” in Stellar Blade are because of the “extensive functions of the PlayStation 5.” But, that’s not all. The game’s director, Kim Hyung Tae, also joked that they had to delay Stellar Blade by at least a year because of hair.
Apparently, the developers thought about giving the game’s protagonist, Eve, shorter hair but ultimately decided against it. Instead, players will have the option to choose a long or short ponytail for Eve, thanks to the efforts of the game’s development.
Stellar Blade Director Kim Hyung Tae says they were able to realize the physics of clothes and hair beautifully due to the functions of the PS5! #StellarBlade
“I wanted to express a variety of swaying movements in battle. I hope everyone will pay attention to this part and enjoy… pic.twitter.com/SXR5fsfRZP
— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) March 29, 2024
Stellar Blade will have the option to choose a long or short ponytail for Eve! Kim Hyung Tae says it was a big challenge to make but thanks to the team's efforts they were able to do it! #StellarBlade
– By the way, how much more difficult is it to create a long ponytail vs a… pic.twitter.com/wp8cZ7VoL6
— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) March 29, 2024
While it may sound like a joke, hair is one of the hardest things to animate and render in a video game. Thousands of strands and follicles make up each strand of hair. This means that games have to calculate their constant movement in real-time and what happens when it gets wet, blown away by the win, or when there’s too much light, and so on. Consistently getting every frame or movement of hair to make them look as realistic as Stellar Blade has shown is a momentous feat.
Thus, ShiftUp deserves kudos for sticking to Eve’s long ponytail and giving the gamers the option to choose, even if it lengthened its development time. The result is nothing short of amazing.
Stellar Blade was initially revealed as a multiplatform title under the “Project Eve” name but after Sony came in and asked ShiftUp to expand the game, it became an exclusive title for the PS5.
So far, the reactions to Stellar Blade have been mostly positive, especially following the NSFW suit that was leaked alongside its demo before its official launch.
