CROSSING
CROSSING
CROSSING
MICHAEL KIRBY
THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: THE DEVIL IN ME
During my time with Supermassive Games I worked on cinematic elements for the game, The Devil in Me as a Junior Game Designer (specialised in Cinematics). My work primarily involved the Curator Cutscenes and a few gameplay scenarios throughout the early parts of game. As part of my role I was taught to use Supermassive Games' custom Unreal Engine 4 tools, this allowed me to work off storyboards to bring scenes to life as attended by the script. However some scenes allowed me to be more creative, with the camera work, animations and scenery placement. Essentially I was similar to a director, I dictated how the scene would look and perform.
I also had the opportunity to work with Motion Capture data, one of Supermassive Games' custom tools gave me the ability to work with the data to make both archived and new animation data flow seamlessly together. While at times I would have to fix some Motion Capture data, that was either faulty or needed minor tweaks. Anything that needed further fixing would be sent off to the animation department.
A small part of my duties was also working with localization and audio dialogue.
I worked closely with my fellow designers, producers, animators and sound designers, we all worked together to create the best and atmospheric scenes for the game. We had many play tests and design reviews to breakdown each others work and offer suggestions to make the scenes reach their full potential.
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Areas of the game I worked on:
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All Curator scenes
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H.H. Holmes Hotel
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The Air Chamber (contributed)
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Incinerator (contributed)
CINEMATIC GAME DESIGN
One area I worked on closely was the cinematic cutscenes for the Curator, using custom Unreal Engine tools and blueprints to control playback and transitions at key story moments. I collaborated closely with scripts and storyboards to determine camera angles, while also having the creative freedom to craft shots that felt dramatic and cinematic. My work involved integrating motion capture data and animations for the Curator, combining reused assets from animation library's used from previous The Dark Pictures Anthology titles with also new bespoke animations to bring the character to life. The result was a seamless, narrative-driven experience that balanced technical precision with cinematic storytelling.
Below are some examples of my work.
ABOUT THE GAME
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, also known simply as The Devil in Me, is a 2022 interactive drama and survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai.
A group of documentary film makers receive a mysterious call inviting them to a modern-day replica of serial killer H.H. Holmes’ ‘Murder Castle’. It’s an opportunity that’s too good to pass up and could be just the thing they’re looking for to win some much-needed public interest. The hotel is the perfect set for their new episode, but things aren’t quite as they seem. The crew discover they’re being watched and even manipulated, and suddenly there’s much more at stake than just their ratings!
The Devil in Me is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.
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