COREgaming, by dieubussy: The White Company

Established in 1974, the Shibuya-based group Shirogumi was formed by ex-Toei Animation studio members and worked for the better part of its existence in the field of animated pictures. For the last fifteen years, the company presided by Tatsuo Shimamura turned to the area of special visual effects and computer graphics, actively participating in the creation of celebrated Japanese TV series and mo such as Returner, Always Sanchōme no Yūhi or the award-winning anime Piano No Mori.

Their liaison with the industry of videogames has also been essential to their development, counting with dozens of participations not only in the production of pre-rendered movie sequences but also in the creation of character models, props, lighting and even animation. With clients ranging from large enterprises (such as NAMCO, CAPCOM, Square-Enix) to smaller and independent ensembles (Grasshopper, Punchline, etc), Shirogumi has earned a unyielding reputation as one of the most reliable and professional studios in their branch, accounting for their ever increasing demand. Apart from the projects where Shirogumi plays a central role in the development course, the employment of specialists from this provenance as a part of the support and consulting staff is also very frequent. In this advantageous environment, suscpetible to exponential growth, names like Akira Iwamoto and Takashi Yamazaki from the Shirogumi workforce soon became a reference of CGI directing.

Due to significant advancements in real-time rendering, provided by recent console and personal computer technologies, the use of full motion video is slowly being supplanted by in-game full motion animation. As it has been often stated, the use of CGI has been a valuable resource for developers in achieving a greater level of visual detail that has been, so far, impossible to attain with real-time imagery. To a certain extent, some companies, mainly Japanese, continue using pre-rendered graphic sequences as an enhancement to the visual spectacle - a feature closely associated to the so-called JRPG genre – since the proprietary game engines are still very distant from what a FMV can present. In addition, the recurrent use of this technique as an embellishment has mutated into the form of a traditional resource, now deeply rooted in Japanese game design mannerisms.

The spectacular Shirogumi official website

This conundrum of pre-rendered versus real-time finds a similar parallel in the motion picture industry, namely with the converse process of replacing mechanical special effects with computer generated imagery, now the dominant and economic option for filmmakers. In the field of videogames, CGI has played the ungrateful role of a two-edged sword for long: providing exciting cinematics with otherwise unfeasible detail but, simultaneously, a new visual layer that spawns acute contrasts among different strata of minutiae. With time, this implicit transition between the disproportioned parts becomes an impulse instantly assimilated by players as a shift between interactivity and non-interactivity, not unlike the paradigm of classic conditioning. Such clearly identifiable unevenness, notwithstanding, might be perceived as the result of the asynchronicity between the contending schemes. In essence, both evolve towards the realization of a common objective as demonstrated by the visible similtudes shared by today's real-time 3D and the pre-rendered images of older console generations.

Given the exception of several relevant titles where Shirogumi’s participation was less noticeable, the following list comprises the studio’s finest works in the field of traditional animation and CGI, adorning some of the most important titles of recent memory. Surprisingly, the range of the group's work is pervasive to the point of seeming ubiquity. As questionable as the (abusive) use of this technique might be in the creation of videogames, and despite the improved transitions between modes as seen in Mistwalker’s THE LOST ODYSSEY, there should be no plausible argument to refute the intrinsic optical spectacle casted in these memorable segments of digital graphics whose individual merit is far beyond apprehension.

FINAL FANTASY VII
Squaresoft 1997