MakeS -Good morning, my dear Sei-
- We wanted to show not only what’s on the surface but also the character’s true intentions hidden underneath.
- MakeS -Good morning, my dear Sei- production team (HEXADRIVE Inc.)
Team introduction
This team was formed for the creation of MakeS -Good morning, my dear Sei-. Team members inevitably come and go, so the members present at any given time vary. However, the team always includes a wide variety of personnel, from fresh young faces still in their first year at the company to super-veterans who have been working in consumer fields for many years.
— To start things off, can you give us a simple explanation of your app?
Our app is an alarm clock app designed for women.
Sei is the concierge program within the app that not only wakes the user up but also provides support throughout the day.
Users can enjoy conversing with Sei on topics determined by the season and time of day.
— Why did you decide to use Live2D for this project?
As a communication partner for users, Sei needed to be capable of emotional expressions.
When showing emotions, we wanted to show not only what’s on the surface but also the character’s true intentions hidden underneath.
For this purpose, we needed both detailed changes in facial expressions and a wide range of other movements including body and hand gestures. Live2D specializes in morphing 2D illustrations, so this was the best way to achieve our goal.
The original reason behind this project was that our boss was so impressed by the high-quality Sei model we created to test Live2D.
It was because we chose Live2D that Sei actually came to be.
— All because you chose Live2D…that is very interesting! Did Live2D enable you to do anything new in this project?
We previously envisioned using silhouettes to create the clothing and other details to avoid the risk of failure. However, because so many fine adjustments are possible in Live2D, we have recently been challenging ourselves with more advanced designs such as outfits with large open sleeves, and hairstyles that boldly highlight the forehead.
We also increased the number of costume variations, which has proven popular with users.
— Technical challenges leading to customer satisfaction is always satisfying. Were there any points that you focused on in particular when creating Live2D expressions for this project?
We really tried to make the character’s expressions and movements look natural.
We worked to make the clothing, hair, and other details all move naturally, and we avoided any unnatural, excessive movements and swinging.
Another key point was that, by fine-tuning different expressions and movements according to the personality, we were able to express the individuality of the character over time.
— What advantages did you find from using Live2D?
For some clothing shapes, such as with large open sleeves, the model can largely fall apart when the body moves. However, 2D expressions made it possible to correct these problems easily.
Moreover, reusing constructions for similar shapes enabled us to install expressions more easily, which was very helpful for us in terms of mass production.
— Thank you for your time today!
