There’s a unique moment in every project when we get to introduce new worlds, characters, and storylines to an audience - when the camera becomes the bridge between imagination and reality. For Valor Mortis, the upcoming game from the exceptionally talented team at One More Level, that moment arrived with the making of its first cinematic trailer.
Working hand in hand with our partners at The Hungry Beast, we set out to craft a teaser that would give players their very first look at this dark and intriguing alternate history.
A Dark Twist on History
The story of Valor Mortis reimagines history with one brutal twist: what if Napoleon had won at Waterloo, but at the cost of releasing a substance that awakened deadly supernatural powers?
Players step into the boots of a young soldier caught in the chaos of brutal battles — facing not only the horrors of war, but something far more terrifying. Survival becomes the only mission.
Building the Vision
Our creative process began with deep historical research, storyboarding, and developing an advanced animatic. These early steps allowed us to transition quickly into previs, testing ideas in real time before moving into full production.
The game’s story team challenged us with key lore elements they wanted highlighted. Thanks to our real-time workflow in Unreal Engine, we could explore multiple narrative directions, ensuring every shot felt authentic to the world they envisioned.
Designing the World
One of our major goals was to create a setting that felt both cinematic and grounded. We chose a small-town marketplace with a church in a far eastern region, covered in late-winter snow and mud - a cold, harsh environment that adds weight to the story.
Reallusion’s Character Creator gave us the flexibility to design a wide range of soldiers, each with their own unique look and personality. Our main hero, Fencer, came directly from the game assets, but for the trailer we pushed his design further: a more natural face, detailed hands, and high-resolution textures to make him truly cinematic.
The transformation scene - where Fencer’s arm mutates and his face becomes monstrous - was one of the most challenging sequences. We refined every stage of the transformation to ensure it felt visceral, seamless, and terrifying.
Bringing Characters to Life
We recorded over 100 unique movement sequences with professional mocap actors to capture the chaos of large-scale battle scenes.
Using Unreal Engine’s Animation Sample for previs, we experimented with shot compositions and movement variations early in the process.
eNStudios - Mocap Session
For facial animation, MetaHuman Animator allowed us to capture subtle, realistic performances - from terror to determination - and refine them directly within the scene. A custom Control Rig in Unreal Engine 5.5 gave us full control over complex elements like the battle wagon and its interaction with the environment.
Pushing Technical Boundaries
We relied on Houdini for procedural modeling of veins, ice, and other effects, giving us flexibility for multiple iterations while maintaining realism. Cloth simulations, integrated seamlessly with Unreal Engine, added another layer of authenticity to every shot.
To handle demanding VFX like smoke and explosions without losing performance, we turned to ZibraVDB technology. This allowed us to play back complex simulations in real time, keeping the creative process smooth and efficient.
The Final Result
The making of the Valor Mortis trailer was a fusion of creativity, history, and cutting-edge technology. From character transformations to large-scale battle chaos, every element was designed to give players a haunting first glimpse into One More Level’s new world.
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