We Are Royale Unleashes "League of Legends" Naafiri Character Reveal Spot

Aug. 16, 2023

Creative production company We Are Royale (WAR) has collaborated with Riot Games to produce a cinematic trailer introducing Naafiri, the latest playable champion in the immensely popular video game League of Legends. The two-minute animation delves into Naafiri’s origin story and her unique ability to inhabit multiple mortal bodies.

WAR employed a range of animation techniques, including 3D, cel, 2.5D, and machine learning, to give each stage of Naafiri’s transformation its own distinct visual style. This allowed for a cohesive portrayal of the character’s evolution.

Loren Judah, Executive Creative Director, We Are Royale said:

"Riot was very open to our point of view and approach to the creation of this introduction spot, which is something they do every time a new playable character is added to the game. Their brief was absolutely bursting with references and intriguing ideas. At WAR, we focused on honing a narrative approach that would bring everything together cohesively."

 

Loren Judah said:

"The story explores the physical and metaphysical transformation of Naafiri. In League lore, she was a Darkin assassin who became entombed in a dagger. Eons later, she is discovered in the Shuriman desert by a lone explorer. This sets off a series of events that will ultimately lead to her inhabiting not one single entity but an entire pack of Dune Hounds. We take the audience through that abstract idea of the mind splitting to control the many and revealing the character's final form back at the spot that started it all."

 

The animation team at WAR brought their individual skill sets and styles to the Naafiri project, resulting in a visually stunning, painterly, and detailed style. They created a 3D base model and animated over it, producing a unique visual approach for the entire trailer.

Loren Judah concluded:

"Our animation team brought different skill sets and styles to the Naafiri project. This all results in a very painterly, brush-stroked, and detailed style. That unique visual approach was applied to the whole spot, where essentially we start with a base 3D model and then we animate over the top of that. The collaborative thought process and detailed artistry involved in this project are exactly what we love doing at WAR. We’re really proud of the final film."