Crafting a supercharged cinematic trailer for Rocket League Sideswipe

We partnered with Psyonix and Ayzenberg on a supercharged cinematic launch trailer for Rocket League Sideswipe, an all-new standalone Rocket League game built for mobile. Directed by The Mill’s Robert Sethi and produced in Unreal Engine, the film drops viewers straight into the arena where mayhem unfolds between rocket-powered cars in the ultimate game of soccar.

Rocket League Sideswipe takes the core, competitive gameplay of Rocket League and reimagines it in 2D for a fast-paced, easy-to-play competitive challenge.

To help translate Rocket League to the small screen our VFX team leaned into the visceral and eye-popping graphics that the game is known for. “We wanted the film to smack you in the face with pulse-pounding energy. Right from the beginning, the portals transport us from the original Rocket League to the mobile, 2D arena,” Robert Sethi explained. “Our VFX team leaned into the fact that this game fully takes place on a 2D plane, and to punch up the action, we were inspired by the game to add a lot of cel animation and manga-inspired elements such as the flames and smoke billowing from behind the cars and graphic celebratory-goal animations.”

Robert adds that “organizing and animating choreography for car action is already a challenge, but combining that with staging it on a singular plane adds another layer of complexity. Our team expertly used the 2D plane to our advantage though, constantly making the cars either chase or face each other on the field.”

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