A Metaverse in Sixty Seconds: Dissecting the Buddy Arena trailer

Affyn Video Lead Michael Roth discusses the process of capturing Buddy Arena and the Nexus World in the Buddy Arena game trailer.

Game trailers are a riot to watch, but don’t garner much thought from gamers, even if they hide layers of meaning and are the product of months of hard creative work. For the storyteller, the trailer is a challenge of treading the fine line of storytelling and authenticity, flowing smoothly without sacrificing authentic elements of gameplay (as gamers, we know how sick and tired people are of game trailers that are nothing like the game itself). Most importantly, the trailer must condense the essence of the game in a minute all while keeping the entertainment factor dialed up high.

Affyn’s Video Lead Michael Roth was the one who took on the challenge and directed the recent Buddy Arena trailer, and he shares his insight into the process, the work that went on behind the scenes and the nuggets of information about NEXUS World included in the trailer.

Q: How did you strive to make the Buddy Arena trailer representative of the actual gameplay versus just a creative interpretation of the game?

A: For this trailer, I wanted to explore the core emotional gameplay elements: the feeling of making a good play, the sense of danger when the battle turns against you, the exhilaration of having to change your strategy.

There was talk of this stuff (representing actual gameplay) internally, and I don’t think pre-rendered footage is a dirty word for me. Typically that backlash came from the 2000s and 2010s, where companies would hide behind these really polished looking trailers.

If you want to see the actual gameplay of Buddy Arena, you can go to our website, our social media channels, or even our Meet and Play events, which we hosted in six different countries. We’re not hiding behind this trailer — it just provides an expanded look into the universe we’re creating.

Q: What do you feel are the notable aspects of the Buddy Arena story or lore that are hinted at in your trailer?

A: Can I say “everything”? Everything was thought out from the environment to the clothes. Even the fact that they’re collecting crystals, why is the player doing that? All of these things we’ve thought about and considered.

The great thing about this project is the level of detail that we flesh out the game world to. Internally, we have a whole compendium on NEXUS World — the metaverse that Buddy Arena is set in — and how we dole out information across our different mediums, whether it’s on social media, our videos, or the gameplay itself. Everything is connected. The lore is there.

I think if players really follow us and seek it out, the lore will just provide a deeper, more rewarding experience.

Q: How did Warner Music Singapore artist J.M3’s (pronounced Jamie) character in the trailer and her theme song, “Pick ’Em Up,” help in setting the mood or storyline of the trailer?

A: We actually started pre-production on a version of this trailer before Warner Music Singapore and J.M3 became involved. When they joined us, we had to shift gears and the trailer changed quite a bit. Thankfully, the energy that J.M3 brings as a person and as an artist really fits with our company so well. It seemed she could actually belong in the arena, fighting alongside Purffyn. And so it was a great collaborative effort, and her music brings another layer of connection to the trailer. I think it really worked perfectly.

Q: What other touches / moments do you think are notable but could be overlooked by gamers?

A: For this trailer, 60 seconds is all you have, which is a shockingly short amount of time when you have to introduce characters and the world, provide an emotional through-line for the character of J.M3, and resonate positively with the audience by the end of it. That’s a lot of heavy lifting.

So every shot, every frame has a purpose behind it. For example, the crystal dropping out of J.M3’s pouch was set up for Purffyn to pick up after — these could easily be missed at the first watch through. They’re like building blocks — everything’s building up to the end product. This dance of storytelling creates a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Any part of it seen in a vacuum would not be as memorable. But taken together as a whole thing, you just know it’s a completed project.

Q: What has been the reception to the trailer so far?

A: Incredibly enthusiastic. It’s a unique project for a company of our size to take on, right? Most indie developers provide gameplay footage and some text, maybe some voiceover, and that’s their trailer.

Whereas we have a unique, full-scale cinematic trailer developed in conjunction with an artist. That’s not something typically done at this level. When people see and discover our trailer, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone really, really likes it. It provides a really genuine 60 seconds that makes them delve further into what we do.

Q: Going back to the very beginning: Why did Affyn decide to do this cinematic trailer versus the more simpler trailers you mentioned a lot of indie developers do?

A: If you’ve seen our other trailers, you may know that we don’t really do the normal thing that other companies do. Affyn started off with the idea of NEXUS World, which is hugely ambitious for the size of our team. That work ethic trickles down into everything we do. We don’t want to just provide information — we want to provide a deeper storytelling experience, one that is more thrilling and people can really latch onto.

If you want to explore Buddy Arena, you can see gameplay footage on our websites, social media, and other channels. If you’re in one of the countries that it’s available in, such as the Philippines, you can just go play it. Since that content already exists, how could we expand the world we’re creating to show a different side that people don’t normally get to see? This is something we always strive for at Affyn: We aim for the fences.

That concludes our interview with Affyn Video Lead Michael Roth. You can watch the full cinematic trailer here, and explore more of Buddy Arena at www.buddyarena.com.

Affyn is building a blockchain-powered Multiverse of interoperable games and metaverses. Together with a global community of co-creators, we are forging a sustainable economy converging the virtual and real worlds. Affyn is based in Singapore.