Have you ever wondered how exactly the protagonist's hair in Shin Megami Tensei V swayed? No? Well, I'm going to tell you all about it anyway. Basically, in order to achieve the hair sway that the developers wanted, an interestingly-named plugin called "Kawaii Physics" was used. The plugin was developed by Kazuya Okada, who is a support engineer working at Epic Games Japan.
Never heard of Shin Megami Tensei V? You're not alone. Basically, the franchise is an amalgamation of RPG genres such as tactical role-playing, ARPG, and even MMMORPG. Still confused? Well, the series has been around since 1987, and has always stayed fairly niche. Not quite as niche as the Persona series, which is a spin-off. There's a ton of media out for it, including the many games, manga adaptions, anime films, and television series that have resulted from the success of Shin Megami Tensei.
Anyways, the Nintendo Switch exclusive is set in the ruins of Tokyo and because it's using Unreal Engine 4, the models look better than previous entries in the series. Players have noticed how the hair swaying in Shin Megami Tensei V looks better than expected, and it's all due to Kawaii Physics, which apparently is easier to add in compared to Unreal Engine 4's "AnimDynamics" feature.
In addition, it (the plugin) maintains the bone length, which helps prevent issues like unnatural expansion. It also supports collision detection and has a simple algorithm that is less taxing than the engine’s standard physics system.
Sounds pretty useful, to be honest. The plugin has apparently also been used in titles such as Scarlet Nexus, Trials of Mana, Blue Protocol, and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. It can also be used in Unreal Engine 5, so it looks like the plugin will continue to be used in an increasing amount of games going forward.
For more information on Shin Megami Tensei V, stay tuned to TechRaptor.
What do you think of this news? Have you played Shin Megami Tensei V or any other game in the series? If you haven't, do you want to? Let us know in the comments!
