Character animation in Indika

Indie game studio Odd Meter used Xsens to create animations for Indika, a story-driven PC and console game. 

Surreal adventure game Indika is set in a Russian convent in the 1800s. The player, a nun who hears demonic voices, meets an escaped convict and searches for her cure. In this unique experience, players must explore their surroundings, search for clues, and solve puzzles to progress. 

Behind this concept is Dmitry Svetlov, founder and Creative Director of indie game studio Odd Meter. Indika’s development took over four years, and the small team of just 14 needed an efficient way to capture character animation. 

Creating Indika

“We wanted this game to shine a light on 19th-century Russia in a unique and compelling way,” explains Dmitry. “For me, that involved a lot of cinematic shots, high-quality environment building, and photorealistic cut scenes. We want the player to feel as though they are truly there in this dystopian, unnerving setting.”

Much of the gameplay involves exploring the convent and its surroundings. While Indika is largely an adventure game, it enables the player to take a step back and absorb what’s going on around them, as well as using puzzles to drive the narrative. 

“We chose Xsens for the majority of our character animation simply because it was effective in creating natural movements such as walking and riding a bike,” says Dmitry. “Its inertial sensors detect joint rotation, velocity, and position with pinpoint accuracy, enabling us to minimize cleanup in post.”

Indie studios like Odd Meter bring ambitious visions to life with the support of the Xsens Indie Program.

Filming with the actors

“I wanted absolutely everything to be perfect,” continues Dmitry. “That was especially true for the dialogue, because it takes up so much of the gameplay. To heighten the realism, our actors memorized their lines instead of reading them from a script. They also wore Xsens Awinda sets at the same time, so their movements in-game aligned with what they were saying. We spent hours ensuring the tone and delivery were just right, and the mocap system performed well throughout the entire process.”

Thanks to Xsens’ cameraless technology, audio equipment didn’t get in the way of data collection. Other traditional methods, such as optical motion capture, would be less effective due to occlusion from obstructive objects like microphones and recording booths. 

The Odd Meter team collected every data point, no matter where they were recording. They could film in a local recording studio, instantly transfer the mocap data to in-house computers, and get to work transferring the actors’ performances to the game.

The flexibility of Xsens Indie Program solutions helps indie teams capture complex performances anywhere.

Perfecting animation

Most of the time, Dmitry and the team recorded motion capture data in their studio. Because Awinda consists of inertial sensors, is portable, and easy to set up, there was no need to rent a volume stage or perform in a controlled environment. That meant Odd Meter could film as many takes as required, perfecting the gameplay without having any concerns about location rental periods or costs. 

“I was so grateful we could tweak animation whenever we wanted,” continues Dmitry. “For instance, I found that the main character’s movement style was slightly too gentle. I wanted something a little more rugged and boyish, so I took matters into my own hands and recorded some of her movements that didn’t seem quite right. The best thing was that I didn’t even need to leave the office or wherever I was working previously.”

With the Xsens Indie Program, indie teams can easily capture and refine animation without costly studio setups.

Photorealistic movement

Odd Meter released Indika in May 2024 to much fanfare worldwide, in part thanks to the animation quality. Thanks to Xsens’ ease of use and accuracy, Dmitry could iterate motion capture recording up to AAA game quality, resulting in authentic motion exactly as he imagined it. 

“The Odd Meter team was able to create everything exactly how they liked,” concludes Dmitry. “And much of the character animation came down to Xsens, its practicality, and how easy it was to re-record movements.”

Take a look at the Xsens Indie Program.