Shin Megami Tensei V is a fantastic video game, but have you noticed how good the hair looks? That's all thanks to Unreal Engine 4's “Kawaii Physics” plugin, used to animate things like swaying hair and clothing, such as skirts and dresses.
In SMTV, Kawaii Physics is used to animate Nahobino’s long blue hair. Nahobino’s a pretty active protagonist who is viewed mostly from behind, so you get a lot of time to admire their flowing locks.
The plugin itself was developed by Kazuya Okada, a support engineer at Epic Games Japan, and he's been posting about its inclusion on Twitter:
The recently released Shin Megami Tensei V makes use of the Kawaii Physics plugin I made! Thank you so much! (It’s apparently used to control the protagonist’s hair! I couldn’t believe it when I heard that lol)
It is said that Kawaii Physics is less hassle to use than Unreal Engine 4’s standard “AnimDynamics” feature, as it supports collision detection and boasts a simple algorithm that has a lower processor overhead than Unreal Engine 4's standard system for handling this kind of thing.
It has also been used in Scarlet Nexus, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier and Trials of Mana, and can be deployed in Unreal Engine 5 games, too.
[source automaton-media.com]
Comments 41
Isn’t nabohino referred to as a boy? (Even though technically it’s inhuman). Even one of the demons said ”you look like a girl”
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@Strictlystyles There’s definitely a heavy dose of androgyny stirred into the character design, but yeah, I believe the character is referred to as ‘young man’ on several occasions.
Whether it matters a great deal or not is another question, but I can see it becoming a seed for ‘that conversation we have every day on the internet’ fairly easily.
Looking forward to playing this. My backlog is saying it will be about 2025
The Aogami says to him, “young man”. But ya know, gender ain’t nuthin’ but a label!
"She's a pretty active protagonist who is viewed mostly from behind"
I hate to break it to you, but the MC is a "He".
Can’t believe it took so long to get a Drag Race tie-in game. Nabohino is an icon.
Yeah, the Nahobino is a fusion of a teenage boy and a male god so...
That hair is still strong though.
The main character is definitely the weakest link in a great game.
@Einherjar lololololol I was coming to write this exact comment!
"In SMTV, Kawaii Physics is used to animate Nahobino’s long blue hair. She's a pretty active protagonist who is viewed mostly from behind, so you get a lot of time to admire her flowing locks."
He. The protag is male
Misgendering? In 2021?
...good luck out there
"She's a pretty active protagonist"
Let's cancel the person that wrote this article!!
Apologies on the Nahobino blunder, that has been fixed!
I swear, it's like it's the first time some of you have seen an androgynous/effeminate male here, and to find him bad just cause he looks like a girl? lol
Wait til we tell @Damo about Samus!
But yeah I definitely thought they were a girl in the first trailers too, and I knew how these games like their androgynous protagonists!
@BLD You mean to tell me SAMUS ISN'T A DUDE?!?
Honestly, the hair is amazing and I love his look overall. Plot twist, I'm nonbinary.
Let's start here, the MC is a guy.
Does it matter how he looks and how long his hair is vs gender?
No
For my part it would be a girl with short hair and I wouldn't give a crap, I like the design of the MC in SMT V and it fits the game fine, but there is always that someone who has to make drama out of it that the MC has long hair.
Jeez...
@Damo you would be surprised how many people I have seen through the years assuming Samus is a guy, and when you tell and prove them it is a female some (minority) make a stupid drama out of it.
I don't give a crap about someone their gender in game, I care more about the backstory (if applicable) and design than that.
HOWEVER I don't like the whole push into genderless either, just stop focussing on it too much (choose what fits the story and the character the most), it doesn't matter who she/he/they are, for my part it's a freaking alien as long it fits the story/game.
Can someone give that dude a haircut😃😃😃😃😃, he really needs one right now.
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@BlackenedHalo I think someone is on the verge of the ban hammer.
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There is little I enjoy more in life than an androgynous jprg protag. They're just the best. The twink-ier, the better.
'Nahobino' is not the protagonist's name... A 'Nahobino' is, in the game's lore, a perfect union of Knowledge and Life. Record scratch (YHVH) was a Nahobino as well.
By the way, if men with long hair are women, are women with short hair men? So many cultures have had long hair as the default male haircut for millennia. Short hair's only been a trend for a very short period of time, all things considered.
I have been playing this game alot since I got it also Friday, and it is such a great time. RPG wise it is definitely up there with Dragon Quest 11 on Switch, it's just so good, the game can punish mistakes but overcoming bosses and making them look like chumps is super satisfying. Only downside is I wish it could run a little better in dock mode, portably it runs a little smoother at the cost of resolution but it can get a little choppy docked in some areas.
There are a lot of remove "inappropriate" comments on this thread lol
Oh, I was hoping the main character was a girl. Nothing against them being androgynes but I'd prefer a girl character. Ah well, I didn't have time for this one anyhow. Funny as I keep seeing other articles saying the main character is a "she", oops.
Pointing out your blatant hypocrisy is now "unconstructive" eh?
You can hide the comments but not your blatant sexism and prejudicial thinking. Abhorrent
@BlackenedHalo These are all the reasons I like the main protagonist. I'm really into the game and the hair is awesome. Its like a nice trail of wispy action that accompanies all the running and sliding. Something nice and beautiful in such a dreary world.
Really enjoying the game! I'm over 20 hours in and the loop is so addictive. Love finding items around every corner, upgrading and selling, using it all to fuse new demons and recruiting demons, and going into battle. Good stuff.
@Einherjar To whom was it directed?
I don't really like the MC's Nahobino design that much but the game is fun nonetheless. Glad other people enjoy it though. I actually prefer his normal human look with his asymmetrical haircut. The school uniforms in this game are well done. Just wished some form of character customization existed.
@nessisonett dude, cut off the decadence.
Everyone has odd eyelashes in this game.
@Trajan The hand on the hip really sells the look. Shantay you stay.
@WallyWest Depends how much the editors see certain groups as ‘fair game’. Bans are usually repeated offences although even that isn’t always true.
I really don't see the girl part, sure the hair, But I have always seen a dude, Maybe asked myself if it was a she at times, but I always saw the a guy.
The hair is amazing tho!
@nessisonett Considering he was being Transphobic i'm surprised they didn't ban him.
What's the deal with using neutral pronouns? .-. He's a young man.
Tbh I thot he was a female protagonist at first and was dissapointed when I found out it wasn't...
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