One of the new challenges in Uncharted 3 was the introduction of horses. Nate is rescued by Selim and the Bedouins when they come charging in on horseback to take out Marlowe’s men. In order to bring this to life, Brian Robinson, Cinematic Gameplay Animator, and the Naughty Dog team went to Burbank, CA to the Burbank Equestrian Center to consult with horse trainers and capture hours of reference video.
It’s a lot of studying. Even the modelers and concept artists used the footage to break down the musculature of the horses to see how they move and flex. For instance, they found than when you look the anatomy of a horse’s leg, you see how they lock out their knee and absorb the shock of their weight in their shoulder. It’s the attention to little details like this that make all the difference.
“Horse’s ears are like little antennae”, said Robinson. “They’re constantly scanning around and moving. When they’re arngry then pin back on their head. When they’re interested they point forward. We added this element when the player is on the horse and idling. The ears move around giving that extra bit of realism. Probably no one will notice, but I will”