Last month, Screen Rant had the honor of traveling to Osaka for a special Monster Hunter Wilds preview event. Though the main focus of the trip was to try an extended hands-on gameplay session with the title, the trip offered a lot of new insight into developer Capcom’s studio as well. This guided trip gave a much clearer picture of how all the different parts of the company work together to create a single cohesive and creative product, and gave me a newfound appreciation for all the different levels of work that go into something like Wilds.

Located in Osaka’s Chou ward, the Capcom space spans several different buildings, housing a myriad of offices and recording facilities used in the company’s titles. After completing our play time with Monster Hunter Rise, we were given a special tour of the facilities, including the motion capture studio, foley recording stage, and mixing studio, followed by a trip to Monster Hunter Bar in Dotonbori. As someone who’s spoken to developers many times in my career, I was well aware of how much work goes into crafting a game, but this firsthand experience made that effort and collaboration even clearer.

Watching A Monster Hunter Wilds Hunt In-Person

How Capcom's Motion Capture Studio Operates

The first stop was Capcom’s motion capture studio, located in the basement of one of the main buildings. It was a huge room with lots of performance space, surrounded by televisions for instant playback and pieces used for filming, like a mattress for falls and a giant sword. The guide, Naohiro Taniguchi, explained that the studio features 36 cameras total that pick up movement from all angles, which are utilized for capturing animations of both Hunters and creatures alike. Typically, about half the overall baseline animation is captured here with the RE Engine, followed by further refining by animators.

The demonstration began by showing us the two suited-up actors, Daichi Miura and Masatoshi Fukidome, playing a bear-like Doshaguma and a Hunter. Standing side by side, they first showed how the cameras picked up things like waving and crouching. Next came a solo demonstration from the Hunter’s actor wielding a prop version of a Greatsword, where he performed a solo spinning move followed by a planned fall onto the aforementioned mattress - an in-game consequence of such a heavy weapon. A solo Doshaguma move followed, where the actor performed a fierce roar and dramatic punch attack on the same mattress.

The coup de gras of this portion was a performance of both actors in a fight, along with a third untracked actor who served as a pressure barrier between them. As the Doshaguma actor roared and fiercely pounded the ground, the other ran at him with his weapon, parrying the attack and pressing the sword sideways against the third actor so the monster could remain on all fours. Eventually, the Hunter’s performer was pushed backwards by the third actor, with his weapon swinging in the air.

There were a few things we weren’t lucky enough to see, like utilization of the flying rigs the studio has for airborne fighting, but this short demonstration was still amazing. Seeing the instant replays of all these actions afterward on the surrounding screens was fascinating, and made it clear why the movements in the game are able to be so intricate and each creature in Monster Hunter Wilds is able to have such specific mechanical traits. According to the guide, the hardest things to capture are flying and spinning attacks, as well as more complex weaponry like dual wielding.

Behind The Scenes Of Monster Hunter Wilds' Audio

Foley Artists' Hand-Crafted Instruments & The Art Of Soundtrack Composition

From there, we transitioned to learning about the audio side of things, beginning with a trip to the foley studio where Capcom makes the sound effects for its monsters. The artists there - sound director Hideki Hosoi, lead sound designer Wakana Kuroiwa, artist Takeshi Kitamura, and designer Daichi Sugimura - demonstrated how they designed the sounds for the wyvern Rey Dau, an apex predator of the Windward Plains region. The department utilizes many handmade, eccentric instruments for its creatures, in this case two plastic wind instruments: a higher-pitched plastic flute-like piece, and a large plastic wind instrument reminiscent of a slide whistle.

Hosoi stated they wanted Rey Dau to have a more majestic, sophisticated voice rather than harsh and screechy, as it’s a creature that commands the respect of the other animals in the area. While the initial designs of a monster influence its sound profile most, artists also look at things like how quickly they attack and where it lies in the food chain. My personal favorite custom instrument was a box with a pump and rubber glove attached, which created a sort of odd, tuba-like sound that was used for the Rompopolo.

The final stop was the mixing studio, where composers Miwako Chinone, Mana Ogura, and Yūna Hiranuma, lead mixer Takashi Moriguchi, and music director Akiyuki Morimoto, explained the process behind the game’s main theme, entitled “The Beauty of Nature,” which was played through the studio’s 7.1.4 immersive speakers. It utilizes a blend of traditional orchestra sounds with instruments from around the world for a layered blend of musicality that represents the region's diversity. An artist also showed some live play on his keyboard, demonstrating the harsh sounds that come along with the Inclemency, one of Monster Hunter Wilds’ new seasons.

A Trip To The Monster Hunter Bar & Final Tour Thoughts

Themed Foods, Drinks, & Special Decor Made For A Memorable Night

After leaving Capcom, we journeyed to the Monster Hunter Bar, which was an absolute delight. It featured a fully themed menu inspired by in-game cooking, from which we were served selections like Expertly Cooked Bone-in Meat, a hamburg steak with bone handles inserted, and Yomogi’s Special Bunny Dango, a delicious dessert I felt bad eating because it was so adorable. There were also a slew of themed drinks available, from colorful Mega Potions to a Rajang Gold Lion Sour. I opted for the Zinogre Supercharged Soda, a blend of gin, green apple, blue jelly, soda, pineapple, and popping candy.

From beginning to end, the evening following the preview was a perfect way to better demonstrate the many layers undertaken to make the full experience of a game, as well as the wholehearted creativity everyone on staff approaches tasks at hand with. From seeing actors giving it their all fighting each other, to hearing instruments created solely for monsters, to art director Kaname Fujioka excitedly singing the cooking music as I spun the restaurant’s prop meat, it was clear how much everyone deeply loves their work, and I left even more excited for Monster Hunter Wilds because of it.