Stray Reveals Real-Life Cats That Inspired Its Leading Kitty
While the release date of Stray only a few days away, the developers reveal the three real cats that inspired the main character. Stray is a third-person adventure where the player assumes the role of an unnamed stray cat. The cat must navigate a vibrant yet seedy and decaying city to escape it.
Animators have studied real-life animals to capture realistic-feeling movements and behaviors for ages. For example, Disney animators observed real lions as they were creating The Lion King. The same can also be said for observing people, as even cartoonists often learn by drawing what they see in real life. Knowing the basics then allows artists to stylize as they like, while still having reality to ground them. This often results in characters that act and feel more «real,» even if it's a cartoon or a video game set in a futuristic sci-fi world. The world of Stray serves as a prime example.
Related: PlayStation's Stray Gets Line Of Travel Cat Backpacks & Merch
The developer of Stray, BlueTwelve Studio, has revealed the real-life cats responsible for making their feline main character so life-like. First is Murtaugh, an orange tabby who was once a stray himself until he was adopted by BlueTwelve Studio's cofounders Viv and Koola. Murtaugh's story and appearance were a huge influence on the design of the main character, another orange tabby. Another influence was Oscar the Sphynx cat. Oscar was invaluable to the main animator of the cat character, Miko. Oscar would roam, jump, and climb around the office providing Miko with all the inspiration and reference needed to accurately animate all the subtleties of a cat's movement, which have been faithfully recreated in Stray's gameplay. Finally, there's Jun the black cat. As quoted in
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