On Sega’s Bayonetta blog on IGN, special effects designer, Kudo, talks briefly about his work on Bayonetta.  We all know how special effects can really enhance a game, but have you ever seen video comparisons with and without special effects?  Kudo posted a couple of videos on the blog, one with the special effects and one without.  I think we can all agree that he did an amazing job.  Check out the videos below.

With the special effects…

Without them…

As you can see, the difference is night and day.  It’s nice to see such attention to detail, especially how Bayonetta takes damage.  Here’s a snippet from the blog:

Kamiya-san: Hey Kudo, when Bayonetta gets damaged…

Kudo: Yeah.

Kamiya-san: …We should do something special with that.

Kudo: Yeah, we should.

Kamiya-san: Maybe something like Okami’s hit effects, where flower petals flew off.

Kudo: Yep! That’s a great idea. So Bayonetta would use…

Kamiya-san: A rose, of course.

Kudo: OK. But it’s damage, right? So isn’t there supposed to be blood?

Kamiya-san: If it isn’t pretty, then it isn’t Bayonetta!! Even the blood that flows out of her body can be turned into a rose with magic!!

Kudo: Whoa!!

Kamiya-san: She just goes, “Wuhhh!!” (He’s imitating Bayonetta’s damage voice.)

Kudo: …

Kamiya-san: You know… “Wuhhh!!” (He’s really getting into it here.)

What resulted from this conversation is the hit effect below:

And here’s the video…