Everything serves gameplay.

When the visual FX artists at Treyarch are constructing augmentations, enhancements, and atmospheric elements for every aspect of Black Ops 4 – from dust kicking up during a run over sand, the muzzle flash of a weapon, to the smoke trail from a wingsuit – they have a large number of unique challenges to overcome, and rely on the gameplay-related mantra to work from.

In this, the fifth Declassified behind-the-scenes video, you’ll discover how seamless VFX artistry is achieved.

Unlike movies where you’re viewing VFX from a single perspective, Treyarch needs to make their visual accoutrements look great from any angle and under a variety of lighting conditions. They have to react to context and different aspects of gameplay; such as helping players understand and pinpoint 99 other rivals all dropping out of an aircraft at the start of a Blackout match. Then there are the unique challenges; like realistically conveying something that isn’t able to be seen in real-life; like the radiation emanating from Firebreak’s reactor core.

The latest Declassified video also details the care and attention that went into Spectre’s blade, and how the VFX team collaborates with character creation, art direction, gameplay, and sound design teams.

Because, like many other game development disciplines, people don’t question VFX when it works, and the mark of a successful visual effect is having it become an integral and unassuming part of the overall game.

Declassified Part 5: FX: Watch it here:

Don’t forget to check out the previous videos in this series:

Declassified Part 1: Nuketown.

Declassified Part 2: Ballistics.

Declassified Part 3: Sound of a Story.

Declassified Part 4: Making the Music.

For more intel about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, be sure to visit CallofDuty.com/blackops4 and follow @CallofDuty and @Treyarch on Twitter.

For more information on Activision games, follow @Activision on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.