The Directorate
Real-time VFX and lighting for the reveal cinematic of The Directorate, a third-person action RPG.
- Cinematic VFX
- Lighting
- Real-time
- Reveal trailer
- Atmosphere
Game artwork shown for project context. SGZ contributions are identified in the breakdown below.
A reveal, built in real time.
Nesting Games brought us in to carry the reveal cinematic for The Directorate: Novitiate, a third-person action RPG. We owned the real-time VFX and lighting end to end: built in-engine so the team could re-cut the edit without re-rendering.
Our part shipped. The reveal premiered in 2025 and set the tone the team wanted: dread over spectacle, a short, moody cut lit for atmosphere.
Nesting Games later made the difficult call to end development of Novitiate. Cancellations are part of game production and say nothing about the craft that went into a project. It is also the reason we can show this work in full today, shot by shot, instead of keeping it behind an NDA for years.
Watch the reveal- Client
- Nesting Games
- Project
- The Directorate: Novitiate
- SGZ role
- Cinematic VFX & Lighting
- Platforms
- PC
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Duration or phase
- Reveal cinematic, 2025 — duration to be confirmed
- Delivery status
- Reveal shipped
Project details · subject to NDA where applicable
Stills from the cut.
Footage courtesy of Nesting Games. SGZ work shown: real-time VFX and lighting for the reveal cinematic.
The work under the mood.
Volumetric atmosphere
Layered fog and god-rays tuned per shot to carry weight without crushing readability.
Real-time VFX
Effects built and integrated in-engine, so the edit could be re-cut without ever re-rendering.
Cinematic lighting
A cold key, a single warm practical, controlled roll-off: the whole reveal lit for inevitability.
“We didn't want explosions. We wanted dread you could light a room with.”
More work
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Prefer email? Write to impact@studiosgz.com.