Bobu 2.0

Storytelling is about bringing characters to life — and exploring new and creative ways to use emerging technology is what drives us. We recently collaborated with Hallway, a startup that uses AI to turn 2D characters into living, interactive personalities. This enabled us to not only bring Bobu to life, but also interact with our audience and community like never before…

0:00
/0:32

Technology & Innovation

This isn’t just a 3D model reading from a script; this is a fully autonomous, intelligent character, able to react and respond to our audience and comments on YouTube in real-time.

With his brain fully hydrated with lore from our universe and community details, Bobu wasn't just able to react with context — he was able to respond creatively, the way the audience imagined Bobu would.

0:00
/0:26

Art & AI

Even though AI allowed Bobu to communicate gracefully, his character design, details, and bedroom aesthetic were created by human beings, closely guided by our art team led by Arnold Tsang. This ensured the character was portrayed the way we always envisioned him to be, just a little more lifelike.

New technologies will undoubtedly change the way we tell stories, and we’re committed to anchoring our universe and experiences from the source material created by our talented team of artists, animators, and storytellers.

0:00
/0:09

The Element of Surprise

As always, we added a few more layers to keep things interesting. We prompted Bobu to take suggestions around merch and design ideas, and thanks to some behind-the-scenes choreography, Bobu surprised the audience by allowing everyone who joined the stream to claim an exclusive physical collectible, co-created by them, right then and there.

0:00
/0:14

Anime 2.0

We have been talking more about Anime 2.0, and while this isn’t exclusive to the concept, it’s one small building block in our journey. Characters like these can extend a universe. With the ability to communicate contextually and utilize memory, they can reference source material and previous conversations with individuals, forming connections with audiences like never before.