At a time when AI is increasingly being used to replace human creativity, “Just Dance” is refusing to change its hands-on approach.
The Ubisoft dance game, which just launched “Just Dance: Decades of Hits” on Tuesday, brings on-screen characters to life through a process rooted in human labor. Real dancers wear handmade costumes, wigs and makeup before being filmed against a green screen and integrated into the game.
“We are really loving what we do. It’s our art. It’s what we love,” Benjamin Jouffret, the game’s costume designer and character lead, tells Variety. “We are proud of working, sketching ourselves, creating what is in our minds and making real costumes with real costume makers.”
Jouffret says his team is committed to creating its characters without AI. Having studied fashion and previously working as a stylist, Jouffret has spent the past eight years overseeing the costumes and characters that appear on-screen.
The process begins with a brainstorming session, during which the creative team listens to a song and watches its music video to determine the direction of a character. Sometimes the team draws inspiration directly from the artist, other times opting to take the concept in a completely different direction.
These decisions also inform the game’s maps, which combine the characters with their backgrounds and surrounding environments. “If you want to create a map for the community or the hardcore players, we know that they will really want to have a connection with the singers,” Jouffret explains. “If you have a Lady Gaga song, you want Easter eggs. For that, we are really inspired by the artists.”
From there, the team determines whether the dance will feature a solo performer or a duo or trio, as well as the type of character that fits best. Sometimes, up to 10 characters will be featured in one dance.
“We also decide if you want a casual costume, or an alien or a mascot or a nonbinary character,” Joufrett says. “We do a lot of things.”
His team then assembles mood boards using references from films, music videos and other media before developing sketches and finalizing designs. Once a concept is approved, the team consults its roster of dancers to find someone who can embody the character and complement the choreographer’s vision.
Overall, the timeline is relatively short. After a one-day brainstorming session, the team typically spends two to three weeks designing a character, followed by roughly four weeks of production. That period includes fittings, hair and makeup tests and rehearsals to ensure the costumes work with the choreography. Filming takes place over a single day.
Across the game’s Paris-based lead studio and its partner studio in Shanghai, the team creates roughly 100 costumes per installment, balancing visual appeal with practicality.
“We can’t make beautiful costumes if they can’t be used by the dancers,” Jouffret explains. “We can do what we want, but we have to do it smartly.”
The team previously experimented with 3D printing, but the materials proved too heavy for dancers to move comfortably in. Today, that technique is reserved for accessories requiring smaller, intricate details.
For Jouffret, the trial and error of the process is part of what makes the game so special. “We really love to create and make things by ourselves,” he says.
His team collaborates with costume makers and other specialists, each bringing expertise in areas such as mascots, corsets and casual wear. The team’s commitment to representation is also reflected in the game itself, which features dancers with different backgrounds and abilities. In one installment, the team worked with dancer Jana Bruno, who has one arm, earning recognition for its diversity efforts.
“Just Dance” releases a new installment every year, sometimes revisiting characters and storylines from previous games. For “Decades of Hits,” one new character, Lyra, is the daughter of a character introduced in a previous game. Players will follow her storyline of searching for her father through dance.
Meanwhile, hundreds of costumes from the franchise’s 17-year history remain in storage in Paris, forming a physical archive of the work behind the game’s characters. Jouffret says the team hopes to showcase the creations through a potential exhibition or runway presentation, although some pieces would need repairs after the wear and tear of filming.