Gameplay Animation & You! Part 3 of 3: Player

Well well well. Look who decided to show up. I didn't think you'd show your face around here again. Not after what happened last time.

What happened last time!?!

Oh! Internet! Sorry, I was talking to someone else. Just forget you heard anything. 

Ok?

I SAID FORGET IT! Because we're here to talk about the third and final element of a gameplay animator!

The Player! 


Don't hate the player, hate the game am I right?

No, you are not right. We've got to know if our animations work and actually fulfill the needs they were created to fill. We can only determine that from the end users point of view, the player. So what’s the best way we can we make that determination?

Guessing?

No.

TEST TEST TEST !

You have to see your animations working in the game in a variety of situations to see what works and what doesn’t. So you test and iterate and test and iterate and so on. Lots of 'so on'.

THE GAME IS TRUTH!

Viewports and playblasts are nice, but they are notorious liars. The game is the game and no matter how painful it can be, it always tells the truth.

Like a true friend.

Indeed. Thanks for making it through all three posts about gameplay animation (I'm assuming you did. If not, do it now). Hopefully this stuff made sense to you Internet but if it doesn’t or you want to know something else about me or my work feel free to ask in the comments section.

Sounds good! I’ll probably do so as one or more of the unique individuals or entities that form me.

You’re a real weirdo Internet, but I like the cut of your jib.

Same to you! I think that makes us best friends. Tee hee! See you next time!

HUZZAH!

FIN

Gameplay Animation & You! Part 2 of 3: Designer

What!?! Internet, why are you back here? I didn't think I'd ever see you again!

That's weird because you keep telling me to come back. 

Oh right, because I have MORE to tell you. Follow meeeeee!

What? Where? 

Oh! Well, nowhere actually. Just stay here so I can tell you about the second element that comprises a gameplay animator.

I remember, it's desig....

Designer! Ha! Beat you to it.

Indeed. Go on.

Animation IS player feedback. Along with audio and FX animation drives the core of what connects a player to the reality of a game. That connection needs to be handled carefully and deliberately. Hence, gameplay animators are designers and should acknowledge, accept and embrace that role! Gameplay animators must coordinate with with other disciplines to determine the needs of the game and how best to fulfill them. I like to break down those needs by asking a few questions. Some simple, some not.

WHY is this happening?

Any need should have a clear and explainable reason for why it exists. The why is your purpose, cause or belief. This ‘Why’ drives everything; an animation, a feature, a game, a company. Powerful right? Now we can dig into the nitty gritty of achieving our why.

What’s happening?

• Reloading a weapon
• Performing a melee
• Jumping in low gravity
• Dying from an explosion

How does it happen?

• How should the action make you feel and what does it say about the person/creature/thing doing it?
• Graceful?
• Menacing?
• Clumsy?

How fast does it happen?

• Is it responsive?
• Is it sluggish?

That section could have used more fart jokes, but I liked it anyway.

Good! All I want is for you to be happy. See you next time internet. Double Huzzah!

FIN

Gameplay Animation & You! Part 1 of 3: Animator

Welcome back internet!

Thanks! What are we talking about today Pat?

I'm glad you asked because today we're talking about tax law!! You see, tax law is an area of legal study dealing with consti...

STOP! I don't want to know about that! Why would I come here for tax law?! I want to know about gameplay animation.

Oh right. Sorry internet. As I said last time, I believe a gameplay animator is made up of three elements. The first of which is in the name. 

Animator!

Like the title suggests, we're primarily animators and therefore obsess about things animators obsess about. 

Credit card points!

No. Terrible, terrible, terrible guess. We obsess about the 12 principles of animation (Classics!) These concepts defined by the great Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston represent the building blocks of animation. You can see my attempts at simplifying them for you below. 

Squash and stretch

Anticipation

Staging



Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose



Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Slow In and Slow Out

Arcs



Secondary Action

Timing

Exaggeration

Solid Drawing

Appeal

Although I don't animate boxes all day, these principles still apply to everything I animate. They are the building blocks of what I do.

Fascinating stuff. What else do animators think about?

We also obsess about fart jokes. You know, for science.

Ha! Farts...always good.

Yep! That's pretty much it for this post. If you have any questions about this stuff feel free to ask in the comments section. Otherwise, I'd rather not hear from you until the next post. I need my space.

FIN