Animation research - Step 3: Implementation

This post will be the final post of the research that I have done today, this will cover the last step, Step 3: Implementation.

Implementation consists of:

Exporting
Faux Moves
Vellums
Efficient work hobbies
Set standards for quality

Exporting

When exporting your data to the game you must set yourself strict rules to follow, for example set all key-frames to 10 from intervals, apply only 90 degree joint rotations, etc. Anything can happen in-between exporting and importing the animations into a game engine however if every animator follows the rules that are set this helps to ensure the end product is the same in the game as it is in the animating software.

Faux Moves

A faux move is a pre-determined length and moves through a pre-determined space.
Faux moves are used to make sure that the animation doesn't effect the game-play, they help govern how long an animation is helping it to not slow down the feel of how the game-plays, there's nothing worse than having to wait for an animation to finish for you to continue playing.

Vellums

The use of vellums are mostly used in motion capture, vellum is a type of see through paper which can be drawn on, Hayes explains how this simple paper can be used to save a lot of time and effort when recapturing motion. The vellum was used to capture the actors start and end positions which was kept in order to retake shoots quick and with ease.

Efficient working habits

• Name your files appropriately!
• Use directory structures when saving work, for example - In progress character animations/Game ready character animations.
• Fine what works for you and stick to it!

Set standards for quality

Define your camera before attempting any motion, the motion on a distant character wont require fine motion details that the main character with a close camera will need. 

What is more important to your game control or animation? 

This question can influence how your game turns out as a whole, if you pick control first the game should have precise character movement but it will lose any interesting character defining movement.

The other side of this question is valuing animation equal to player movement, this allows the animator to be able to utilise their animation frames more, adding personality to the character while having the movement still be responsive and precise. 

Conclusion

That about covers what Jeff Hayes has to say about the three steps, what I have gained from this is the knowledge to really take my time and analyse each part of the animating steps, always prepare and research for the work I am about to produce.

All information that was produced in this blog post was obtained from here.

-J.W

Animation research - Step 2: Create

In this post I will be continuing the research I was carrying out about character animation with Step 2: Create.

(http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131796/creating_character_animation_assets.php?page=2)

Model

When starting to create that actual model for game, in an ideal world the animator would create the model as well as animate it however if that is not possible the animator and modeller should meet up regularly  to be able to work out what the how the model will be designed and then the animator will know what will work and what wont.

Jeff Hayes also states that the animator should view the model inside of the game environment as soon as possible as this will help ensure the quality of the model and is a way for the modellers to be able to keep the model from affecting the performance of the game, it will also help to avoid further problems down the line into production.

Skeletonise

The number one rule that Hayes can tell you about rigging a skeleton to a model is.. DON'T DO IT... unless the model has been approved by the appropriate people, there is no point starting the next step if the model comes back with "this needs to be changed" you are just creating extra work for yourself.

Test your production pipeline

Keep your production pipeline clean, you are bound to run into some issues like choosing from motion capture or key-frame animation, or setting file naming conventions and converting data intensive animation files into economic game ready data.

Keeping your production pipeline clean and simple is a blessing for you and all others that work with you.

I will be uploading the final animation research, again later today. That will be Step 3: Implementation.

-J.W

Animation research - Step 1: Design

Today I have been researching all about animation, more specifically, character animation.

In the article written by Jeff Hayes he talks about how "there are 3 steps to creating game ready animation assets."

(http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131796/creating_character_animation_assets.php)

Step 1: Design 

This step involves:

Motion Archetyping

Camera positioning

Character design

Flow charting

Motion Archetyping

At the start of the design process you should really start thinking about the fundamentals of your characters movement and how they interact with the world around them.

Jeff Hayes brings up some very important questions that you should challenge yourself to answer that will help to shape your character even before you have begun bringing them to life physically through modelling. 

How does your character stand?

What posture defines your characters view on the world the inhabit?

How does your character carry their weight?

How dose your character move from place to place? Do they run or do they walk bow-legged.

These are just an example of many of the questions Hayes goes on to ask

Once you have answered these questions Hayes talks about how you must be able to communicate your character to your team, the most effective way is to stand up and act out yourself they way you in-vision your characters behaviour and movement. Another way would be to compare your characters movement to that of an actor or a person, something that other people will be able to research themselves instead of them having to imagine it. 

Camera Positioning

Camera positioning is a big part of character animations in games, depending on what type of camera is used could effect the quality of your animations, or even effect how they are viewed. 

Hayes talks about how first and third person can effect how you animate your character, if your game camera is in first person you can cut down a lot of the animating requirements as things like walking cycles won't be viewed as often as in a third person game. Hayes goes on to say how a third person camera can allow the animator to show off "your animating muscle". 

There are a few questions you must ask yourself before beginning your animation as the answers could effect how your animation is viewed.

"Is the camera close or far away?"

"Is the camera at a fixed angle?"

"Does the camera run against a rail or are the X,Y,Z positions pre set based on the position of the character?"

Hayes explains a unfortunate circumstance where the camera he was using in a game effected a certain animations outcome. "...we frequently used a rail-cam. Since our animation testing software didn't let us use an in-game camera, we had no idea that, when our outfielder stood in the warning track facing away from the camera in his relaxed pose, it looked like he was relieving himself against the outfield wall..."

Flow Charting 

Flow charting is a very important part of animation preparation, flow charts offer the animator to mark out every movement that the character will make in the game and how these animations happen.

There are 3 types of flow charts that are favoured among animators.

The linear flow chart.

Radial flow chart

And the most popular, the descending flow chart.

My next post will be continuing with this research with Step 2:Create.

-J.W

What is this blog?

Hello,

My name is Jonathan Willetts, I am a third year undergrad currently studying Games Design at UCS in Ipswich.

The main purpose for this blog will be to document my journey throughout my last year of University and provide a steady flow of information to you, the reader, of what I will be working towards for my final project (Dissertation).

I hope you all enjoy your time viewing this blog that will soon be filling up with research and practises over the next couple of weeks.

-J.W