Development of animation for games

Animation brings game characters, visual effects and entire virtual worlds to life, which subsequently impress with their splendor. However, most often it is taken for granted by gamers, and few people think what kind of work is behind the visualization of a particular movement. In this article, we will take a look behind the scenes of game development and analyze this issue in more detail.

By definition, an animation is simply a sequence of frames that brings a still image to life. It comes in two main types: two-dimensional and three-dimensional.

Despite the development of technology and popular belief, 2D animation continues to be in high demand in games, and there is even a separate category of gamers who prefer 2D projects. For example, such sensational games as Cuphead and Diablo were created using such graphics.

The key concept in creating 2D animation is the plane. That is, it consists of “flat” objects that have only two parameters – height and width.

There are two main types of 2D animation:

• Full – for its implementation, 24-25 frames per second of timing are created and all the smallest details of the object are animated.
• Simplified – the number of frames here is significantly less, and insignificant elements of the characters and the environment can remain static at all.

In addition, when creating such animation, specialists follow 12 basic principles:

• Squeeze and stretch is a technique for changing the size of an object based on its movement.
• Scenic – every action in the animation should be understood easily and unambiguously.
• Preemption is the preparation of the gamer for the upcoming action, such as a crouch before a jump or a swing before a strike.
• Compositing and direct phased motion are two key approaches to animation. The first involves preliminary rendering of key poses, followed by the addition of transitions, and the second is the creation of all scenes in order.
• Fine-tuning and overlapping – all movements must imitate the obedience to the laws of physics. For example, when the character stops, body parts can continue to move by inertia.
  Softening the beginning and end of the movement – to achieve maximum realism, the largest number of frames should fall on the beginning and end of the movement, and fewer in the middle.

7. Arcs – the movements of the characters must be projected exclusively along an arc trajectory.

8. Secondary movements – the actions of the second plan should emphasize the main ones.

9. Timing – correct timings are used to convey the weight and heaviness of the character.

10. Exaggeration is a technique that helps to highlight the emotions of the characters and the main ideas of the game.

11. Professional drawing – although 2D characters are flat, shape and weight must be taken into account in their depiction.

12. Attractiveness – the gamer must “believe” in each character, which means they look interesting and unique.6

Three-dimensional animation is used in the creation of most major games. It allows you to create realistic models, taking into account all the nuances, textures and even facial expressions of the characters. Unlike 2D graphics, there are three dimensions in 3D space: height, width, and depth. That is, objects also have volume.

There are three main types of 3D animation:

• Simplified animation.

This is the simplest version of three-dimensional animation, which does not provide for the drawing of individual small textures and details. It reflects the physics of a process or the operation of a system, and is most often used for various business tasks, but is rarely seen in game development.

• Intermediate animation.

It is characterized by minimal use of complex objects and simple physics. Despite the fact that the visual series is greatly simplified, such animation looks pretty good and can be used to implement simple casual and hyper-casual projects.

• Photorealistic animation.

Animation with the highest level of detail and rendering of all the smallest details. Used in most AAA projects such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Elden Ring and others.

Such animation is characterized by a lot of textures, the use of skeletal and facial animation, the presence of the physics of all objects in the frame, the detailed drawing of liquid objects – waves, glare, and so on.

The process of creating 3D animation is complex and time-consuming. As a rule, a whole team of specialists deals with it, where everyone performs their own separate task: designers, riggers, animators, screenwriters, etc.

There are general steps for creating a 3D animation:

• Concept. Development of the initial idea and storyline of the character, creation of the first drafts.
• Storyboard. Visualization of the gameplay and cut-scenes with the participation of characters, divided into separate frames.
• Modeling. At this step, the 3D objects themselves are developed, which will be animated in the future. Each model is an object attached to the grid, consisting of lines, vertices and curves that give it the desired shape.

• Texturing. Once the 3D models have been created and approved, they are textured. It can be leather, hair, clothing, for animals – wool, for cars – metal trim, and so on.
• Rigging and skinning. Rigging is about building the musculoskeletal mass of the character, which allowed him to move believably, and skinning smoothes out the resulting connections.
• Animation. At this stage, the entire created storyboard is animated using a sequence of movements, and the character “comes to life” on the screen.
• Rendering. It is the process of implementing 3D animation using the GPU. The result is a complete animated sequence that includes elements and effects such as shadows, reflections, motion blur, and more.

An in-game character for a gamer is more than just an object. This is a real virtual personality with which he identifies himself, and with the help of which he expresses himself. That is why the sale of various skins and color schemes is so popular in online games.

AVADA MEDIA has practical experience in the game development industry and will help you create unique characters for your project with smooth and realistic animations.