Here are some of the most common types of problems that have come up on several occasions and some basic tips and tricks to overcome them.
Response To Joystick Changes After They Have Stabilized
Modern gamepads generally contain digital buttons but also have analogue triggers and joysticks, which can output an almost infinite number of values. Joysticks can give any output angle between 0 and 360 degrees, as well as a deflection radius between 0 and 1. While seeming to be binary buttons, triggers can output any value between 0 and 1 as they are pressure sensitive.
It is important to be aware of this difference while binding analogue controls to decision points for the actions and animations of a certain character. Users will take some time to change the analogue control from 0 to 1. If there are several segments on this range that trigger different types of actions, some of these states in the middle could trigger unwarranted actions in the game even though it is not the intent of the user.
Have Enough Frames Of Animation To Cover Blending Out
Characters in video games nowadays are absolute athletes. They can jump, run at high speeds, juke and keep running, all while keeping a certain amount of forwarding momentum. Similarly, when transitioning from action to action, it is extremely important for the transitions and motions of the character to be believable and smooth. One way of achieving this is by adding longer blend times between moves. This can help maintain a smooth transition from the first animation to the next. However, the outgoing/slave animation needs to update and move as per its momentum for the blend’s duration to function properly.
If the outgoing animation’s motion is shorter than the length of the blend from the first animation to the next, it means that the blending algorithm will use a static pose having no defined velocity as the slave. This will be interpreted as zero speed. This abrupt transition on the slave animation to zero speed depends on the blend weight remaining on the slave animation and can create discontinuities within the blended speed of the character during its transition.
Do Not Lose Interest Motion When Blending Into Assets
Most motions a character performs contains anticipation, action and an ultimate follow-through. Taking away any one of these segments can compromise the naturality of the character. Unfortunately, creating such unnatural transitions is too easy in video games. This phenomenon is apparent in basketball games where the player is constantly dribbling the ball down to the ground and catching it on its way up. Great care and attention need to be provided for transitioning during any segment so it can be replaced with something which will maintain this flow of anticipation, action and follow-through.
