First Talk Animation Reveals for Mr. C, Mr. D, and Ms. E
I think it is still Friday somewhere, like maybe Hawaii. Man, editing video is such a pain, this Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule for revealing these new character animations is going to kill me. Also, now I’m super paranoid about the amount of noise on my laptop’s mic input, so I’m probably going to have to get a USB soundcard to try to isolate it. Plus, let’s just ignore the camera still visible in the distance in Mr. C’s video, shall we?
Without further ado (and whining), here are the first talk animations for the three other characters in our first five, Mr. C, Mr. D, and Ms. E.1 If you missed Mr. A and Ms. B, you can see them here, and if you don’t want to miss any more videos, Subscribe to the SpyPartyGame YouTube Channel!
I think for the next batch I’m going to put them all in a single video so there’s not so much intro and outro overhead.
These characters and animations are all part of the run-up to PAX at the end of August, where we hope to have the new SpyParty art up and running2 in the game!
What is the technology used for these animations? Is it motion capture?
Nope, it’s all hand-animated in Maya. The technology is John Cimino. :) I don’t like the look of mocap, I think it looks kinda dead and robotic.
‘I don’t like the look of mocap, I think it looks kinda dead and robotic’
I concur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqbbzPUH-NU
PS: Youtube, why must you reedit the first five seconds of every video I post?!
How unique are you planning to make the other animations? For example, could Mr. D end up bugging the ambassador with the end of his cane?
Also, are you planning to balance all the animations one-by-one – so everyone’s “flirt” animation should be equally easy/hard to detect – or just judge each character in the round?
PS – Mr. D is a Douglas. Ms E is an Esther. But while Mr C could be a Charles, I think he’s really a John or a Sidney.
Yeah, we’re going to make them all custom, but hopefully the same level of subtlety. Playtesting will tell!
That’s amazing how properly animated and expressive hand gestures can boost believability.
Head nodding is perfect too!
I said this on the forums, but I want to reiterate how much I love the bold touches on some of the characters, IE: the lines on Ms. E’s hair. I think that stuff really elevates the illustrative style John’s going for.
Looks great! I agree that mocap often looks bad. I guess I better start practicing so I’m in good shape once the new visuals are ready.
I still don’t see the camera behind Mr. C…
See the dot swing by in the distance as I rotate around him? That’s the other camera. Might need to switch to 720p.
I don’t want to sound rude, but you got lazy for Ms. E: her feet do not move at all!
The only part that’s rude is assuming it’s us being lazy instead animating her as an older person who does not fidget as much as the younger characters! Not everybody dances around while talking for 8 seconds.
Touché ! Although she is older and this makes sense, I cannot unsee the fact the lower part of her body does not move at all. :)
Nah, she sways a bit, it’s just subtle.
Bah, I bet you guys are going to be really “lazy” with the paraplegic in the wheelchair. How dare ye not animate his legs? =)
I am loving the new models and animation! Also, I really dig Mr. E’s watch!
I mean Mr. D’s watch. Very classy!
Yeah, for the Check Watch action he goes in and pulls it out of his jacket. :)
I love this so much. It doesn’t make sense how much I love this.
When people talk about indie games having “love” in them, this is the kind of touch they mean, I think.