Animation Development: Moving Creatures and Reticulating Splines

Debris the game fish swim

Good morning! This week we’d like to show some new work on the animation side. Ariane has been cranking out wonderful animations for multiple creatures. Also, a massive amount of progress has been made on the creature behaviour and spline animation systems.

Isolated Animation States

This is what happens when you mess with the shark. Your skeleton rig becomes the “Head Out of Ass Rig”. We know what we’re doing. You’ll have to trust us.

Spline Animation

The swimming animations that run in-game react dynamically to the movement of the fish. Tail motion, banking and body twisting are blended together on the fly based on the creature’s speed, acceleration and turning radius. Additionally, the system is modular enough that we can apply it over multiple creatures and have them feel natural. Come back later for a more in-depth look at movement and animations!

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