5 ms·

Is it just me or do the animations of the original TR hold up pretty well? In this video of comparing movement mechanics[1] across the various games, I can't he

by mstade 10y ago

Is it just me or do the animations of the original TR hold up pretty well? In this video of comparing movement mechanics[1] across the various games, I can't help but feel the modern variants are too exaggerated in the character animations. I don't know, it's hard to put a finger on it. I'm not saying the original animations are better in every way, but there's something there that's missing in the more modern variants. The video is pretty on point otherwise with regards to how dumbed down controls are these days. It seems to me that games with good movement controls are few and far between. The one game I play these days that has excellent controls is NHL (16 and 17) – you really do feel in control, even if you play with beginner controls where the assist is ramped up. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQRr3pXxsGo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQRr3pXxsGo

Bartweiss 10y ago
What comes to mind for me is Assassin's Creed. The character animations in it are so detailed that they completely gave up on realism - every single motion is a flashy, flailing leap that may or may not conform to terrain. At a certain point, I think TR (and a lot of other old games) benefitted from the requirement that a game get at least one thing right. If your animations are shoddy, you need realistic motion because exaggeration will just look deranged. If your graphics are ugly, you need good storytelling because visuals won't get players invested. And so on. If your textures and context sensitivity are lacking, you need tight controls so characters don't commit suicide. SO I guess I'm part of the crowd arguing older games were better in those ways. Not because the past was better, but because they had fewer ways to ensure success in at least one aspect of control, or immersion, or realism.
- bitwize 10y ago
  For detail and realism I recommend the Uncharted series. The things they did with character animation are NUTS. Get Drake moving in one direction and then make him turn or reverse sharply in another direction and you will see his momentum and observe him shifting his weight from his former lead foot to his new lead foot. It's like watching a Pixar film: the flashy bits aren't what impress you, it's the subtle, little things. They pre-baked all these animation states based on the angle Drake was moving to (or the difference in angles between his former and current trajectories; I;m not sure) and used the game engine to look them up and interpolate between them. In Uncharted 4 things get even more nuts: move to the edge of a ledge or crevice and you can use the left analog stick to make Drake's hand reach at any angle; if he finds a handhold there will be a smooth realistic transition as he climbs to the new handhold -- no jump button necessary. I would say that the series is getting tired but they keep doing new and better things with each game. And they even gave Drake a satisfying ending without killing him off. Quite unlike the rerun city that Eidos made those poor Tomb Raider devs crank out.
  - CocaKoala 10y ago
    When I played one of the Uncharted games, I think it was 2 or 3, I spent like a half hour just watching how Drake moved through crowds and realistically avoided people or put his hand on railings as he walked by. It was just incredible, incredible animation.
  - lfowles 10y ago
    Witcher 3 went a similar direction, but some time after release added an "Alternative Animation" option so the controls would be more responsive at the cost of animation accuracy.
  - mentalpiracy 10y ago
    Banjo-Kazooie did this also, back on the N64. I'm certain it wasn't nearly as beautifully detailed as Uncharted, but the very slight nods to momentum and movement physics made the game a unique joy to play, even being quite young at the time. Changing direction in a sprint would leave you sliding as your momentum carried you; Banjo would throw his hands out and wobble on a ledge but pull balance back (certainly a mechanism to ease the difficulty level for players). Overall no one mechanism was overpowering, but it made switching to other games seem strange and clipped, the artificial instant start-stop now out of place and unreal.

by mstade 10y ago

Bartweiss 10y ago

What comes to mind for me is Assassin's Creed. The character animations in it are so detailed that they completely gave up on realism - every single motion is a flashy, flailing leap that may or may not conform to terrain. At a certain point, I think TR (and a lot of other old games) benefitted from the requirement that a game get at least one thing right. If your animations are shoddy, you need realistic motion because exaggeration will just look deranged. If your graphics are ugly, you need good storytelling because visuals won't get players invested. And so on. If your textures and context sensitivity are lacking, you need tight controls so characters don't commit suicide. SO I guess I'm part of the crowd arguing older games were better in those ways. Not because the past was better, but because they had fewer ways to ensure success in at least one aspect of control, or immersion, or realism.

bitwize 10y ago
For detail and realism I recommend the Uncharted series. The things they did with character animation are NUTS. Get Drake moving in one direction and then make him turn or reverse sharply in another direction and you will see his momentum and observe him shifting his weight from his former lead foot to his new lead foot. It's like watching a Pixar film: the flashy bits aren't what impress you, it's the subtle, little things. They pre-baked all these animation states based on the angle Drake was moving to (or the difference in angles between his former and current trajectories; I;m not sure) and used the game engine to look them up and interpolate between them. In Uncharted 4 things get even more nuts: move to the edge of a ledge or crevice and you can use the left analog stick to make Drake's hand reach at any angle; if he finds a handhold there will be a smooth realistic transition as he climbs to the new handhold -- no jump button necessary. I would say that the series is getting tired but they keep doing new and better things with each game. And they even gave Drake a satisfying ending without killing him off. Quite unlike the rerun city that Eidos made those poor Tomb Raider devs crank out.
- CocaKoala 10y ago
  When I played one of the Uncharted games, I think it was 2 or 3, I spent like a half hour just watching how Drake moved through crowds and realistically avoided people or put his hand on railings as he walked by. It was just incredible, incredible animation.
- lfowles 10y ago
  Witcher 3 went a similar direction, but some time after release added an "Alternative Animation" option so the controls would be more responsive at the cost of animation accuracy.
- mentalpiracy 10y ago
  Banjo-Kazooie did this also, back on the N64. I'm certain it wasn't nearly as beautifully detailed as Uncharted, but the very slight nods to momentum and movement physics made the game a unique joy to play, even being quite young at the time. Changing direction in a sprint would leave you sliding as your momentum carried you; Banjo would throw his hands out and wobble on a ledge but pull balance back (certainly a mechanism to ease the difficulty level for players). Overall no one mechanism was overpowering, but it made switching to other games seem strange and clipped, the artificial instant start-stop now out of place and unreal.