IMO good animations are far more important than nice models, textures, or backgrounds

[Riki Darnell]

I think one of the issues is with better looking graphics we expect more fluid animations. I can go back and play an N64 game or PS1 game and not be bothered by the character not opening his hand when he grabs and item because I know he can't. But now I we want better animations because a lot of the games are trying to look "real-life"ish. I can look over a lack of animation if I'm really draw into the story tho.

 

[Riki Darnell]

I think one of the issues is with better looking graphics we expect more fluid animations. I can go back and play an N64 game or PS1 game and not be bothered by the character not opening his hand when he grabs and item because I know he can't. But now I we want better animations because a lot of the games are trying to look "real-life"ish. I can look over a lack of animation if I'm really draw into the story tho.

 

[Riki Darnell]

oops, sorry for double post, computer derped out on me >_>;

 

[Rack]

If it looks likr a rock, but moves like a tiger, chances are it's a tiger. I imagine most people accept the importance of good animation so the stumbling block is probably cost, not will.

 

[Starik20X6]

I can see that. Mario had some great animations in Mario 64. He'd press flat up against walls instead of just running at them, he'd use the doorknobs, he'd lean into corners when running...

 

[lacktheknack]

I was watching the gameplay video for the new Hitman game [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_pal859keA] and it bothered me that in 2012, we still see the following:

- Characters gliding/skating up and down steps (0:52 and 6:25 of the video for examples)
- Characters opening doors by basically face-planting into them (1:03)
- Ammo, guns, and disguises magically transporting to your body
- Terrible rag doll corpses that have no weight to them and end up in awkward poses (6:40)

It's quite funny, actually... remember Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, the derptastic glitchfest that nearly killed the series?

In that game, she had proper stair animations, realistic door-opening skills, items had to be picked up, and no rag-dolls at all (static death animations were used). How is it that a game that was terrible in pretty much all departments could still get all those things right, but AAA games today can't?

 

[lacktheknack]

Ah, yet another "Graphics dont matter" thread.
This isn't as much anymore about discussing opinion as it is just stating facts so
i really do have to wonder why people feel the need to make threadNo#222453534373
about this very topic again and again.

Playing games for the graphics is like watching porn for the story.
In summary:
Most indie games are awesome because they generally focus less on the latest and greatest and fanciest graphics out there and can instead make story and other things more appealing
Most 3A publishers/developers just deliver crappy samey shooters with the graphics pumped up to overdrive yet fail to deliver in the other aspects

/thread

was that so hard now?

Good job missing the point entirely. This thread is not about graphics vs. everything else, it's about animation being a neglected part of the graphics subset.

You might also have noticed that the OP was wanting to see better graphics (via better animations), so your post is kind of irrelevant.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I agree. Awkward animations will pull me out of a game extremely quickly, even if the graphics look absolutely amazing. That is why I sorta wish Bethesda would learn how to animate it's damn characters for once. It sure would help my immersion in Skyrim.
I definitely would like to see them take a break on improving visual quality for awhile and instead working on smoother and more natural animation systems.

 

[Liberaliter]

Why not have both?

 

[baddude1337]

Agreed. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has some silky smooth and awesome animations. It brings your squad to life.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Yeah, I agree. One of the reasons CoD looks weird. For example, in the miracle of sound video "I suck at call of duty" A grenade goes off infront of someone, and instead of being blown back, it looked like he had been shot, then fell forward. Everytime I see that it throws me off, it's so unnatural.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Body and facial animation! LA Noire has great facial animation, but the body animation doesn't feel in sync with the face, it is unnerving.

This is why I like Naughty dog and Ninja Theory. Brilliant facial animation, very lively!

 

[Robert Ewing]

Good animations are AS paramount as graphics.

It's useless to have good graphics with shit animations, the same as it's useless to have epic animations but bad graphics.

But I must admit, the better animation and bad graphics has a much higher strain resistance.

 

[Keoul]

speaking of poor animation...
The NPCs look constipated when they walk too XD

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

speaking of poor animation...
The NPCs look constipated when they walk too XD

I have seen somthing like this with Mirrors edge. This is the reason you don`t play FPS only games in TPS mode .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3VnWYt9flM

 

[Cowabungaa]

On the same note, play Max Payne 3 - it's animations are great, Max moves realistically when changing directions and transitions into jumps, bumps into locked doors properly and all that.

Just that ... gameplay took a back seat when they made this game - said realistic animations hampers the gameplay itself. See some enemies charging you, so you want to dodge into cover? Let's have a second of animation blending as you go from walking forward to strafing to the side, then another second of forced animation blending to transition into the dodge leap behind the wall. Oh look, while you were doing that, the enemy has several seconds of fire on you, so you've lost 50% hp already.

I've played the game extensively over the past two days, and I haven't noticed that problem yet. All I know is that I adore the animation work, it makes the game a lot more convincing, pulls me in a lot more.

That's why I don't consider The Witcher 2 to be one of the prettiest games ever made. Oh sure it's textures and lighting are pretty and stuff, but for an RPG in which you do a lot of talking, the facial animations are pretty damn poor. Same thing for Mass Effect 3. It's why I immediately fell a connection with Alyx in HL2, the moment she saves you from those Metro cops. Her smile felt convincing, truly warm and caring. RAGE too for all it's problems still made me feel much more connected with the characters around me, and the excellent movement animations made the combat feel nice and visceral.

Those games really made me realize the importance of good animations, and the bad examples how incredibly jarring bad animations can be. I'm glad that shooters are starting to catch up with their animations, but I'm really waiting for RPG's to do the same. If you want me to care about your characters, make them convincing.

speaking of poor animation...
The NPCs look constipated when they walk too XD

Well, to be fair, that game wasn't meant to be played from a third person perspective. Still, those arm movements are freakin' hilarious.

 

[Terminate421]

This is why Metroid Prime and Gears of War are great.

They use animations that flow relatively smoothly.