Design and Production of Character Modeling and Animation in Third Person Game Design
Introduction
This article will provide insight into the intricate process of designing and producing character modeling and animation in third-person game design.
The Character
Characters in games are composed of models and animations.
Model
Character models are comprised of models, materials, lights, and shadows. The challenge in modeling lies in the production of the model, and the choice of materials.
Animation
Animation in 3D games involves intricate processes including animation clips, animation controllers, skeletons, motion, blending, blending trees, and layers. There are various aspects to consider in each project.
Model and Material
There are various materials available on the Unity Asset Store. The number of faces in a model is crucial, and the choice of material is a significant aspect of model design. Light and shadow play a vital role and need to be considered during the design process.
Animation in Third Person Games
Animation clips, animation controllers, skeletons, motion, blending, blending trees, layers, and physics simulation all need to be considered and managed to ensure a seamless animation in third person games.
Use of Mixamo
Adobe Mixamo website provides free access to animations and models, making it an ideal resource for beginners in game development.
Conclusion
Despite personal challenges and setbacks, the development of this article was pursued with dedication and the hope of delivering a valuable and distinct product.
I. Introduction
This article will introduce the design and production of character modeling and animation in third person game design.
2. Character
Characters in games usually consist of models and animations.
1. Model
The character models in the game can be simply divided into models, materials, lights and shadows. Because I’m a game designer who prefers programming, I tend to focus on materials and design when it comes to modeling. The difficulty usually found in modeling is how to produce the model. Unless you make it yourself, you have to find materials.
2. Animation
When producing 3D games, animation is much more complex than models. In addition to matching the animation with game simulation actions, there are multiple projects that need to be taken care of, including animation clips, animation controllers, skeletons, motion, blending, blending trees, and layers. There are also many tips to think about. in every project.
3. Model
Models are basically divided into self-made materials and materials There are many free and paid materials on the Unity Asset Store. If you want to make games without making a profit, there are more second generation or fan models to choose from, which can also attract affiliate traffic.
1. Model
The number of faces is an important concept for models. If the game only has humanoid characters, then you don’t need to care too much about the number of faces. If the game is full of humanoid characters, you need to think will the number of faces of the model affect the performance of the game. Most novice or small game developers won’t need to think about this, but it will make a difference when testing.
2. Material
The choice of the material of the model is a big topic, including color, refraction, transparency and other items that can be designed, and many material pictures such as material patterns, reflective images, and concave and convex images can be optimized. In terms of material design, it can basically be divided into two directions, which are more realistic or more cartoon-oriented. Their respective focus will be different from the production design mentioned above.
3. Light
We encountered a problem while making an anime style game. We used Viror to model the game, and the related plug-in package could not access light and shadow for unknown reasons, causing the character to be very bright . After testing, it was found that the level of use of light and shadow was very low, so when designing models and materials, remember to consider the absorption and reflection of light and shadow.
4. Animation
In third person games, the appearance of the character is very important. If it is a third person action game, the combination of character animation and controller is even more important. Next, we will briefly introduce some information and concepts that you need to do. know how to make Unity third-person animation.
1. Animation Clip
In Unity, the unit and file format of each animation is Animation Clip. In a single animation file, you can adjust the animation playback frame, speed, mode, loop, etc. Every third-person action game contains an animation clip. An animated clip is composed, linked, and layered together.
2. Animation Controller
It is necessary to install a controller (Controller) in the animation editor (Animator). Each controller controls the editing of different animation clips. The connection and speed of each other are stored in the controller. When animating only the timeline, there is no need to consider the location of a manager.
3. Skeleton (Avatar)
The core animation file is the skeleton. The corresponding skeleton can connect the animations of different models. The specialized skeleton can make the animation do the most suitable step. In the third person controller, it can change a little or the swing range of the animation. It will have a big impact on the experience, and the skeleton is the support and goal.
4. Offer
When animation needs to drive the execution of the program, Motion will be checked for animation design. This is rarely done in third-person controllers, but game animation produced with Motion will completely match the scene, but the management and the production. many obstacles when it comes up, so it is more suitable for pure animation and game types.
5. Combination
When animation clips are linked together, a line will appear, moving from one animation clip to another. This process is called blending. Blend has many settings, including start, end, blending speed, animation offset, etc. the core concept of animation.
6. BlendTree
In the third-person controller, idle, walking, running, and sprinting are the core operations. Blending well-adjusted animations with an animation clip will take a lot of time, so the blending tree appears, varying from linear changes to planar changes. The influence of parameters on animation blending, etc. can be generated using blending trees.
7. Layer
When animating, if the character’s upper body needs to shoot and the lower body needs to run or walk, using independent animation clips will result in many permutations and combinations; using layers can allow the upper and lower body skeletons to receive different animations, using the top layer Cover the underlying layers and plan the use of each other’s skeleton.
8. Physics Simulation (Simu)
When the player moves, the clothes or cloth will simulate movement as the player moves. This is not an animation. It’s more like letting the skeleton simulate a physical collision. Unity has an official cloth plug-in , and shops also sell magic clothes and another related cloth simulation or Physics simulation is available.
5. Mixamo
If you want to make a third-person mini-game or practice your skills, in addition to searching for resources in the store, you can also use the free Adobe Mixamo website, which is very suitable for beginners. It appears to be a site used by Adobe to promote its own brand.
1. Free
The animation and model can be used freely in commercial or non-commercial works. If you are creating a relatively complete thing, you don’t have to worry too much.
2. Modelling
There are many models to choose from, ranging from fantasy to realistic characters.
3. Animation
There are many animations that can be used. By combining and cutting various animations, you should be able to assemble prototypes or concept animations for any production and game development.
6. Post-note
I have been putting off writing this article for almost a month, and I have been in a very bad state of mind lately. As well as being busy with my master’s degree and project matters, I felt very tired and wanted to rest. It was not what I wanted to force my team members to produce, so I only did it on my own I could work hard and hope it would be a good product in the end, which would be great.
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