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以动画设计方式增加游戏设计筹码原则之一

发布时间:2011-11-24 16:21:18 Tags:,,,

作者:Michael Jungbluth

介绍

重量是人们每天都会感受到的肉体和情感感觉。以视觉呈现的形式来表达感觉无疑是一种挑战。但是这正是动画师一直在做的事情,他们所使用的准则可以运用到游戏设计中。(请点击此处阅读本系列第2第3、第4第5、第6节内容

事实上,我们也需要这么做,因为动画师使用的许多原则可以提升游戏可玩性。幸运的是,动画师和设计师都需要经过几个共同的阶段才能将他们的创造物呈现出来,因而可以看做是在说同一种语言,只是所用的表述有细微的差别而已。

下文将列举出12个动画设计原则,它们不仅可以用于动画设计,还与游戏设计有直接的关联。动画师和设计师都会迅速地意识到,这些原则中许多属于被人闲置的真理,但是了解这些可以让他们有所进步。

这些原理可以给游戏增加额外的筹码,深化游戏及其中的角色。这些原则中有些存在内在联系,结合使用这些原则将使得角色的行动和情感都有一定的重量。而玩家可以感受到这些内容。

“如果要突出感觉,动画师就需要研究感觉,去感受感觉背后的力量。”——Walt Disney

挤压和伸展(Squash and Stretch)

动画中的运用

这是重量最显眼的表达方法,也是动画师首先学习和喜欢上的东西。球体的弹跳可以展示这个原则。

球体弹跳过程中的挤压与伸展现象(from gamasutra)

球体弹跳过程中的挤压与伸展现象(from gamasutra)

在动画中,为展现重量感,球体在下落的时候会伸展,着地时会受到挤压,弹回时再次伸展。这样,可以从视觉上看到重心在物体上的移动。

将这个原则运用到角色上,以跳跃为例。在他们向上跳之前,需要先下蹲积蓄能量。当他们跳出时就会将身体伸展开来,和球体的弹跳相同。

这项原则也被运用到面部动画中。如果你想要让某次尖叫看起来更有效果,可以将角色的面部扭曲,眼睛闭起眉毛收拢。即便是那些不起眼的时刻,你也希望能够有很强烈的感受。原因在于,这是人们察觉身体处理和分配质量的途径。

人体在运动过程中的伸展与收缩现象(from gamasutra)

人体在运动过程中的伸展与收缩现象(from gamasutra)

但是,如果挤压和伸展使用不当,会对物体或角色产生影响。物体的整体重量必须在静态、挤压和伸展时保持一致,这是最为重要的事情,必须铭记。质量的改变会立即影响重量感。

游戏设计中的运用

在游戏设计中,挤压和伸展本质上是相对的。先让游戏将即将发生的事情储存起来,然后将其展现给玩家。确保让他们在每次行动中都可以感受到伸展。

伸展他们的能力,伸展他们的资源,伸展他们的经济投入。然后用挤压的影响来替代这一切,这样玩家就可以知道自己承载了多大的重量。不积硅步,无以至千里。这种对比正是核心所在,不仅可以看玩家看到重量,更重要的是,能够让他们感受到。

如果你能够在每个行动中创造出这种对比性,无论这种对比多么渺小,都可以让玩家所做的事情营造出重量感。只是要记住,容量不可发生改变。因为它可以保证重量的可靠性,让你创造出的所有东西保持真实感。

实践这个原则的最简单之例便是枪支。如果武器火力较小而且开火较快,那么挤压和伸展的空间将会很小。现在,我们以用来引发爆炸的枪支为例。你积蓄力量的时间越长,引发爆炸的强度就越大。你将枪支的能量积蓄到极限,那么引发的爆炸就可以产生极大的破坏力。

通过以上两个例子,你可以感受到挤压和伸展的重要性。但是让它们产生出合适的感觉才是关键。动画师提出的技巧是,推得尽量远然后拉回会更为简单。

这里的意思并非向太空中最遥远的星球射击,然后将该星球拉到你面前。你要做的是找到最适合的目标星团,燃火瞄准该星团中最远的那颗星球。因为随着时间的推移,你在润色自己的作品时便会自然使其进行伸展。

对于玩家控制的角色而言,这个原则并不适用,因而挤压的那段时间意味着玩家将对角色失去控制。

但是,当玩家按动控制器上的按键或点击鼠标时,他们可以感受到触觉上的挤压。这是个让玩家感受挤压的绝妙措施。

挤压和伸展是为你所制造的东西迅速添加重量感的最简单的方法。正因为此,这也是人们最喜欢使用的方法。

但是只要你保持物体真实性这个核心,时刻关注视觉效果传达出的感觉,这绝对是个传达重量的可靠方法。

动作预备(Anticipation)

动画中的运用

对于每次行动,你都有一定的预测结果。在故事讲述和行动设计方面,这或许是动画师使用的最为重要的工具。而事实上,这项原则通常被游戏设计师所使用。动作预备不仅可以传达重量感,而且可以用来在行动发生之前吸引玩家的注意力。举个动作预备的视觉范例,比如棒球投手。在将球投出之前,他们会先挥舞手臂。如果没有动作预备,投手的行动就会变得让人无法理解且失去重量感,因为没有任何迹象显示接下来将要发生的事情。动作预备也是让玩家沉浸在即将发生的事情中的首个步骤,他们会积极地将思维导入到可能发生的事情中。在意图传达含有重量感的故事、行动或情感时,这是个强大的工具。

击球手看第一张图就能预测到他下一步的动作,并据此作出反应(from gamasutra)

击球手看第一张图就能预测到他下一步的动作,并据此作出反应(from gamasutra)

游戏设计中的运用

在游戏中,动作预备是最显而易见的事物,通常用于敌人的攻击中。在玩家考虑下面即将发生的事情时,便是动作预备在发挥作用。敌人站起来就相当于给玩家一个信号,让他们知道接下来将发生的事情。从视觉上来说,他们身体重量的扭曲和移动使得玩家的感受更加强烈。而且,玩家会开始思考攻击将会在何时发生,如何才能最有效地化解。而这些得出结论和解决问题的过程正是人们玩游戏的原因。如果没有预测,数字世界中发生的所有行动都失去重量感,玩家也不会在虚拟世界中有情感投入。你预测和构建行动的时间越长,所暗示的行动就会越强大。同样,较小的动作预备就意味着较小的结果。你可以直接从挤压和伸展原则中体会到如何构建动作预备。

《PunchOut》中的King Hippo的动作反映了其个性及游戏玩法(from gamasutra)

《PunchOut》中的King Hippo的动作反映了其个性及游戏玩法(from gamasutra)

如果你想要为行动或机制添加大量角色和个性,那么动作预备也可以发挥作用。这便是《PunchOut》取得成功的原因,游戏不仅含有令人难忘的角色,而且还有绝妙的可玩性。预测与视觉效果、结果、玩法和个性化完美配合,构建出完全新鲜的体验。如果角色正在做一个预备动作,那么他们在做的就是思考下一步将开展什么行动。如果他们以某种独特的方法进行预测,那么可以继续洞察他们的思考方法。为角色添加思考过程是让角色栩栩如生的首选方法。

但是除了用来传达角色行动之外,动作预备还可以用来让玩家为即将发生的事情做好准备。想想那些过时的设计方法,让玩家储存生命值以应对大型的挑战。当玩家走到有着大量弹药和补充生命值道具的地方时,就会自然地预见将有场大型战斗即将发生,他们这时就会开始考虑将会发生的是什么事情。这种做法很强大,因为你已经调动玩家的思绪,他们开始思考世界的规则并为还未显现的问题制定解决方案。

虽然满足或否定这些期望很让人满足,但是期望的传送并不只限于只两个方面。你可以先构建起某些东西,然后让玩家产生期望。如果与预测相符,那么就会更有意义。事实上,任何成功中都存在与预测相关的猜想。行动也可以比预测更小,喜剧题材总会使用这种方法。以迪斯尼的动画短剧为例,高飞(游戏邦注:迪斯尼旗下卡通角色)做足了准备,积蓄了大量的能量,最后只是将球抛出一小段,引人发笑的正是行动与预测间的差距。但是,如果做法更为微妙的话,这些内容应当是被玩家感受到,而不是看到。如果差距过远,会将玩家拉出游戏情境,因为游戏中的设置已不再可信。如果丝毫没有此类内容,玩家又会觉得游戏并不真实而且与其他体验毫无关联。因而,行动的结果需要同预测相适应。

这是本列表中最为强大的工具之一,因为它完全围绕玩家来构建。而正因为此,玩家可以马上将思绪投入到游戏中,我们能够传达的就不只是叙事或视觉成果。他们的投入意味着他们可以对预测做出反应,可以让事件发生,也可以尽量去改变结果。而让这些改变具有重量感,不仅需要游戏作出有意义的反应,而且还要重视那些驱使玩家做出选择的预测。

游戏邦注:本文发稿于2010年12月27日,所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Adding Weight to Your Game Design

Michael Jungbluth

Intro

Weight is a physical and emotional sensation that people feel everyday. And conveying that in a visual way can be incredibly challenging. But it is something animators do all the time, and the principles they use can be applied to game design.

In fact, it needs to be, as many of these principles are sacrificed by the animator for the good of playability. Thankfully, since both animators and designers have to juggle multiple disciplines to bring their creations to life, they speak much of the same language. They just use a slightly different alphabet.

Each part will lay out the 12 principles of animation, and how they are not only used in animation but how they directly relate to game design. Both animators and designers will realize quickly that many of these are unspoken truths, but the benefit comes in knowing that they can now speak to each other on a deeper level. A level that takes animation and design past being purely functional, but now fully functioning towards creating an honest experience.

It is how both can add an extra sense of weight and purpose to the game and the characters within it. Many of these fundamentals are inter-connected, and it is through a combination of all of these working together that you will have characters that move with weight and emote with weight. And that is what will stick with players.

“It is important for the animator to be able to study sensation and to feel the force behind sensation, in order to project that sensation.” – Walt Disney

Squash and Stretch

Applied to Animation

This is the most visible expression of weight and the first thing animators learn and love. The easiest way to show this is with a ball bounce.

Instead of just having a static circle bounce up and down, to show weight it will stretch as it falls, squash when it lands, and then stretch again as it travels back up. That movement of mass throughout the object visually defines how the body handles its weight.

When applying this to a character, think of a jump. Before they can lift off, they must first compress down, to store all that energy like a spring. Then when they take off, they stretch wide, no different than a ball bounce.

But this is also done in facial animation. If you want to make a scream feel powerful, have the face scrunch up, with the characters eyes closed and brows furled. And even for small moments, you want to feel it, even if you don’t see it as much. Because again, this is how people will perceive how the body handles and distributes its mass.

The biggest pitfall of squash and stretch, when used sloppy, is that the object or character will change or lose volume. And that is the most important thing to remember, the overall weight/mass of the object must stay the same when at rest, stretched and squashed. Changing mass means an instant loss in weight.

Applied to Game Design

In game design terms, squash and stretch is essentially contrast. Let the game store up, coil, for what is about to come and after you have done so, let it loose on the player. Make sure when leading in and out of each action, they feel the stretch.

Stretch their abilities, stretch their resources, stretch their economic investment. Then let the impact of the squash take over so the player can see just how much weight and mass they have been carrying around. Because without lows, you can’t have highs. And vice versa. This contrast is the core of what will not only make the player see the weight, but more importantly, FEEL it.

If you can build contrast into every action, no matter how minor, you will be creating a sense of weight in everything the player does. Just remember, that volume can not change. This will give it solidity, no matter how far you push it. This will give whatever you are creating truth.

The easiest place to put this to practice is with guns. If it is a low powered, rapid fire weapon, then the stretch and squash will be minimal. Now think of a gun that allows you to charge the blast. The longer you charge it, the more powerful the blast. You are squashing the power to its limits, so the blast can stretch out into a beautiful ballet of destruction.

In both instances, you will instantly feel how much general squash and stretch is needed. But fine tuning them to feel right, beyond just look right is the key. A common tip animators give is that it is easier and faster to push it too far and pull back, then to not go far enough and keep incrementally pushing it up.

I’m not saying shoot for the furthest star in the sky, and pull back to the star closest to you. Go into it knowing which star cluster is the one that is probably the best fit, and aim for the furthest star in that cluster. Because as time goes on, things naturally tighten up and get pulled back as you polish your creation.

Now with player controlled characters, this principle is something that is quickly sacrificed, as taking the time to squash means taking the control away from the player for a moment, while they are stuck in place, storing the energy that is about to released.

But there is a tactile squash that the player feels when they press the button on their controller or click their mouse. That can be a great step towards making the player feels the squash, even if they can’t see it as much as the animator might like.

Squash and Stretch are the easiest way to quickly add weight to anything you are working on. And because of that, it can also be a favorite trick for people to use and overdo.

But as long as you keep the core of the creation truthful, and care first and foremost about the feel of each over the visual, it will always be a solid method towards conveying weight.

Anticipation

Applied to Animation

In every action, you have anticipation. This may be the most important tool animators have when it comes to storytelling and action. And at its core it is one principle that is most commonly used by game designers. Not only is anticipation in every action we do, and needed to convey a sense of weight, but it is also used to draw the attention of the player before an action happens. For a visual example of anticipation, think of a baseball pitcher. First they will wind up before they even release the ball. Without anticipation, actions become confusing and lose weight without anything to describe HOW they get to where they were going. Anticipation is also the first step in getting the player invested in what is going to happen as they actively engage their mind in the possibilities for what is coming next. And that is an incredibly powerful tool to have when trying to convey a story, movement or emotion with any sense of weight.

Applied to Game Design

In games, anticipation is most visible and commonly used with enemy attacks. To really have a powerful hit or to get the player invested in what is going to happen next, anticipation is employed. The enemy will rear back and give the player a tell, to let them know what is coming. Visually the twist, torque, and shift of their whole body weight makes what is about to happen feel powerful. But it also engages the player to think about when the attack is coming and how best to deal with it. And those moments of drawing conclusions and problem solving is why people play games. Without anticipation, there is no weight to any action that takes place within the digital world or the player’s investment into the world. And the longer you anticipate and build up the action, the more powerful the implied action is expected to be. Likewise, smaller anticipations mean smaller payoffs. You can see how anticipation builds directly from squash and stretch.

Anticipation is also when you can also add a lot of character and personality to the action or mechanic. This is a big reason PunchOut is so successful in not just creating memorable characters, but also great gameplay. The anticipations perfectly match in visual, payoff, gameplay and personality to craft fully fleshed experiences. If a character anticipates, it shows they are thinking about what they will be doing next. If they anticipate in a unique way, it gives some sort of insight towards HOW they think. And giving a thought process to a character is the number one way to make them feel alive and aware of the world.

But beyond just conveying the actions of a character, it is also used to prepare the player for something that is about to happen. Think of the age old tactic where you let the player stock up on health before a big encounter. When you come across a big cache of ammo and health, you anticipate a big battle. And because of it, you better deliver a great battle as a designer, because they are aware of what is coming, and in their mind are already starting to come up with an idea of what it could be. And that is the sweet spot, because you have engaged the player’s mind to start thinking through the rules of the world and piece together a solution to a problem that hasn’t even been posed yet.

And while it can be very satisfying to match or beat those expectations, it isn’t always about delivering on that expectation. You can build something up, but then flip those expectations on their head. And if it is appropriate to the anticipation, it can be even more meaningful. In fact, any successful twist is playing on those pre-conceived assumptions associated with the anticipation. The action can also be smaller than the anticipation, which is a staple of the comedy genre. Take the pitching analogy of before. Think of the Disney animated short where Goofy begins an elaborate wind up, building intense amounts of energy, only to finally pitch the ball by gently flicking it forward. Over the top, and slightly cliché, though still good for a giggle. But, when done subtly, it should be felt by the player, not seen. If it is too much, it will pull the player out of the game, because it will no longer be believable. If you have none, they will be pulled out because it doesn’t feel real or attached to the rest of the experience. But both have to be rewarding to the player and the payoff needs to match the anticipation.

This is one of the most powerful tools in our box, as it is entirely built around involving the player. And because of that, their investment is immediate and our ability to deliver can go beyond just narrative or visual payoffs. Their investment means they can react to the anticipation and either allow it to play out, or change the outcome. And for those changes to have weight, not only do the repercussions need to be meaningful, the anticipation leading up to those player choices is what will make them care about getting the chance to make them in the first place. (Source: Gamasutra)


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