Dodo Blog

For the next couple weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts on the use of interactive animation in a number of notable games… Now, The Act…

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For the next couple weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts on the use of interactive animation in a number of notable games… A bit of Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 this time… One thing Valve does very well is make it feel like you’re present in the world by having characters [...]

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There was something else I wanted to talk about in Shadow of the Colossus. There are many things that set apart this game, but there is one that’s rarely mentioned: This game has anticipation, one of the key principles of animation so often deliberately ignored in games. It is interesting that Ueda chooses not to [...]

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For the next couple weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts on the use of interactive animation in a number of notable games… Two this time… Ico and Shadow of the Colossus: Not the most recent, but still remarkable both, for their daring use of animation in making you feel connected to the world [...]

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For the next couple weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts on the use of interactive animation in a number of notable games… Today, Outcast… It may be cause for concern that a ten year old game still merits inclusion, but it is a testament to just how far ahead of its time Appeal’s [...]

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For the next couple weeks I’ll be doing a series of posts on the use of interactive animation in a number of notable games… First up, Assassin’s Creed… No doubt its movement and environment interaction are a milestone in game animation, weaving elegantly through crowds and running effortlessly across rooftops… but there is another aspect [...]

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A few years ago I developed a thesis “To explore how in-game animation can be used to drive interactive storytelling and gameplay“… Part of the project was to test out some ideas on how animation could be used to communicate with the player. Another part was to examine what had been done so far. I [...]

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The intertubes of course are a never-ending supply of interesting things to read, so here’s a selection of the intriguing persuasion: Splinedoctors walk three ways… Jordan Mechner has an epiphany about player motivation … and expands on the development of Sands of Time. Hans Bacher makes an interesting point about restraint and 10 things are [...]

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I read this post on Steve Gaynor’s Fullbright blog and was compelled to respond: Good storytelling is underrated. “Player-generated stories” aren’t usually all that good. They offer good moments, but not good narrative. I agree that games should give the player an interesting place to visit, but that’s not enough. If it doesn’t go anywhere [...]

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I came across this interesting game design challenge the other day, proposed by Steve Gaynor of 2k Marin. Some of the entries seem like they could really be something. I thought I’d elaborate on an idea I’d been kicking around and enter myself: Call to Arms 2008 – “Peace” A game of interactive vignettes set [...]

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