Right now there’s an excellent series of interviews on Rock Paper Shotgun about the rise and fall of this particular school of design and its continuing legacy. Smart people talking game design philosophy. Great great stuff.

More good advice from Games Industry Mentor,

Carlos Baena does a recap of some of his animation writings,

how to animate a 2D platform game with Earthworm Jim,

and Temple of the Seven Camels still golden.

I want a world I can believe in, that subtle sense that these places are real, and you could go there if only you could charter a plane, or a time machine… Sci-fi is always so neat and tidy. I just don’t buy that anyone would live there.

Fantasy has this problem, but not as much because it tends to have one foot firmly in modern or medieval times which gives it something to work with. Though you can tell the difference between your average high-fantasy and The Lord of the Rings. There’s a depth and truth to Middle Earth that most don’t bother with… but it’s not about volume. People mistake Tolkien’s achievement for being one of sheer effort, but you don’t create an interesting world just by throwing pages of backstory and concept art at it.

It’s in the little things. The worlds that get away with it are the ones that put in those carefully observed details that make them human.

It’s the petty politics of Vampire Bloodlines, it’s the space marines in Starcraft bringing beer to a demolition (“Thank god for cold fusion!”), it’s the way the X-Wings in Star Wars look like they could use another paint-job…

The universes that transcend their fictional origins are the ones that feel ‘lived in’, their inhabitants just getting by in a place that is entirely real to them.

Shaylyn Hamm creates a female cast for TF2,

Ken Robinson talks about creativity and education,

and Batman likes videogames.

I’m not in the habit of plugging sites that sell things, but I’m willing to make an exception for the re-release of one of my favourite games of all time on GOG.com: Appeal’s Outcast, for $5,99… Seriously, get this game.

There still hasn’t been an open world adventure quite like it.

Good animation advice from Bobby Pontillas on breathing,

some wonderful art of pixels and Wild Things,

moving drawings at the Pencil Test Depot,

… and notes, slides, and other materials from GDC…

This week, Gothic.

I suggested recently that games could show skill progression in the movement of the player, making the animation more elegant as you level up, but some games are already doing this, Piranha Bytes’ action-RPG among them. Set in a medieval prison colony; the player picks up skills from various allies.

As in most RPGs you start out pretty helpless and your general incompetence is reflected in how you hold and swing a blade. Get some training though and you start showing a little more control in your movements, different slashing moves are unlocked and you can now use timing to your advantage…

The player becomes visibly more skilled.

It’s worth noting the animation doesn’t have to be perfect, as long it is effective and communicates clearly. All the better if it also looks cool, of course.

These are some exceptions…

Let’s start with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It has been much lauded for its use of animation and there’s definitely a few interesting things going on in-game. Nathan Drake adapts to his surroundings by layering together different contextual animations like shielding himself from fire, clutching a gunshot wound, losing balance, taking cover and so on.

Of particular interest is the game’s use of what I’m going to call “contextual anticipation”…

When Drake is climbing around he will extend his free hand towards reachable areas, indicating to the player it’s safe to jump as well as where this will take him.

A more subtle example is when you’re hiding behind cover and a guard comes around the corner. There is a short window of time where Drake can surprise the guard and disable him without making a noise. At just the right moment (the window within which the player can stealth-attack), Drake ducks down, arms ready, anticipating the grabbing action. The sudden change of posture (1:00) communicates that now is the time to strike, and it’s all you need.

We spend much of our time staring at our avatars in 3rd person games. Not a bad place to put your gameplay feedback…