2D Skeletal Animation Demo

I figured I should upload a better version of this, as the old one was taken at too high a resolution (and video compression made it nearly impossible to see what was going on).

This is the 2D skeletal animation system I built for my game. Not particularily robust, but it does its job nicely, multiple animations can be layered (like my aiming and reload animations in the video) and it has an intuitive if ugly editor. Most of the animation selection and playback is handled with decision trees, a seperate component that controls a lot of the logic within the game.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• John
• Smith
• Skeletal
• Animation
• System
• Demo

[Gh0stWhisp3r]

U still doing this? if so, im doing artwork for a 2d game and everything is handmade by me, so using this skeleton rig stuff would SERIOUSLY help me out. Got any info on how to do this,apps,tutorials etc? great stuff, just what i need!

[imorriso1]

@Gh0stWhisp3r I'm currently working on something else, but I wrote articles on the subject on my website (check my profile). I explain the full setup behind the system, as well as a lot of the design decisions. I've also got the full source code for the system and editor which I'd be happy to share.

[Gh0stWhisp3r]

@imorriso1 Looked through it all, very informative and nicely laid out, sadly, im an artist:P Ive been hooked up with 5 guys from Ubisoft actually, they wanted me to do the artwork for their personal project, but it seems it has fallen victim to their busy schedule, so im looking for something else atm. Is it seriously hard to learn these things as im only doing the textures and skins for characters? If i can get my head around all the technical aspects of the process, i'll have to try this!

[imorriso1]

@Gh0stWhisp3r Learning to program takes time and commitment, just like learning to be an artist, I'm afraid. You could probably get to a beginners level in a matter of months, especially if you were using a language like C# that doesn't give you as many ways to shoot yourself in the foot as, say, C++ does (my language of choice). If you're serious about learning to program, I'd go ask on places like GameDev.net to get started.

[Gh0stWhisp3r]

@imorriso1 seems like thats the way to go yeah, i'll probably go ask around and check more videos. What skeletal animation programs are out now for public use? seems everyone is MAKING their own apps for it, must be something i can try just to check how my art works ontop of skeletons.

[imorriso1]

@Gh0stWhisp3r Pop me an email (I should have left a link at the bottom of my article) and I'll send you mine: it should have the exe in there as well as the code.

As for why people are making their own... it's not exactly something that the big developers care about , but indies do! The only other place I've seen the functionality is in flash animation. I'm half tempted to rebuild it into something a little more general and sell it as middleware, actually.

[Gh0stWhisp3r]

@imorriso1 u should, as people seems to be screaming for something alittle more directed at dealing with artwork, seems to be the new big thing actually. More and more games are made by hand drawn graphics, and a skeletal animation system would benefit developers greatly,including myself. I'll send u an email, so i can tinker around with the software and try making some high-detail characters. thanks alot man:D

[imorriso1]

@farttelessstudios I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but the system was intended for being placed into a full game. The project that you see in this video has been abandoned, but it might be something I'll revive at a later date in some form. There were some interesting gameplay ideas in there. :)

[farttelessstudios]

hey is 2d skeletal animation is for making games if you answer this I will subscribe

[AllPro777]

@imorriso1

That's very smooth. Great job.