mkb10/1/24

Th. 9/26/2024

I started researching 2D animation in Blender. So far, I feel like I've wasted my time. I watched 46 of the 50 minutes of a video. I learned a bit about the navigation within 2D animation in Blender, but all he covered was frame-by-frame hand-drawn animation— which I still believe is not how modern animators do it. (I hope that I'm not wrong.)

I started a 3D animation tutorial series. It is using Blender, as well.

Sa. 9/28/2024

I watched a video, Character Animation for impatient people, and got some good tips:

• Go to graph editor, select some points, and press Alt O (oh) to smooth movements.
• To save poses, select bones, press F3— search "Create Pose Asset".
• "Pose to Pose" principle: focus on animating big, recognizable movements first, then go in after and add the smaller movements.

It also went over just general animation principles— not just for characters— indicating that I was partially right and wrong; animation still uses keyframes, but you can blend between poses, instead of literally having to create a new image for each frame.

Another video (Ultimate Animation Workflow for Beginners) presents some steps to follow.

1. Golden Poses and Anticipation: "Golden poses" are the main beats; if the character is turning from the left to the right, the golden poses are the frames when he's facing the left, and facing the right. More complex movements have more golden poses involved.

2. Breakdown #1: "Breakdowns" are the poses between golden poses.

• Speed of movements is based on the number of frames on which each pose is held. Typically 2 frames, 3 frames, or 4 frames. Cartoony animations are snappier, and have fewer breakdowns.
• Leading: Certain body parts lead specific movements.
• Arcs: Blender will transition between poses in a straight line, but realistically, characters move more in arcs.

4. Breakdown #2

• Some body part (not the previous leading part) trails behind.

6. Mid-Point Pose: between Breakdown #1 and #2

• Lead and drag continuation
• Arcs

8. Ease In + Ease Out

• Spacing: the art of inbetweening Timing Charts
  • Progressive (not linear): the more you get away from a specific pose, the timing gaps are bigger; the closer you get to the next pose, the gaps are narrower.

10. The Moving Hold: a slight drift while holding a pose (not completely static)

FFXVI (about an hour)

I unlocked this feature that lets me charge up a fiery sword strike. It's interesting— this concept of delayed gratification. You could easily go just mashing X over and over, but variety is the spice of life, so a good game developer will account for customizable options that are worth it.

I've had an idea for Pareidolia: Unbound rattling around within my skull for a couple weeks. After being freed from the Hanging Grove, after meeting the Pumpkin King and learning alla prima, you follow Mason's keen serpentine senses to a hovel belonging to the witch, Bena. My idea is the focus for the demo, where you meet the witch, who is baking a baby in an oven and proofing her hovel against intruders. The idea is that you have to defend the hovel with her when night falls against a horde of varied enemies, finishing with a giant troll tearing off the roof. You fight off the enemies, and rush through the abode pouring salt over window sills and such. The weaker enemies equate to an increase in Inspiration [Points] (with their slaying), which you then use against the troll to dis-integrate it.

Su. 9/29/2024

I started a tutorial series on 3D animation in Blender. I'm about half an hour in at this point. I started at the very beginning, even though I have a little bit of experience in Blender from that community college course I took a couple years ago— I figured there'd be a lot of overlap, but that I might still learn some stuff. So far, it's mostly navigation instructions, but the instructor went over menus specifically geared towards animation that I'd never used before.

I'm thinking that I want to try and record myself doing the motions of a few evasion and attack animations for Pareidolia: Unbound. I'm thinking about doing that tomorrow, then working on transferring it via free mocap software into a digital animation. I want to have something to show— something that I've created— for my Sprint this week. I am hesitant to not make something indicative of my learnings, for fear of it not appearing as though I've progressed along this path.

Oh that reminds me! I need to update my Milestones.

I just worked on the GDD for about an hour. I revised the characters to be seen, as well as the premise, and started on writing a prose script of the vertical slice. Basically, I had this idea— shown above— of defending this witch's abode from an onslaught of fairy Folk, finishing with a troll tearing the roof off, and biting Bena, the witch, in half. I defined the troll— from Norwegian folklore, there is a shapeshifting troll that transforms into a white horse and carries unsuspecting travelers to their watery deaths, His name is Nøkken. (Nøkken becomes an ally of Alice after being defeated, and grants the Boon of Passage— he will transform into his white horse form and carry Alice long distances— either three or seven times.)

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Opening Cinematic

A grove of apple trees growing wild in the ruins of a courtyard. We see close-up shots of branches creaking in the wind, and apples swaying from their stems. A gust rushes through the ruins, and we watch an apple blown off its branch, thudding into the overgrown cobbles, before rolling to a stop. We watch it for a moment or two, sitting static, then a snake slithers into view by it. The snake is made of red stone, and is segmented. The end of its tail— the last eight inches or so— is stiff and immobile. Faded runes are carved along the snake's length. We watch it from close-up as it slithers to the base of an apple tree, and starts winding up the trunk.

As soon as the branches come into view, there's a flash of lightning, flaring across the screen, before disappearing, and leaving the courtyard— which had been lit by daylight— in the dark of night. And as soon as that change occurs, hanging figures appear strung up from the branches of the trees. Coarse ropes bind their wrists, from which they are hanging. Each figure is unmoving, except for the movement of the trees, and each has a coarse sack over their heads.

The snake slithers along the branches, and, with a decisive movement, slices the bonds suspending one figure. He crashes to the overgrown cobbles, limp as a ragdoll. From a distant shot, we see the scene as the figure stands shakily up, and removes the sack from his head.

We see a lanky, almost emaciated human man, wearing WWI-era breeches; his right arm is encased in a red stone sheath of sorts, carved into shapes reminiscent of gothic churches. He is shirtless, except for a leather harness over his chest, embossed with a large brass "A".

Gameplay Commences

Alice is walking through the swemp, ducking under branches and vines, swatting away bloodsucking pixies. He is adorned the same as in the opening cinematic, with one change. He has a brilliant red scarf that leads seamlessly into a loose red hood. The snake, who must have been introduced to the MC, as he is calling it by a name— Masinry— is speaking, coiling through the air surrounding Alice's stone right arm.

"Follow that scent! Smells delectable... you must be famished, ain't ya— who knows how long you were hangin' there."

Visible scent distortions guide the pair to a three-story ramshackle hovel. It has stained glass lanterns— most cracked— hanging from numerous hooks around it, and nailed to the ironbound door is a goat skull and, below it, a dead serpent coiled in an "S".

"Go on! Knock— I don't got hands!"

Alice steps hesitantly up the steps to the door. As he passes the edge of the porch, a careless step brushes through a line of salt, which— when he looks down— appears to have been circling the abode.

"Don't mind that— if ya ain't famished, I certainly am!"

Alice knocks on the door, causing it to creak, and the dead snake wags limply.

From inside, a voice screeches in surprise, followed by the sound of heavy boots thumping on weak floorboards towards the door. There's the sound of multiple deadbolts being drawn back, then a creeeak, as the door swings open. Standing in the doorway is a striking old woman.

She is bent with age, and must've been tall in youth— but now her stature is diminished. Her skin is wrinkled, with faint brown symbols seemingly tattooed onto all of it. She is wearing a leather apron covered in flour, along with a dirty gray shawl— from which are protruding two goat horns. She is wearing a blindfold stained with some black fluid— as if her empty eye sockets are oozing ink, instead of blood. She is wearing heavy, iron-shod boots, and has numerous iron bracelets encircling her bony arms. Where the metal touches her skin are raised burn marks; they do not appear to be fresh.