walk cycles

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might i request niko bellic from gta iv? i love the little head bop thing he does as he walks.

agreed! Think i tried to get this before but had issues. I'll try again.

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I’ve mostly avoided covering tough, angry boys as there are so many in games, but i’ll make an exception for Lincoln Clay. He’s earned that anger.

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Tommy from Mafia (remake ver.) walks with a nice cocky bop. He always looks like he’s got somewhere to be.

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The little prince, rolling his katamari.

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The Sound of Skate

Take ten minuets of your day to hear the sound of hard wheels on warm cement as I explore the incredible sound design work and the mechanics it supports in the genre shaking classic, Skate.

I host a weekly podcast about video games, a friend and i play three hours of something and chat. This week I tried something a little unusal and I thought i’d share it here. If you enjoy my walk cycle analysis, you might like me waxing off about sound design in games too. xx

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SKATE captures the certain elegance of a skateboarder simply pushing themselves along so well. The long stretch forward before the push, the right foot turned in for stability. It’s a deeply satisfying way to get around.

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Seemingly at random, Alba will swap between a walk, skip, and a joyful little jog, independent of what animation the player would prefer. It gives Alba her own energy, separate from the player and, like an actual child, all you can do is point that energy in a direction and hope for the best. Also, I want more skipping characters plz.

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Sora’s design is directly inspired by Mickey Mouse. The red shorts, the big ol’ yellow shoes all the way down to the way he walks. His jaunty, happy-go-lucky stride, arms joyfully swaying in the breeze. It all gives off big mickey mouse vibes. You can almost picturing him whistling on a steamboat.

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To be honest, I don’t have much to say about this one. Other than it might be one of the most satisfying run cycles I’ve played.

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Kiryu is a beefy specimen. He’s also a gosh darn sweetheart. By making his ‘Beast Style’ walk cycle so over the top, it softens it. Almost like he’s pretending to be mad. 

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Silent Hill 2 doesn’t want you to think James Sunderland is cool. Silent Hill 2 doesn’t want you to like or even respect James Sunderland. Silent hill 2 doesn’t want playing as James Sunderland to feel good.

Hence, he runs like a boob.

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By using the d-pad instead of the analogue stick, Big Boss does this very slow ‘stalk’ walk cycle. It’s another example of the Metal Gear Solid series going for some kind of miltary accuracy, ignoring or even revelling in the goofyness of the outcome. I’ll never get over his little T-rex arms.

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2B has three v good movement cycles/speeds. I love em all. But I really like her default (the one you’re looking at). It’s the most human of the three. The walk is all baddass vibes and the sprint has this intense robotic precision business. But this jog, it’s got an inquisitiveness to it, as well as an alertness to the unknown dangers around her. I think it’s the most vulnerable of the three and that’s cool as she’s quite a walled off character overall.

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Watch Dogs 2 is filled with dynamic/expressive character animation. Marcus’ walk cycle does such a good job of capturing that confident mid-20 something male getting about his city. Teamed with the fact he’s often listening to music, that little boppy saunter feels good. Chill vibes all round.

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Hitman is all about blending in, he has to be almost invisible. So his walk cycle reflects that. EXCEPT, his lil man fists. Tightly clenched, that’s where he holds all his stress. All his murderous intent is balled up between those fingers. At any moment he’s ready to bonk someone on the head with one of the three cans of soda he's got stuffed in his pockets...

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Sams walk cycle seems to dynamically change depending on cargo weight as well as terrain and other factors. So there’s a butt-tonne of animations to pick from. I chose his ‘over-encumbered’ walk. I really like how the backpack sways. ALSO, this cycle is just over ten seconds long before it loops. Most of the others I’ve done so far are about 1 second long. So that’s a crazy amount of animation before it loops again.

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Love this lil walk. She’s got places to be, and bits to get done. But that doesn’t stop her from being a goof.