Week 3 (06/10/2024 - 12/10/2024) Procedural Animations

In the third week, the following content will be studied: Process Animation, which includes content about types of animation, ragdoll, and inverse kinematics.

Source: Created by Juclachak Juntasilp, 2021

Procedural Animations in Game

Some of the games require animators to implement complex animation. For instance, The clip above shows the fashion combos used in the game's combat. Special animation for specific characters, such as knockdown animation, crouch animation, and combo animation as seen in the video.

According to Babadi (2018), Physics-based animation (PBA) is a branch of computer graphics that aims to create physically realistic animations using artificial intelligence (AI). These animations are typically played using virtual characters in simulated 2D or 3D environments. Since it uses high computer resources, PBA is not used much in the animation production process of video games. However, some games need to be made as realistic as possible, such as FIFA.

Figure 1: Demonstrating the use of Physics-Based Animation (PBA) in sports games like FIFA to create realistic player movements and interactions.

Ragdoll is an example of physically based animation. According to Ipacs (2023), Ragdoll-Physics is a procedural animation system often used in video games and animation. It simulates the movement of a character's body dynamically and realistically. A lot of games use it, especially casual games such as Fall Guy, Human Fall Flat, or Sumotori. It is because of the non-realistic appearance.

Figure 2: A screenshot from the game Fall Guys, showcasing the use of Ragdoll-Physics

The Ragdoll Effect in Unity

There is a task to create a simple ragdoll in Unity. To set it up, go to GameObject > 3D Object and select the ragdoll. Then the simple ragdoll setup window will open. Once set up, your character will automatically enter ragdoll mode. After setting up, the character will have colliders, rigid bodies, and character joints, which will give the character a ragdoll effect.

Source: Created by Juclachak Juntasilp, 2024

The Procedural Maze Generation

This module assessment class will focus on research and implementation of Procedural Content Generation in game engines. The random maze generator is interesting to make by randomizing the maze every time the player enters the video game.

Starting, create a game object called "Gamemanager". After that, add the code name "GridGenerator", which will create Loops according to the width and height of the grid. In this term, the mean width and height of the maze. Secondly, add the code name "WallGenerator", which will create a boundary wall and an exit. This code needs the checkpoint if this position is an exit position, so it can not overwrite the exit location.

Lastly, add a code name "PlayerSpawner" to spawn a player in a randomized position in an empty grid of the maze. It needs to check if this location has a wall, so the player cannot spawn off the wall.

Source: Created by Juclachak Juntasilp, 2024

At this time, the maze did not look that great. It looks like an imperfect maze because the grid of the maze can block the exit. It does not have the condition to not block the exit yet.

Reference

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1. Juntasilp, J. (2024) Showcasing Animation Variety in Fighting Games. Available at: https://youtu.be/I7NVglUtmmw (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

2. Juntasilp, J. (2024) Demonstrating Maze Generator Functionality. Available at: https://youtu.be/PBx8GFxVVJw (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

3. Juntasilp, J. (2024) Ragdoll Implementation in Unity. Available at: https://youtu.be/6wM4SWfFiM8 (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

4. Juntasilp, J. (2024) The Maze Game Assignment. Available at: https://github.com/jino1113/the-maze-game-assignment (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

5. Brackeys (2018) RAGDOLL PHYSICS in Unity!. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DInV-jHm9rk (Accessed: 24 November 2024).

6. DAWOOD, Z. (2024) Procedural Generation Algorithms. PowerPoint presentation. Available at: https://connectglosac-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/s2105341_glos_ac_uk/EQG7ueGYUOZAmmZdZljMND8BECOb-L1lEyVY9wMTUtYJZw?e=drYXnp (Accessed: 09 October 2024).

7. Babadi, A. (2018) 'What Is Physically-Based Animation?', Towards Data Science, 19 November. Available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/what-is-physically-based-animation-cd92a7f8d6a4 (Accessed: 09 October 2024).

8. Babadi, A. (2018) Image from: What Is Physically-Based Animation? Available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/what-is-physically-based-animation-cd92a7f8d6a4 (Accessed: 09 October 2024).

9. Ipacs, D. (2023) 'Ragdoll Physics In Video Games: What Is It, Exactly?', Bluebird International, 23 November. Available at: https://bluebirdinternational.com/ragdoll-physics/ (Accessed: 09 October 2024).

10. Epic Games Store (n.d.) Image from: Fall Guys. Available at: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/fall-guys (Accessed: 09 October 2024).