Asking why people play video games is like asking why they watch TV, or why they eat pizza: You might be able to identify a few clusters of motivation (“it’s funny when Sheldon says ‘bazinga’ on The Big Bang Theory”; “hot cheese and pepperoni are comforting”), but any given explanation won’t get too deep. Why do people do anything? To escape their lives? To join a community of like-minded people that isn’t available to them in person? Because it’s cool to blow things up? .hack//SIGN, a one-season anime series from 2003 that’s finally streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu, takes a serious stab at answering these questions, and manages to address the full constellation of reasons people play games — largely by ignoring actual gameplay. The series has some American fans — .hack//SIGN briefly appeared on Toonami’s lineup the year of its debut — but, at least anecdotally, it doesn’t seem like the … [Read more...] about The short-lived, now-streamable .hack//SIGN might be the best gaming anime of all time
Game animation
Virtual Reality Party Game Animal Force is Out Today on PlayStation VR
Oasis Games Ltd. announced today that it’s virtual reality party game Animal Force is now available to purchase on PS VR. Animal Force is a tower defense adventure that brings animals and extraterrestrials for one big party. Players must save the Earth from these aliens by commanding a team of animals with superpowers. Through the use of a rocket, you can pick up new animals to place in the atmosphere and fight back against the invading aliens. Thirty missions will be available for play in story mode. Multiplayer is also a featured game mode within Animal Force and it features three asymmetric modes: Steal the Statue, Odd One Out, and Divide & Conga. With one player using the PlayStation VR, the others will be using standard DualShock 4 controllers to try and sneak past the player who is using the headset. Oasis Games Ltd. has also released a launch trailer today for Animal Force, which you can find at the bottom of the … [Read more...] about Virtual Reality Party Game Animal Force is Out Today on PlayStation VR
Video: How animators approached super jumping in Saints Row IV
What do you do when your animation direction conflicts directly with a key feature being added within your game? How do you approach gathering reference material when the animations requested aren't even humanly possible? In this 2014 GDC session, Volition's Zach Lowery discusses how the Saints Row IV animation team took a different approach to gathering reference material for superhero-styled jumps when traditional methods didn't not work. Lowrery explains how the team applied their "comfortable and confident" animation direction to a world filled with superpowers, without making a super hero game. Animators may appreciate that they can now watch the talk completely free via the official GDC YouTube channel! In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers … [Read more...] about Video: How animators approached super jumping in Saints Row IV
Get a job: Wargaming is hiring a Technical Animator
The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry!many, many positions being advertised right now. Location: Chicago, Illinois Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore is a growing studio with more than 150 employees. Our environment is a combination of casual creativity and functional productivity, powered by the studio’s own, proprietary game engine. Responsibilities: Use content authoring and game engine tools to integrate character motions and procedural effects to create responsive, compelling, and attractive player- and AI-controlled character movement in a new title Develop and maintain animation processes, rigs, pipelines, and animation systems Requirements: Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills, interdepartmental fluency. Experience using in-game animation systems, with a thorough understanding of blend trees, IK, state machines, tagging, and scripting. Experience with … [Read more...] about Get a job: Wargaming is hiring a Technical Animator
GDC 2018 Animation Bootcamp welcomes talks on God of War , Horizon , and more!
Heads up, animators and artists: GDC 2018 organizers want to give you an early peek at the informative and intriguing sessions taking place during the day-long Animation Bootcamp that kicks off the conference in March. The Animation Bootcamp is one of many Bootcamps and Tutorials that take place during the first two days of GDC (Monday and Tuesday, March 19th and 20th this year) and offer attendees the chance to dive deep and explore focused topics like level design, game production, art direction and animation. This year the Animation Bootcamp kicks off on Monday with a series of great talks aimed at exploring new animation techniques, processes, and dimensions of what game animation is capable of contributing to a project. Bringing together a group of experienced and specialized animation experts across the game industry (from triple-A to indie), this tutorial is a day-long gathering to rally developers from all over the industry, with a focus on … [Read more...] about GDC 2018 Animation Bootcamp welcomes talks on God of War , Horizon , and more!