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GETTING EMOTION FROM 2D CHARACTERS
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AlphaMad
15
AlphaMad
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CloseFirst time posting in a long time. I just got done playing Eastward and one thing that game did so well was creating lovable characters who display emotions. They did so by making every character unique and creative sprite animations. Other retro games have done this as well (Chrono Trigger comes to mind).
The main question I have for the community is are there other methods to accomplishing this. Do animated face sets do the same thing? Is it realistic to make creative sprite animations using a sprite template? How would you like to have characters express emotion in your games or what other 2D games have done this well?
The main question I have for the community is are there other methods to accomplishing this. Do animated face sets do the same thing? Is it realistic to make creative sprite animations using a sprite template? How would you like to have characters express emotion in your games or what other 2D games have done this well?
I dunno about games that make animated sprites that relay emotions. As for the other point, coelocanth made a script that animates the face-set in dialogs for VX Ace?
orange-
1659
Animated sprites mixed with good pacing, dialogue and music would do the trick. I don't think it's just a product of one single element. Face sets showing expressions would be nice too of course. It's pretty simple really, whatever is used in other mediums to create emotion works in a 2D game too.
AlphaMad
15
Good points.
I'm not looking for a specific answer for me in particular, I'm just looking for dialogue on the subject.
Music is a good point too. It's definitely a mixture of elements. I think back to Chrono Trigger. Each character had a theme, unique character animations, and pretty good dialogue. No face sets (except in the menu).
Are there Sprite templates that lend themselves to better, unique animations?
I'm not looking for a specific answer for me in particular, I'm just looking for dialogue on the subject.
Music is a good point too. It's definitely a mixture of elements. I think back to Chrono Trigger. Each character had a theme, unique character animations, and pretty good dialogue. No face sets (except in the menu).
Are there Sprite templates that lend themselves to better, unique animations?
Kaempfer
1932
For me, personally, animated facesets have so little impact that they may as well not even exist. Unless they're animated all the time (ie, they're shown talking with their mouths moving) I tend to not even notice them after the first or second time they're on screen. There have been several games where I didn't even realize they were changing until quite awhile into the game!
I think animated sprites work most effectively. Since the player spends the most time looking at them, they'll notice the most when they change. Even a simple set of animations (looking sad or looking happy/triumphant) can make a huge impact. I would say a sprite template is quite realistic for emotional animations, although larger sprites should show more variation in both their base sprite and their special animation sprite, so it's less use the higher resolution you go.
I think animated sprites work most effectively. Since the player spends the most time looking at them, they'll notice the most when they change. Even a simple set of animations (looking sad or looking happy/triumphant) can make a huge impact. I would say a sprite template is quite realistic for emotional animations, although larger sprites should show more variation in both their base sprite and their special animation sprite, so it's less use the higher resolution you go.
Darken
3952
The disadvantage to sprites is that you don't really get the nuance from close facial expressions. Sprites are great for big especially goofy big actions like eyes popping out or a jumping cheer, but it's difficult to do show subtle stuff at times, at best you can make a character look down and/or close their eyes to express sadness. The more serious the tone of the game the more difficult it can be to sell certain scenes if your characters are just little chibis. You're just missing out on tools or freedoms that live action movies can afford.
I've seen a lot of emotions from facesets but they have to be drawn really well, like not just changing the mouth to an upside down (frowns aren't actually that, they come from the eyebrows) but changing the entire face and also respective to the character. There's also something to be said about the use of facesets, regardless if you have 10 or 40 different faces for each character, knowing when to use them goes a long way. You do lose the rest of the body though and body language can be very complimentary (especially hands), there are portraits but I rarely see people take advantage of it like Phoenix Wright does (the best expressions in any 2D game imo). The only other way beyond that is using comic book panels or vignettes but that's full blown unique illustrations for each scene which isn't cheap.
There's also voice acting but uh, unless you can do it really well you might as well not do it at all and it costs a lot to get good people (or have access to theatre friends). However a trend lately I've been seeing is messages that happen while you walk through areas instead of being stuck in a cutscene, which is the main reason VA is worth considering these days since I've seen it done before with text but with mixed results (solving a puzzle while reading text can be difficult).
If your game is comedic and quirky there's also sounds per letter like in Animal Crossing or Undertale, though the best one I found was actually Celeste, idk what it is but I got a lot out of the sound choices in that game and it wasn't just lazy slap in a bfxr noise with the pitch shifted randomly. With some effort I think there's still room for innovation on that front.
If your game is contemporary and modern with phones and stuff, a hip idea is to have characters mostly interact via text and emotes. Internet interaction is a mixed bag as tone can be misinterpreted all the time, but there's a lot you can express with CAPITAL LETTERS or :) that would look out of place in regular dialogue, it's a nice way to break conventions and appeal to our online sensibilities.
I've seen a lot of emotions from facesets but they have to be drawn really well, like not just changing the mouth to an upside down (frowns aren't actually that, they come from the eyebrows) but changing the entire face and also respective to the character. There's also something to be said about the use of facesets, regardless if you have 10 or 40 different faces for each character, knowing when to use them goes a long way. You do lose the rest of the body though and body language can be very complimentary (especially hands), there are portraits but I rarely see people take advantage of it like Phoenix Wright does (the best expressions in any 2D game imo). The only other way beyond that is using comic book panels or vignettes but that's full blown unique illustrations for each scene which isn't cheap.
There's also voice acting but uh, unless you can do it really well you might as well not do it at all and it costs a lot to get good people (or have access to theatre friends). However a trend lately I've been seeing is messages that happen while you walk through areas instead of being stuck in a cutscene, which is the main reason VA is worth considering these days since I've seen it done before with text but with mixed results (solving a puzzle while reading text can be difficult).
If your game is comedic and quirky there's also sounds per letter like in Animal Crossing or Undertale, though the best one I found was actually Celeste, idk what it is but I got a lot out of the sound choices in that game and it wasn't just lazy slap in a bfxr noise with the pitch shifted randomly. With some effort I think there's still room for innovation on that front.
If your game is contemporary and modern with phones and stuff, a hip idea is to have characters mostly interact via text and emotes. Internet interaction is a mixed bag as tone can be misinterpreted all the time, but there's a lot you can express with CAPITAL LETTERS or :) that would look out of place in regular dialogue, it's a nice way to break conventions and appeal to our online sensibilities.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
If you're unable to animate sprites, but still want to convey complex character expressions, another solution would be to use Tales-style skits where you move around static pictures with faces. Once you have the faces, you can move the pictures around to convey motion to allow characters to express themselves without complex sprite animation:
It also helps that static faces are more easily reusable than character animations, which is how the Tales series gets away with having hundreds of skits in each game.
It also helps that static faces are more easily reusable than character animations, which is how the Tales series gets away with having hundreds of skits in each game.
I'll be bold as to say that animated sprites aren't everything and you absolutely need to consider the many other factors that convey storytelling. Mood, setting, ambience, and straight-up solid writing all factor in to how well you can get a point across. Think about the music in the scene. The tension surrounding the characters. The party dynamics at play when these characters are undergoing developments.
Case in point: Undertale broke ground in emotional 2D storytelling and the protagonist has one single character sprite that almost never changes, and there were many other characters with very few expressions as well. It's because of everything -surrounding- these characters that the game was so effective in delivering emotion.
Beautifully animated sprites can do wondering but relying on animation alone won't always win the gold. I think to really convey emotion well, you have to think about the things at play that the player won't see at face value.
Case in point: Undertale broke ground in emotional 2D storytelling and the protagonist has one single character sprite that almost never changes, and there were many other characters with very few expressions as well. It's because of everything -surrounding- these characters that the game was so effective in delivering emotion.
Beautifully animated sprites can do wondering but relying on animation alone won't always win the gold. I think to really convey emotion well, you have to think about the things at play that the player won't see at face value.
It might be useful to ask how authors of static fiction are able to convey emotion. They do it with the written word alone.
I think a basic faceset for each character should work just fine, and the animation for the sprites can be basic or non-existent. Like Sgt. M said, Undertale does a good job creating animated scenes without many unique character sprites. Visual novels are a genre known for dramatic and highly emotional moments, but they also rely on static character sprites as well, with just a little (very stilted) movement for effect.
More important is probably the pacing, the writing, and the music. Music especially will strongly alter how a player receives a scene. Combine that with small visual changes - either face variants (switching from happy to sad or angry) or small sprite movements & adjustments (a simple "shrug", or just making the character sprite move or turn as that character speaks) and you can should be able to convey strong emotions.
More important is probably the pacing, the writing, and the music. Music especially will strongly alter how a player receives a scene. Combine that with small visual changes - either face variants (switching from happy to sad or angry) or small sprite movements & adjustments (a simple "shrug", or just making the character sprite move or turn as that character speaks) and you can should be able to convey strong emotions.
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