For The Nightmare Chronicles I have been learning tons of new stuff. Most of all how time consuming making a game can be. So today I'd like to delve into a bit about modeling that I've been working on the past couple of days.
For part of the circus area in my mod, I have created a sad clown. Unlike the other clowns this one isn't out to get you, he is just terribly depressed and could use a friend. He was also a lot of work to get fully functional in game. Unlike, a player model, which valve provides most of the animation for, This sad clown required a lot of custom animations, especially since he interacts with objects around him and needs to deliver a performance like an actor in a movie. The process of animating him took 3 full days working from when I got up until just before I went to bed. It would have been very easy to just have him stand there and deliver lines like a robot, but that would kill the emotion of the voice acting. What helps sell the performance is the tiny details of movement, a fist clenching, slight shifting of the body weight, or a tiny pink flower on his hat that wilts a bit when he feels sad.
In the end, if you put the effort into creating a believable character it will help draw people into your game, because they will empathize with the emotion that you build into your characters.
The Nightmare Chronicles: A sad clown
Posted by awesomepossum on
