Game Animation and Feature Animation

Most people often believe that animation from gaming and film are the same because they use the same principles of animation, and the same set of tools. Even though the same tools and principles of animation apply to both mediums, the processes and techniques actually differ greatly between the two. There are many differences and techniques that are required to make a game. In games you need to create animations that respond to the game-play, storytelling, combining them both together and making them work to allow the game to flow, and be successful. In movies, animation is more of looking at what the animator has presented and animated; it is less interactive and less freedom for the view as they are stuck with what the camera displays.

Games Animation

Gaming is made to be interactive with the player. When a player plays a game, he/she has complete control of the character and the camera. The player has the power and in the one who is directing the story forward and making the character move. Therefore the animation needs to look good from all possible angles in relation to the story.

For example, if a game can be set to a new camera angle - in third person, and the player has the option to rotate the camera around during a walk or run cycle; then the new angle should reveal the necessary movements or actions. Examples such as arm movements or knee pops; these actions may not have been visible the normal camera view, therefore it is necessary for the game animators to take into account that their animations function at at any given times of the game to whatever the player may throw at it.

Animations within movies is not as strict as animating in gaming, not to say the one is easier that the other but there is a difference. In movies the animator does not necessarily need to worry about all the angles of a character when it is performing an action, because the animator chooses the angle of the camera, and chooses what will be displayed. But for games most of the angles need to look good as the player has control of the camera view. For instance the arcs of an animation within a game need to be nice smooth arcing motions from any camera angle.

Movie Animation

In movie animations, the animator is responsible for animating what is in the view of the camera shot. In other words, mainly need to worry about one camera angle at time.

For instance, if you are watching a movie, you are not in control of the camera angle and therefore cannot rotate around to look at the whole set. You are basically stuck viewing at whatever the camera is aimed at.

This allows animators to cheat in a way while animating their characters and objects, because they know that the shot will only been seen at a specific angle. So if it looks great from that angle then ultimately that is all that matters.

This does not mean that one is more difficult that the other when it comes to animating, both have a fair share of difficulties and obstacles that are different from one another. In movies the animators need to consider the angle of the camera very delicately as they do not give freedom to the viewer to rotate the camera like in games. Specific camera angles can tell the mood or the atmosphere of the scene and therefore needs to be positioned well to get the message across to the viewer.