Emotes and Animations as meaningful in-game communication?
by Alfred Norris · in General Discussion · 07/20/2005 (7:19 am) · 4 replies
I was sitting here looking at the models for a chair and table someone on my project had just done and began thinking to myself...why dont people actually use emotes and animations the way we do in real life?
Furthermore, is there a way to make these more fluid methods of communication?
Sure there games that allow players to sit and have wave emotes, but its customarily not used.
I was thinking that perhaps each emote could very slightly raise the faction of the person you're emoting to? Or sitting on a chair or laying in a bed could actually raise your stamina? Both of those seem too crude though.
Im sure part of the reason is that its not as easy to thumb through menus for emotes as it is to raise your arm and wave in real life. But as we creep closer and closer to "realism" in gaming surely these features can serve a more meaningful purpose?
Thoughts?
Alfred Norris, VoodooFusion Studios
Team Lead - CONFLICT: Omega A Post-Apocalyptic MMO Project using TSE
Join our team! Positions still available.
CONFLICT:Omega
Furthermore, is there a way to make these more fluid methods of communication?
Sure there games that allow players to sit and have wave emotes, but its customarily not used.
I was thinking that perhaps each emote could very slightly raise the faction of the person you're emoting to? Or sitting on a chair or laying in a bed could actually raise your stamina? Both of those seem too crude though.
Im sure part of the reason is that its not as easy to thumb through menus for emotes as it is to raise your arm and wave in real life. But as we creep closer and closer to "realism" in gaming surely these features can serve a more meaningful purpose?
Thoughts?
Alfred Norris, VoodooFusion Studios
Team Lead - CONFLICT: Omega A Post-Apocalyptic MMO Project using TSE
Join our team! Positions still available.
CONFLICT:Omega
#2
Following on from this thread on gamedev, one of the main problems that I had with my design for npc/player communication was trying to guess what mood the player is in. It's easy enough modelling and communicating the emotional state of an NPC, but getting that information out of a player is a bit harder.
The way I went about this was to actually build into the design the requirement for the player to select one of a number of emotional states that acts as a modifier when they communicate with an NPC. For example, an insult delivered in a serious mood adversely affects the player's relationship with an NPC, but when delivered with a smile is a joke that increases affection.
This places certain role-enhancing demands upon the player, as NPCs react to apparent disjoints in the player's emotional state. For example, when the player's best friend dies, they really need to get into the greiving role, or face the social stigma of being a heartless freak. (Laughing at your best friend's death might be a sign of shock. Continuing laughing might get you labelled insane.)
Of course, having an animation system with multi-target morphing and blending will really help the visualisation of this gameplay element. ;)
07/20/2005 (8:05 am)
Heh, hey Alfred. :)Following on from this thread on gamedev, one of the main problems that I had with my design for npc/player communication was trying to guess what mood the player is in. It's easy enough modelling and communicating the emotional state of an NPC, but getting that information out of a player is a bit harder.
The way I went about this was to actually build into the design the requirement for the player to select one of a number of emotional states that acts as a modifier when they communicate with an NPC. For example, an insult delivered in a serious mood adversely affects the player's relationship with an NPC, but when delivered with a smile is a joke that increases affection.
This places certain role-enhancing demands upon the player, as NPCs react to apparent disjoints in the player's emotional state. For example, when the player's best friend dies, they really need to get into the greiving role, or face the social stigma of being a heartless freak. (Laughing at your best friend's death might be a sign of shock. Continuing laughing might get you labelled insane.)
Of course, having an animation system with multi-target morphing and blending will really help the visualisation of this gameplay element. ;)
#3
To answer your original question, Id have agree with you when you say that to say that its not easy to thumb through a list of options. Emotes arent more often used because typing "/point" and then "/doubletake" is quite removed from real life.
But thinking about what emotes dont do brings us to what they do do. Im not a huge MMO gamer, but I haven sunk a bit of time in a few. Emotes become a form of wierd self expression. You cant jump into the middle a grocery store, shout "DANCE PARTY IN AISLE THREE!" and have people run over to cut a rug. But that exact thing is something I do nearly every time Im on guild wars. Even things like "pointing" emotes can be funny if used in certain situations. Just because they arent being used in a way thats meaningful to communication doesnt mean that they dont add an enormous amount of fun to any given game.
Just my two cents. Nice thread.
07/20/2005 (9:48 pm)
Hey Sebastian, that mood modifier sounds pretty neat. :)To answer your original question, Id have agree with you when you say that to say that its not easy to thumb through a list of options. Emotes arent more often used because typing "/point" and then "/doubletake" is quite removed from real life.
But thinking about what emotes dont do brings us to what they do do. Im not a huge MMO gamer, but I haven sunk a bit of time in a few. Emotes become a form of wierd self expression. You cant jump into the middle a grocery store, shout "DANCE PARTY IN AISLE THREE!" and have people run over to cut a rug. But that exact thing is something I do nearly every time Im on guild wars. Even things like "pointing" emotes can be funny if used in certain situations. Just because they arent being used in a way thats meaningful to communication doesnt mean that they dont add an enormous amount of fun to any given game.
Just my two cents. Nice thread.
#4
Should you be focused on what mood their in, or what mood they should be in relevant to the gameplay? Servicing and serving emotion, dealing with both perspectives, is a key issue of much of my design work which is what led me to derivitive data structuring.
Nice work! :)
- Ronixus
07/21/2005 (6:28 am)
@ Sebastian -Quote:
...one of the main problems that I had with my design for npc/player communication was trying to guess what mood the player is in.
Should you be focused on what mood their in, or what mood they should be in relevant to the gameplay? Servicing and serving emotion, dealing with both perspectives, is a key issue of much of my design work which is what led me to derivitive data structuring.
Nice work! :)
- Ronixus
Torque Owner Todd D. Degani
I guess the answer for me is that I rarely use hand communication and find it more annoying in games than I do in real life. The whole talking with your hands thing drives me up a wall. The only time I emote is to give a friendly nod or wave or to one finger salute someone when then cut me off in traffic.