Patch 5.2 interview with Dave Kosak
Inside an old alt's vault
The latest patch 5.2 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Roto-scoping is not animation
by Kelly Aarons 
May 12th 2010 at 8:00AM
Enter the drakonid.
What's a drakonid? See the header image. They're the bipedal draconic warriors that are native to each main Dragonflight. Now, if you aggro them, you'll notice that they run at you, lances swirling away. I. Hate. That. Animation. It drives me crazy. My guild leader affectionately calls it my Kryptonite, as I freak out whenever I see them do it. It's just so terrible! It looks like some horrific motion capture session gone wrong; then a blind chimpanzee with a tablet in its mouth added some keyframes. Yes, I realize that it's supposed to spoof the 'Star Wars Kid' animation, but I don't care.
Now, I'm not so critical that I can't like things. I love the animation that was added for ToC, where we saw poor Jarod Sunsworn get choked to death by the Black Knight. The animation for Anzu is great to watch, as they take care of the physics for his feathers. I could think of many others, but those are just a few that stand out.
What animations tickle your fancy? What do you love or hate, and why? What could they improve? Discuss amongst yourselves!
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 10)
Dogii Kruger May 12th 2010 9:04AM
Trolls doing Capoeira is much better than the Hammer Dance.. That is why I almost never dance on my main.
thegatherer May 12th 2010 12:24PM
male draenei is better. Tunak Tunak Tun is all you need to know.
wraith May 12th 2010 8:53AM
Riding a dragonhawk mount for an extensive period of time gives me such a headache. Once rode one from Quel'danis to IF back in BC...I needed Tylenol by the time I got there.
Male human casting animation...me and my wife have dubbed that the "Cuban Pete" motion.
Crypt Lords have some of my favorite animations, mainly their idle ones. Male draenei shooting a ranged weapon, I love the reload/cocking action. As well as their 2 handed toss the weapon in the air and then baseball swing hit. Male troll bow shooting, mainly because that's almost how I shoot a bow, although a little less hunched down lol. Even though they can't do it in game since they don't have any real stealth actions I love the female stealth animation for the draenei.
Dragoniel May 12th 2010 8:55AM
Ah, the animations. The bane and the blessing of computer games.
You know, I'm a weird type: I pick a character to play not for it's prowess in PvP or PvE, but for it's looks - which consists of animations. Standing, combat-stance, weapon swinging, target-casting, general casting, running, sitting, swimming you name it. I hate so many of current ones, I'm feeling quite restricted to classes I enjoy playing. For some quick examples:
I HATE:
Weapon swing - night elf male & undead (dagger), blood elf male & human male (2h sword/axe), every race/gender but night elves females (bow), blood elven (gun) and etc
Running - the one who designed blood elf female running animation must have been on magic mushrooms. Also, I don't like human male running.
Target casting - my night elven druidess and priestess target-casting makes me close my eyes every time. I also don't like blood elf males target-casting
Casting - human male.
I LOVE:
Weapon swing - night elf female handling two handed blade. Man, it's awesome, they really should make more of those. Also night elf female handling staff or polearm - I wish there was a class that could use combat staves in melee (feral druids doesn't count).
Casting - blood elf male. It feels like he's really doing some serious magic.
___________________________
As for the creatures and other animations.. did you know that dragons can actually SIT? I know, dragon queen is sitting at Wrath Gate, but it never occured to me, that all dragons that we use for mounts have all sorts of dragon-specific animations which are not available to players (sit, sleep/lay, attack, cast and possibly bow & kneel too, though I haven't seen those). My bronze drake recently bugged-up during a quest and sit down. It looks gorgeous.
From Netherwing drakes and Raven Lord are probably the best mounts in game regarding details and movements. They are not perfect, however. Try keyboard-turning the Raven Lord or walking on a Netherdrake and you will see the problems immediately.
Hippogryphs are of some contraversy. Their iddle standing animation is hands down the best among the mounts. Their /mountspecial is pretty good too, but the way those things run... It doesn't feel like the living creature is moving. more like riding a bike. Complete fail.
Alliance cat druid - I'm in love with that model. Have you seen them jump? The move is so fluent, no other creature in the game compares. Bear model shares a lot of that awesomeness too, but it's jaw is still unnatural, even after the changes. Closed or not, looks stupid. The bear shouldnt always "grin".
Game mechanics and controls are what brings me in the game. Art and animations is what makes me stay in game.
P.S.: I will probably spot a lot of grammatical errors after I post this, so - WTB EDIT BUTTON!!
WaterRouge May 12th 2010 10:50AM
So..you don't like the Tauren cat animations?
pancakes May 12th 2010 8:58AM
Favourite would have to go to Treants/Tree Druids. I love the death animation and levitation animation especially. They always look so helpless.
pancakes May 12th 2010 9:04AM
Also, Undead female special melee animation.
BadAndyMk3 May 12th 2010 9:00AM
I love the fact that the Belf male and Draenei female two-hand sword attack stances were actually taken out of real life fencing manuals.
Frosty May 12th 2010 9:04AM
Step 1 - Make a Female Dwarf - any class.
Step 2 - enter game
Step 3 - rotate camera to front of character
Step 4 - hit space bar
Step 5 - Find Eye Bleach, and pour over face yelling "What has been seen, cannot be unseen!" over and over.
jealouspirate May 12th 2010 9:43AM
The poor female Dwarves, apparently they are forced to go without bra support.
kunukia May 12th 2010 9:55AM
I respectfully disagree.
Nina May 12th 2010 2:46PM
all these comments about run animations, and various 'flopping' animations and I'm surprised no one has mentioned the female undead run animation.....
I don't really love or hate it myself, it just makes me laugh to see such floppiness.
Hairfish May 12th 2010 3:55PM
Yes. My female Dwarf DK would like to purchase REAL plate armor, please. No more of this bouncy rubber stuff!
styopa May 12th 2010 9:00AM
Second page, and nobody has mentioned the Murloc death animation?
Srsly?
Eric J May 12th 2010 11:48AM
I love and hate those guys! I tried to give them a hug once, but they stabbed me with a spear.
scaresome May 12th 2010 3:46PM
Love the over-the-top murloc death scenes ... and the oh oh oh I'm dying voice.
Arodiel May 12th 2010 9:02AM
I love death animations...morbid much?
My special faves are tree ents (who doesn't love these?), Belf males for melodrama, dwarfs for convincing-ness and gnomes (like a mini-punt). There's also an awesome death animation for some mobs in (I think) Gnomeregan...you kill a robot and the driver pops out and dies as well.
pinteresque May 12th 2010 1:39PM
You're thinking of the Gnomes in the miniature spider tanks - when they die, the machine explodes and the Gnome driver goes shooting out, arms flailing, screaming as it hits the ground.
That death animation has always got to me - the worst part of it is, the gnomes in Gnomer, most of them, aren't EVIL, they're SICK - their vision is clouded by radiation and they think your party is a bunch of troggs trying to invade their home.
I avoid gnomer as much as possible specifically for that reason. It really bothers me.
Chrissie May 12th 2010 9:05AM
Agree with treants dying being awesome and male blood elf dying being obnoxious.
Also agree that the whirly whirly thingy the drakonids pull off is a bit silly, but it never bothered me particularly.
What bothers me most is when my drake stops moving its wings and assumes a ground pose mid-air!!!
But on a more serious note... I'm a die-hard night elf fan, but the animations are why I prefer to play a draenei for my mage. Human female casting animation: clunky, very awkward-looking. (Same goes for human female walking or doing anything, pretty much.) Blood elf female casting animation: slightly better, very angry-looking though (I was overjoyed when Sylvanas finally got a non-nightelfy model but I did like the old casting animation better). Draenei casting animation: Awesome. Graceful, smooth,
marianocr1992 May 12th 2010 9:06AM
I love how my human warrior (fury) looks when he get enrage, he is like screaming to the sky with his two 2handers, red and awesome :P
i hate belf dying motion, why they got to act it so much ?!