Hello, and welcome to New Frame Plus! Itās been a good year for video game animation, and since 2018 is just about wrapped up I thought it might be fun to list some of my
favorite examples of game animation I saw this year. Not necessarily the BEST Animation
of the Year, Hands Down, just the stuff that impressed or excited me most. We have got a lot of games worth talking about,
so letās just start running down the list! I want to start with God of War. Sony Santa Monica has always done amazing
work, especially when it comes to
combat animation and big set pieces. But the thing that impressed me most this
time around wasn't the big bombastic moments, but the small ones. The moments of stillness and quiet. Iāve never seen a God of War game put so
much emphasis on character performance, and I love it. There is some really nice, subtle character
acting in here, and I love that the game gives
these little scenes the time they need instead of just rushing through to the next fight. If this is the direction they want
to take God of War in the future, then I am 100% on board. Also, it has to be said: nobody sells scale through animation
quite like Sony Santa Monica. Hot dang. Next up... Smash Bros Ultimate I already made three videos (and counting) about what makes the
character animation in this game work, and everything I already said
is still true of Ultimate. It is genuinely impressive how
Smash Bros somehow manages to make this enormous grab bag of characters all feel like they belong together in one game, without sacrificing what makes
any one of them unique or special. That is a daunting challenge, and yet, no matter how many
new characters they add to this roster, Smash Bros just keeps making it look easy. Next up: Moss This mouse is amazing. Iāve only had the chance to see
bits and pieces of the game so far, but Quill is already one of my favorite video characters. Her animation is just loaded with
appeal and extremely polished, which is all the more impressive given that (I think) Polyarc only has one animator on their team? I mean, Richard Lico has been
in this industry a long time, so Iām not SURPRISED the animationās this great but I am still impressed. And my favorite part of all is that, as you
play, Quill communicates with you, the player, using sign language. Sometimes to give you a hint for a puzzle or something, sometimes just to tell you how sheās feeling. As far as I know, Quill is the first video
game protagonist to communicate using ASL, (at least, outside of the educational gaming space). This is a specific form of inclusivity that
gaming hasnāt really done much of yet, and it just makes me love this mouse all the more. When I do eventually pick up a PlayStation VR, it is primarily going to be so I can
finally meet this mouse, and I am REALLY looking forward to that. Next up: Just Shapes & Beats If you watch our sister channel, PlayFrame, then you already know that this rhythm bullet hell
was one of my favorite games of the year, but one of the things that most surprised me about it was how effective itās minimalist animation was. I mean, the entire game is just simple shapes: the environments, the projectiles, the enemies, the characters... but the animation on
all of them is still really charming. And (this I did NOT expect)... in some cases, it comes together in some
downright impressive spectacle! I highly recommend checking this one out
if you havenāt yet, because... It is a DELIGHT. Another one of my favorites this year was Monster Hunter World. Now, Monster Hunter has always had some of the
best creature animation in the business, but with World finally bringing the series
back to home consoles and cranking up the AAA fidelity big time, that amazing creature animation
is finally getting a chance to really shine. The physicality on these creatures is so good, and the way these games encourage you to improve by learning each monsterās body language
to predict their next move is just so well-executed. The player characterās animation is top
notch too, with some really impressive
weapon attack combo work. And, of course, most important of all... it has MULTIPLE cutscenes in which an army of chef cats make you dinner. Soā¦. your move, Rest of the Game Industry. Next up: Spider-Man I already made a video about this gameās
animation, and everything I said about that particular Zip-to-Point swing applies to the
rest of animation in the game. The web swinging animation looks amazing, the combat work looks greatā¦ and all of it perfectly capturing that
unique Spider-Man movement style. Itās just exceptional work all around. Not to mention some really effective
story scene performances. Kudos to both the animators and
all of the motion capture performers for bringing this character's world to life so effectively. And it would definitely be silly if I
did not also include on this list: Red Dead Redemption 2 I already did a whole video on this one too, but whatever misgivings I
may have expressed in that episode, there is no question that the
attention to detail on display here IS incredible. And not just because of all the realistic
ways your character performs mundane actions (although those do look amazing) Even just the fundamentals of movement and
aiming your gun and riding your horse just look so darn solid. Like, this is probably boring
for anyone whoās not me, but... I really like Arthurās crouched
movement animation set. Just that hunched over walk, the way he settles
onto one knee when you stop, and the little fidgets as he tries to get
into a comfortable kneeling position... Say what you will about the sluggish movement,
but these little natural details are so fantastic and they are EVERYWHERE
in this characterās animation. Another salute to the animation team
behind this gargantuan project, and I still hope your employer starts to treat yāall with the respect and sustainable
work conditions you deserve. Moving on... Super Mario Party Any time you have to animate a wide variety
of characters performing the same task, that's a great opportunity to create some contrast
and express each characterās personality by showing how THEY specifically
look doing that task. But with a character like, say... Goomba youāve got an opportunity to get REALLY creative, because they CANāT do most of these
activities like the rest of the crew. They gots no hands. And I love that the animators took this opportunity to actually try and show Goomba doing each of these games in their own way. Balancing stuff on their head... grabbing stuff in their mouth... It is ADORABLE. And they just look so happy
to finally be at the party! Look at how much fun theyāre having! I love āem. Now we had some really great pixel animation work
came out of the indie scene this year. We had Dead Cells with their really clever
'pixel art/3D animation' hybrid technique. We had Octopath Traveler, which didnāt necessarily
break any new ground on the animation front, but did feature a uniquely gorgeous 3D implementation. And we finally saw the release of Iconoclasts, which is remarkably well-animated
for a single-person project. Whenever an entire game
is being made by one person, I donāt usually expect to see
the same quality of animation that I would expect from someone who specializes in it, but Robinās animation in this looks awesome! Just her run is so charming.
And really distinct! Iād be impressed by this run
if a full-time animator made it, and the fact that the guy who animated this ALSO made the entire rest
of the video game? That's amazing. And speaking of great pixel animation... have yāall seen Bomb Chicken? Dang. Look at that. I honestly donāt know what else to say about it. This game is just pure pixel art appeal. Look at that wild squash and stretch
when it lays a bomb! Look at that animated explosion! Look at itās bouncy walk! Aww and look at the way it settles when you stop. Highly recommend checking this game out. this is seriously some of the best
pixel animation Iāve seen all year. Also the gameplay is
really clever and fun, which... that's a nice bonus! Spyro Reignited Trilogy Now I donāt personally have a
childhood history with the Spyro games, but I do really love some of the
animation work Iām seeing in this remake. Toys for Bob had a really exciting opportunity here to not only reproduce the charm of the original but to amplify and build upon it. And I'm so happy that they went all in on this. I so love that they not only gave so many
of these characters more detailed and distinct designs, but also more distinct animated performances! Itās really fun going back and forth
between the originals and the remakes and seeing how the animators delivered the more specific, nuanced acting choices that these higher-fidelity
character models are capable of. I mean, look at some of these
complete animation overhauls! "Oh, hello! We didn't get a chance
to introduce ourselves before. My name is Elora." "Uh, hi! I'm Spyro. What are you? Some kind of goat?" "I'm a FAWN, you dork." "Oh! Sorry." "Oh no." "Oh, hello! We didn't get a chance
to introduce ourselves before." "My name is Elora." "Uh, hi! I'm Spyro." "What are you, some kind of goat?" "I'm a fawn, you dork." "Oh! Sorry." Seriously, way to bring an old classic back
with more character appeal than it started with. Finally, it would be utterly ridiculous of me
to not include in this video: Dragon Ball FighterZ. Or Dragon Ball Fighters? I don't know what it's supposed to be. Look. People have been trying to emulate the look
of hand drawn anime in 3D games for a long time. Some of them have been
reasonably successful at achieving that goal. Others, not so much. But what Arc System Works has been doing with
Guilty Gear Xrd and now Dragon Ball FighterZ is some next level stuff. The amount of care and detail work that has gone
into trying to make these 3D character models convincingly appear to be 2D animation is incredible. I might have to do an episode on this later. It's just so stupidly cool. And that theyāve done this well on their
first and second attempts makes me REALLY excited for what theyāre
gonna be capable of a few years from now. Oh! Also... I havenāt had a chance to play this
one yet, but Iām just gonna give an Honorable Mention to Gris? Because... I donāt know. I just have a feeling itās going to belong on this list. Hot dang. And I think thatāll do it! Did I miss anything? I probably did, honestly. Between animating at my day job and
running two YouTube channels, itās pretty hard for me to keep up
with everything that comes out in a year. But if you do know of some
amazingly-animated game
which isnāt on this list, go ahead and call it out in the comments because I would hate to miss out on something cool. Anyway, hereās to all the great game animation
that 2019 no doubt has in store for us! Itās been an exciting first year for this channel, and Iāve got a lot of videos planned for next year
which I am also very excited about. If you havenāt already, go ahead and subscribe
to make sure you donāt miss any of them. Thanks for watching and
have yourselves a lovely new year!
Ooh, this is an interesting video. And yeah, Spyro deserves all sorts of accolades for what they did.
Kind of bummed that Shadow of the Tomb Raider didn't make the list, though he pointed out that he can't cover everything. That series has been really good at catching subtle facial movements, and the bar scene in Shadow made me laugh and was a sign how far games can come when a whole conversation is carried on with the eyes and small, subtle body-language.
Street Fighter 5 has had some real issues with animation for a lot of itās cast (for example Falke in particular has some awful animation), however the character G who was released as DLC this year, has some stellar animation work.
Itās not just that his moves look good on their own, which they do but the many little flourishes after the recovery of his moves that really stands out. While not necessary technically, stuff like this really helps show off his character and personality.
Inceneroar in Smash Ultimate is another good example of this, all of his little taunts and reactions after performing his moves do a real great job of showing off itās personality and character as a heel pro-wrestler pokemon.
If you want an example of this outside of fighting games, Nier Automata is excellent at this with small animation flourishes after each move which really sells the impact, violence and grace of the main charactersā fighting styles.
Edit: fixed the second link.