Kick Flick

[wrayayrton]

And now, for all of the camera possibilities I have considered. also, the pros/cons of each. any other suggestions of cameras you guys can think or more pros/cons of the current ideas are encouraged

Still Topdown Cam:

Pros- no skate game has been done like this, would allow for more mobile/mouse centric gameplay (i.e. drawing/brushing the skater's path and then hitting key commands for tricks necessary along the way), will be much less of a task and probably in the end allow for more simple physics without close scrutinization of animation that closer cams bring
Cons- requires a system for moving the camera to be separate from controlling the skater, kind of static, not really that exciting

Improved Skate Cam:

Pros- sick as fuck, exciting, allows for a more recognizable gameplay style, good for realism and ridiculousness
Cons- VERRRRY difficult to make I'm sure,

Sidescroller Cam:

Pros- my anims look best this way IMO, MUUUUCH simpler to program skateboarding game results (2.5 D)
Cons- sidescroller makes realism very difficult to mimic, also requires levels designed especially for 2d skating, much less creativity

Topside Cam Locked to Skater:

Pros- Could be part of the topdown (brush skating) idea I had (keybind will lock camera to char), if not would make for interesting control scheme, much more mobile-phone accessable
Cons- less impact, no thought has yet been put into whether turning will be possible or simply "lane changing" this way.

THPS/third person platformer Cam

Pros- Game becomes inviting to THPS FANS, more focus on scenery
Cons- Game becomes repulsive to SKATE FANS, less likely to be a simulation experience at this angle/distance

Foot Cam

Pros- much more grounded to skateboard tricks, less focus on arms/ top body animations, keeps game in realistic scope
Cons- skater blocks much of the screen, needs to understand whether youre going at something backside or frontside, you dont get to see the fingers (my fav part) as much

[wrayayrton]

nobody even commented on the last one but heres another game-related animation. I've decided to redo all the character models in a much more "lowpoly" style, and will post an update on that soon

[Jack]

I like the animations. The skater's body is moving and alive.

[Antwan]

I think the option to switch between cameras would be good.
Side scrolling cameras are okay for linear games.
I'm guessing you're approaching an open world game with the compacted spots just around that rooftop even.
Would be cool to see some bailing animations too!
Your game, just some ideas, if you want them.

[wrayayrton]

Going to redesign all the characters to be much more basic, flat, lowpoly, and cartoony because it's looking more and more like mobile may be the best platform for someone like me to first try making a skateboarding game, also I plan to make the sillhouettes much more distinct and drive the "character driven" SSX tricky aspect of the game. the idea is still to have the same animation style and realism but at this point I'm pretty sure the scenery will be having an overhaul too

@antwan- bails is a good idea. I typically have more fun animating the skateboarding and figure bails in game wouls just be ragdoll physics, but I maybe can post a few examples up here since its true it would be smart to start looking early at how to make such a system

[wrayayrton]

heres another video update with some new animations

[wrayayrton]

at this point not entirely sure which character style imma use but here's the animations so far. all thats complete is basic riding, crouching, ollies, and landings from all positions I'm thinking of doing many different characters, each one getting 5 regular, 5 fakie, 5 switch, and 5 nollie tricks, and making the game 2D or 2.5D to keep it simple, perhaps expandable in the future