Gameplay Video
Screenshots
Wake From Death
An Action Oriented Third Person Shooter
Wake From Death is a character based third person shooter created by a team of 9 students in the span of 3 Months. It features a Rotating Ability based Combat System where the player must seek power ups in world to gain different abilities which help them progress. With these powers, the player traverses through a world where Cyberpunk meets Feudal Japan filled to the brim with Deadly Robots and Rival Samurai.
I was the sole person in charge of Animation for this project. Using the models provided by the other artists: I brought the characters and enemies to life with my animations to make the world feel more dynamic. Coming in alone as an animator was definitely a challenge since I had no one else to rely on in order to get the work done. Due to this, however, I had a level of ownership on how the game looks and feels that was unique to me. I think one can see my strength as an animator through the game and it's characters.
Despite being the sole animator I had a lot of help from my leads who provided invaluable feedback and direction which helped me push my skills further. Despite coming unto the team post prototype they welcomed me and quickly got me started in the pipeline.
Most animations were made by using custom recorded footage as a reference point. I then went frame by frame to create the animations to match the reference while adding a bit of dramatization for certain poses to make them more visually exciting. In the end the game looks situated in realism while also sporting some of the campy flare of the classic Samurai Movies.
What I Contributed
• Worked independently as the sole animator for the project. I was in charge of organizing my own schedule to ensure all deadlines would be met
• Provided rigging assistance for the primary bipedal character and created the rig for the drone enemy
• Worked with leads to create animations that support the aesthetic and creative vision
• Created all animations used in game such as: movement cycles, attack, hurt, and death
• Used live references to ensure realistic and natural looking animations
• Utilized animation fundamentals to create dramatic but believable character animations
Animations - Movement
Charge Slash
Running/Sprinting
Running/Sprinting
This animation was inspired by the classic samurai movies specifically the common climatic final blow preformed by 2 dashing samurai. The exaggerated movements paired with the ending flourish really adds a sense of dramatic flair for what is generally a killing blow in game
Running/Sprinting
Running/Sprinting
Running/Sprinting
Using custom reference videos provided: I created a series of animations for realistic but action packed movement to match the fast pace of the game.
Walking/Strafing
Walking/Strafing
Walking/Strafing
Using more custom reference videos provided: I created a few slower but accurate animations for the more precise movements brought from the lock on feature
Landing/Falling
Walking/Strafing
Walking/Strafing
Since the player character cannot jump I tried to make the animations show just how much weight the cyber-samurai had giving him a nice impact upon landing which seamlessly blends into his stance.
Animations - Damage
Taking Damage
Taking Damage
Taking Damage
For the damage animations I focused on the recoil to make it have a tactile impact when the character took damage. I wanted the player to feel the weight of each hit so I exaggerated the character's stagger to give it some extra force
Deaths
Taking Damage
Taking Damage
For the first death, I again took inspiration from those classic samurai movies to have an over the top animation of the character collapsing. The alternate death animation was made using custom footage to get a realistic fall back
Animations -Idles
Gun Stance
Charge Stance
Charge Stance
Using references of soldiers handling their own firearms I did my best to create these sets of idles that, while subtle, have enough movement to make the character feel alive during static moments of gameplay.
Charge Stance
Charge Stance
Charge Stance
To demonstrate the more outlandish hidden energy blade: I opted to use exaggerated movements for the activation and the 'pre pounce' stances. The blade itself was a particle effect that was added later in engine.