idle animation
{{Short description|Video game feature}}
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In video games, idle animations are character movements that occur when the player character is not performing any actions.{{Cite book |last=Totten |first=Chris |title=Game Character Creation with Blender and Unity |publisher=Indianapolis Sybex |year=2012 |isbn=978-1118172728 |pages=Chapter 8: Creating an Idle Animation |language=English}} They serve to give games personality, as an Easter Egg for the player, or for realism.
History
One of the earliest games to feature an idle animation was Android Nim in 1978. The androids blink, look around, and seemingly talk to one another until the player gives an order.{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Matthew |date=2022 |title=Android Nim |url=http://www.trs-80.org/android-nim/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |website=Matthew Reed's TRS-80.org}} Another two early examples are Maziacs and The Pharaoh's Curse released in 1983. Idle animations grew in usage throughout the 16 bit era.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Ashley |date=July 27, 2009 |title='Splosion Man and the lost art of the idle animation |url=https://www.destructoid.com/splosion-man-and-the-lost-art-of-the-idle-animation/ |access-date=March 3, 2022 |website=Destructoid}} Incorporating idle animations was done to give personality towards games and their characters {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_31/page/n45/mode/2up |title=NEXT Generation 31 |publisher=Next Generation |year=1997 |pages=48 |language=English}} as they are the only in-game actions aside from cutscenes where the characters are free to act independent of the player's input.{{Cite web |last=Alexandra |first=Heather |date=May 6, 2019 |title=The Quiet Importance of Idle Animations |url=https://kotaku.com/the-quiet-importance-of-idle-animations-1834564079 |access-date=March 3, 2022 |website=Kotaku}} The idle animation length and details can depend on interaction between the player and character, such as third person player idle animations being longer to avoid looking robotic on repeated viewing. In modern 3D games idle animation are done to give realism. For games targeting towards younger audiences the idle animations are more likely to be complex or humorous. In comparison games targeted towards older audiences tend to include more basic idle animations.
Examples
- Maziacs - The sprite character will tap his feet, blink, and sit down.
- Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic will impatiently tap his foot when the player does not move.
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest - Diddy Kong juggles a few balls after a few seconds without input.
- Super Mario 64 - Mario looks around and eventually will fall asleep.
- Grand Theft Auto - The player character will light a cigarette.
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Carl "CJ" Johnson will sing songs including "Nuthin' But A'G' Thang" and "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)."
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - When left on a horse for a while, Arthur Morgan/John Marston will pet the animal.
References
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External links
- [http://www.giantbomb.com/idle-animations/92-1737/ Idle animations] at Giant Bomb, games with idle animations
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