Thoughts on the new model 'Animations'

[KungFuFanta]

Ultimately WoW is cartoony. The new models do a lot to reflect that artistic merit but it's understandable that people will disagree with it.

As for me? I love my Dwarf's spring in his run. Before he looked like someone froze a cinderblock in the air and his arms/legs moved like stiff gears. Now he looks lively and dynamic.

Just because something is cartoony doesn't mean it has to look like spongebob square pants. Or are you a post 90s child born with all the shitty cartoons?

[snuzzle]

This is from the cartoon language or lexicon, it's related to something known as squash and stretch. It makes things feel more filled with personality and exaggeration. It makes cartoons feel like an alternate universe with a strange but consistent sense of physical laws.

More importantly, the more WOW has advanced, the more they've put this cartoony quality into the animations.

And as for Disney, the first fucking thing I ever thought when I saw Warcraft 1 in the early 90s was "Wow, that looks like someone took Warhammer and made a spoof of it with Disney".

It's supposed to feel like a Don Bluth cartoon. I'd cite the Secret of Nimh or Dragonslayer more than simply Disney, but oh-so-serious edgy teenagers and adults make the word Disney synonymous with childish or just plain bad. It's borderline fallacious.

Anyways, it's too bad you haven't noticed what has been under your nose since the animations got more and more polished with every expansion. Especially in Cataclysm, Thrall's animations were filled with squash and stretch that made it obvious what direction things were going, and then the Pandaren just solidified it further. It's too bad you didn't have a clue at the time, but this is nothing new.

The problem isn't the squash & stretch, it's the fact that in some instances they are adding too much or adding it where it doesn't fit. For example, the tauren have always been a very calm, low-key, stoic race. Now the new animations (for example the "talk" animation) has the male looking like a hyper three year old. It doesn't fit the race. In contrast, the female tauren's talk animation is much more fitting to the race, it's a lot less "bubbly" looking.

Things like the runs, tweaking and loosening joints is good, but then you have to step back and ask if it still matches the feel of the old run. In many cases, I and others feel it does not. The new night elf runs are far too bouncy, the male looks like a superball bouncing around and the female is skipping more than running.

Imho, they need to strike a balance between faithful recreations (which would be stiff and low quality) and taking the reimaginings too far (which can lose the "soul" and "feel" of the originals).

[Mang]

I'm indifferent. Don't get me wrong an upgrade to models is nice and all but (besides some extreme xmoggers) most of the body is covered in gear, including head and most of the time you will just be viewing your character from the rear.

Personally I think blizzard spent too much time and resources on it. Im only speculating but its possible that other features were removed from wod in order to finish models, and if that's true its rather disappointing.

[mykro9]

Just because something is cartoony doesn't mean it has to look like spongebob square pants. Or are you a post 90s child born with all the shitty cartoons?

Can I ask what pre-90's cartoons you are referring to as 'not shitty'? So I have a frame of reference? I was born in 1972, and though I loved Heman, Thundercats, Transformers, and G.I. Joe growing up, going back and rewatching them now is painful. And though early Spongebob is pretty poor animation, the later stuff is actually decent, from an animation standpoint. The same goes for Seth MacFarlane's stuff, the animation is bad early on, and wildly inconsistent, but the later stuff is decent. The 80's stuff I mentioned never improved, animation-wise.

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I'm indifferent. Don't get me wrong an upgrade to models is nice and all but (besides some extreme xmoggers) most of the body is covered in gear, including head and most of the time you will just be viewing your character from the rear.

Personally I think blizzard spent too much time and resources on it. Im only speculating but its possible that other features were removed from wod in order to finish models, and if that's true its rather disappointing.

The only thing I am aware of that could have been 'removed' from WoD would be completely new models for every creature in Draenor. Things like warpstalkers using the same TBC model, and a few others, but the art team working on character remodels would not for instance, be involved in raids, other than making unique boss models, or trash models. Having run all over Draenor there are very few reused models, but there are some.

[Mormolyce]

I would like to renew my demand that they put everything else on hold and work exclusively on Dance Studio.

Can I ask what pre-90's cartoons you are referring to as 'not shitty'? So I have a frame of reference? I was born in 1972, and though I loved Heman, Thundercats, Transformers, and G.I. Joe growing up, going back and rewatching them now is painful. And though early Spongebob is pretty poor animation, the later stuff is actually decent, from an animation standpoint. The same goes for Seth MacFarlane's stuff, the animation is bad early on, and wildly inconsistent, but the later stuff is decent. The 80's stuff I mentioned never improved, animation-wise.

True, TV animation has always been fairly cheap. Although the Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 40s were glorious. I'm a fan of oldschool rotoscoping

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The problem isn't the squash & stretch, it's the fact that in some instances they are adding too much or adding it where it doesn't fit. For example, the tauren have always been a very calm, low-key, stoic race. Now the new animations (for example the "talk" animation) has the male looking like a hyper three year old. It doesn't fit the race. In contrast, the female tauren's talk animation is much more fitting to the race, it's a lot less "bubbly" looking.

I dunno. As graphics improve it allows the designers to more accurately realise their vision (and refine it). If you compare Warcraft 1's style to Warcraft 3's, there's a distinct shift away from a somewhat more realistic style to a very cartoony one. You could complain that that was a loss of the original style, but really it's just that they had more artistic freedom because of improving tech.

The same's even true of say, Mario. The early versions were less cartoony... because there was less to work with.

[Vintersol]

Nope, see for yourself.

In my opinion, the new human male is the absolute best male running animation I've seen in an MMO to date.

wait what? i don't know if we saw the same new model but a) the running animation reminds me of a male draenei (which is disgusting enough) and b) he is sticking his ass out while running, which looks like this.

They destroyed the male human for me.

[Arenis]

When new models were finally announced, I was very excited. And there are some really nice upgrades.
Yet, overall, I slowly start thinking it will become World of PixarCraft...

[timmytompadderham]

imo orcs, dwarves and gnomes remained the most true to their animations. Tauren look too goofy and undead were butchered. Troll running animations are iffy, but I understand that they were so incredibly stiff before it's probably going to look odd at first. Also, I'm sure some newer models added (nelf male, trolls, human) aren't finished and silly to judge yet.

[Yig]

The problem isn't the squash & stretch, it's the fact that in some instances they are adding too much or adding it where it doesn't fit. For example, the tauren have always been a very calm, low-key, stoic race. Now the new animations (for example the "talk" animation) has the male looking like a hyper three year old. It doesn't fit the race. In contrast, the female tauren's talk animation is much more fitting to the race, it's a lot less "bubbly" looking.

Things like the runs, tweaking and loosening joints is good, but then you have to step back and ask if it still matches the feel of the old run. In many cases, I and others feel it does not. The new night elf runs are far too bouncy, the male looks like a superball bouncing around and the female is skipping more than running.

Imho, they need to strike a balance between faithful recreations (which would be stiff and low quality) and taking the reimaginings too far (which can lose the "soul" and "feel" of the originals).

Well I totally disagree. I love the way they feel and it feels like I'm inside a painting and an animated movie. The in game graphics are always given a goofy aspect that's supposed to look slightly ridiculous. But most of all, I love the new life it gives the old animations and feels like life and more soul to me, I think people either get it or don't just get it, Blizzard's maintained everything I feel while amping things up in a way I actually hoped for. This seems par for the course and exactly what I predicted and expected, as usual with this game, for a decade now.

I particularly LOVE the night elf run animation, and if they make it subdued in any way I will be disappointed. I wish you shared my enthusiasm, but that's just how things are I suppose. This is exactly what I expected, in fact I'm surprised not more was done in many instances, a lot of animations feel like copy paste jobs while others are filled with more poise and nuance and a sense of gravity and momentum.

I want more.
And I think anyone who thinks this is a shift away from the norm is simply out of touch with what the developers have valued going back 20 years.

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I'm indifferent. Don't get me wrong an upgrade to models is nice and all but (besides some extreme xmoggers) most of the body is covered in gear, including head and most of the time you will just be viewing your character from the rear.

Personally I think blizzard spent too much time and resources on it. Im only speculating but its possible that other features were removed from wod in order to finish models, and if that's true its rather disappointing.

Your animations HAVE NOTHING to do with being not being noticed because of armor. Nice little canard, but you've entered the wrong thread discussion.
And this will bring a new sense of life and soul to every NPC you fight and talk to around you, the entire world is being given more life and soul, and you're complaining about what? The only features you're missing here are other models and animations. Do you understand that? Art is art. You're not missing a raid or a 5 man because of art.

[timmytompadderham]

Well I totally disagree. I love the way they feel and it feels like I'm inside a painting and an animated movie. The in game graphics are always given a goofy aspect that's supposed to look slightly ridiculous. But most of all, I love the new life it gives the old animations and feels like life and more soul to me, I think people either get it or don't just get it, Blizzard's maintained everything I feel while amping things up in a way I actually hoped for. This seems par for the course and exactly what I predicted and expected, as usual with this game, for a decade now.

Tauren have always looked very serious. Now they look like some crap out of a disney movie. From the run animation to the talk. I was hoping to race change to tauren after the racial balancing, but I'll be staying male troll because they remained true to the soul of male troll and didn't turn it into something it wasn't.

[Yig]

When new models were finally announced, I was very excited. And there are some really nice upgrades.
Yet, overall, I slowly start thinking it will become World of PixarCraft...

How is that bad? It's supposed to be Pixar'esque. Along with Dreamworks and a number of other influences. Your "yet" suggests a criticism.
I've been telling people for 3-4 years now this is exactly what you will be getting, so I guess I should not be surprised by the reactions.

[UnluckyAmateur]

All of them are good except for the night elf male. I cannot stand that run animation.

[Deleted]

i love the new animations. the models now finaly feel less like a star wars droid from episode 1. the animations give so mutch more character and emotion to the new models

[timmytompadderham]

How is that bad? It's supposed to be Pixar'esque. Along with Dreamworks and a number of other influences. Your "yet" suggests a criticism.
I've been telling people for 3-4 years now this is exactly what you will be getting, so I guess I should not be surprised by the reactions.

I must have missed the artcraft where they said that was the goal. The artcraft I read said they were going to stick to the feel of the WoW characters and said nothing about Disney animators taking over the game.

[Yig]

Tauren have always looked very serious. Now they look like some crap out of a disney movie. From the run animation to the talk. I was hoping to race change to tauren after the racial balancing, but I'll be staying male troll because they remained true to the soul of male troll and didn't turn it into something it wasn't.

No they haven't. They've had a mixture, WOW is all about juxtaposition. Silly and grim. Tauren have been floppy, ass scratching and slack jawed lovable brutes while also being intimidating. I'm amazed the goofy has escaped your notice all these years. This isn't the concept art. WOW is all about simultaneous visual worlds existing at the same time in independent places, but they have those places rightfully.

I think you just didn't realize what was what due to the lack of nuance, and now you're just noticing something that's always been there in part.
How can you call this crap out of a Disney movie? And how do you call some of the finest animators in the industry crap in the first place? I really have a pet peeve for people who besmirch caricature and minimalist art, I guess like you have a pet peeve for the aforementioned. :P

[Queen of Hamsters]

I don't see it.

All characters have better, more dynamic run animations save for one...male night elves, they run in a funny way imo.
Other than that, I'm so happy with the new model running animations, especially for male and female tauren!

[Yig]

I must have missed the artcraft where they said that was the goal. The artcraft I read said they were going to stick to the feel of the WoW characters and said nothing about Disney animators taking over the game.

This is just a bunch of context twisting now. The issue is one of aesthetic nuance you're never going to hope to even address beyond hollow talking points and "gotchas" with this kind of approach. Whatevz, hombre.

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I must have missed the artcraft where they said that was the goal. The artcraft I read said they were going to stick to the feel of the WoW characters and said nothing about Disney animators taking over the game.

Look at every new animation created in the last 4 years. Look at Thrall's /say and his animations especially.

[Deleted]

many of the new animations are overexaggerated, especially in the face. how about SOME subtlety. This game could use it and not just when it comes to the new models.

[Arenis]

How is that bad? It's supposed to be Pixar'esque. Along with Dreamworks and a number of other influences. Your "yet" suggests a criticism.
I've been telling people for 3-4 years now this is exactly what you will be getting, so I guess I should not be surprised by the reactions.

When I first started playing Warcraft, I loved the combination of lore and a very strong artistical(sp?) design. It had a somewhat toony design, but remained very serious. I think Warcraft is losing some of that "seriousness" with these designs. The animations make it feel like my character is coming out of a pixar movie(with all due respect, there are some really great ones), but this is not what I originally "experienced" when I started playing Warcraft. The facial expressions don't really help much either imo.

I think the game could do with a little bit less childish-feeling stuff. But that's how I particularly enjoyed the game the most.

[Deleted]

Just because something is cartoony doesn't mean it has to look like spongebob square pants. Or are you a post 90s child born with all the shitty cartoons?

Well thank god none of this looks like spongebob squarepants. So I don't actually understand what the point of that statement is. Other than to take pot shots at someone for no reason.