Feedback talk:User/SkaldOfTheNorse/NPC/PC Facial expresions and emotes

Great suggestion. I, too, feel it would add a lot to the realism of the game. To better illustrate this point, I recall a comment by one of the animators of the movie "Dragonheart" (regardless of whether you love or hate the movie, the comment has application to computer gaming). The animator was talking about how they animated breathing for the dragon in the movie. Though it seemed inconsequential and a waste of time and effort to animate such a subtle movement, the animator defended it by saying people watching the movie probably won't notice it; but they WILL notice it if it ISN'T there.

There are many subtle movements and body postures that we take for granted or we are barely aware of but which none-the-less register in our brains as "what I'm seeing/hearing indicates this is a living creature rather than an inanimate object". Likewise, in a game world, the more you can emulate those subtle signs of life, the more realistic the game will seem.

You won't win any awards, accolades, or recognition as animators for adding these features. But when they are NOT present, people definitely notice that something isn't quite "right". The characters don't blink, they have expressionless faces, their eyes don't track objects in view, their heads don't turn to face a noise, their eyes aren't glossy, they don't react to stimuli (pain, heat, cold), etc. Living beings of the complexity of a mammal respond to their environment with a wide variety of behaviors. The more animators can integrate these responses into their characters, the more realistic they will seem. Guild Wars 3 perhaps 00:01, 13 July 2011 (UTC)