The video game world is dynamic and has seen rapid evolution in technology and development over the years. Many new and innovative technologies and advanced techniques paved the way for this development. Among them, animation and VFX have been widely used in video games nowadays to create a more exciting and immersive gaming experience for the players. 

What is Animation?

Animations gives life to the game by enabling the movement of the inanimate objects. In a video game, animation helps to give life to characters, environment, and other game assets.  

Animations have come a long way from traditional methods where they make hand-drawn images for each frame and take photographs of them. These photographed images are then displayed on the film. But now, with the advancement in technology game art outsourcing studios started making animations with the use of the computer.

2D animation, 3D animation, stop motion, motion capture, and traditional animation are the various types of animations that are used in video games. To create these animations the game artists use game development tools such as Houdini, Autodesk Maya, Cinema 4D, Modo, Lightwave, Unity, and many other tools.

Importance of Animation in Video Games

A good animation should be able to provide a realistic and immersive gaming experience for the players. Animations have achieved a huge feet in the video game industry in recent times. With the help of animations, video game developers were able to create realistic characters and have human-like movements and actions.

More than words, expressions, and body language can speak volumes. The animation artists capture the body language and facial expressions of the characters. The more expressive the animations are the more interactive the game is. These interactive animations help players to understand the personality of the characters and their role in the game. Moreover, they give more value and engagement with the NPCs.

What is VFX?

Visual effects or VFX are the effects added to the game that are neither characters nor objects. They make use of illusion to make the unnatural things look more realistic and believable. They help in enhancing the realism and overall gaming experience of the players. 

An important thing that you need to be clear of is that ‘VFX is not special effects’. Many people think that VFX and special effects are the same. But, they are both different. VFX is created post-production using computer while the special effects are made using pyrotechnics, lighting, etc., and recorded live in a studio. 

Morphing, Motion Capture, Computer Generated Images (C.G.I.) are some of the types of VFX used in video games. In order to create the best VFX, the game artists use technologies like Unity, Unreal, 3ds Max, and Adobe After Effects.

Importance of VFX in Video Games

Visual effects play a huge role in enhancing the engagement and gaming experience for the players. Visual effects in video games are basically classified into two categories. They are gameplay effects and peripheral effects. In video games, gameplay effects are those that are powerful explosions, transfer portals, eye-capturing, and colorful effects that attract players attention. Whereas peripheral effects include more fine effects such as heavy rain, snow, fire, etc. 

The use cases of visual effects in video games are vast. Some of them include environmental effects, particle effects, magic spells, character abilities (like superpowers), fluid effects, UI elements, transition effects, real-time reflection and refraction, and weather cycle effects. 

Most of the video games use VFX not only to engage more audience but also to provide a more immersive and realistic gaming experience for the players.

Role of Animation and VFX in Video Games

Animation and VFX are both very crucial components that play a huge part in making an immersive, engaging, and realistic video game that players love to play. With the development of more sophisticated technology, the game studios managed to create the illusion of the real world in video games. 

The animation and visual effect specifications are different for different gaming platforms. Mobile games have smaller screen sizes. Hence, a mobile game development company focuses on creating low resolution and light weight animation effects. While when you consider PC, console, and other advanced technologies like VR headsets, the game development studio focuses on creating more refined and high quality (resolution) animations.

Also, while creating animations and visual effects, one has to remember their targeted audience to provide a satisfying gameplay for the players. For example, when your targeted audience are kids, make sure to make a more lightweight animation effect, that a small child can enjoy.

In addition to that, the game genre also plays a huge role in deciding the animation requirements of the game. If the game is visually appealing and more engaging, it will help the audience to engage and interact more with the game. 

Conclusion

VFX and animations are important parts of video games to create a compelling and visually stunning gaming experience for the audience. With the use of the right technology, techniques, and strategy, visual effects and animations help in improving the quality of the video game. In the future too, with enhancement in sophisticated technologies, the animations and visual effects might see multiple transformations in order to achieve an even more realistic and higher visual quality.