Parametric animation is an
animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
technique used in
video game graphics
A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
that combines two or more separate animations together to form a new composite animation. This new animation is constructed in real-time by the
game engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
rather than being stored in a separate file. Parametric animations can reduce artist workload during
game development
Video game development (or gamedev) is the software development, process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a video game developer, developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. ...
and provide a smoother appearance.
This technique was first used in an early version of the game
Team Fortress 2
''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
.
Motivation
In game development, animators are required to create unique animations to reflect actions performed by the player, e.g. shooting, reloading, and jumping. If the player were to jump while shooting, the artist would have two choices:
* Allow the game to display the animation with higher priority — in this case, shooting
* Create a separate animation depicting simultaneous jumping and shooting
To handle all such cases, the animator would need to create composite animations for every combination of actions; running while shooting, strafing while shooting, jumping while reloading, etc. With parametric animation, an animator only needs to create a few base animations from which the composite animations can be automatically constructed.
Mechanism
Animations have layer and priority data that can be combined and overridden. For example, a shooting animation might override the character's torso to point the gun forward but defer lower body movement to the active run, jump, or strafe animation.
References
Computer animation
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