Blizzard Animator Shows How the Doomfist Hero Select Animation Was Made
Blizzard animator David Gibson has released a video showing the process of creating the hero select animation for Doomfist.
The video shows the entire process of producing the animation, sped up to just a few minutes of footage.
The hero select animation is the movement the hero makes when switched to in the hero select screen. It’s one of the aspects of the game that, if done well, is both easy to overlook and yet contributes significantly to both the game’s feel and the character of each hero.
Doomfist’s hero select animation sees him turning to flex the Doomfist gauntlet, and also includes some smaller movements if he’s left idling. The video from David Gibson shows how the final pose was designed and selected, and then the process of creating the movement into that pose in a way that feels natural.
Animating Doomfist’s Hero Select – David Gibson @Poodletime from David Gibson on Vimeo.
Not only is the video a fascinating look into one of the processes of game design, it also serves as a reminder of the careful thought and work that goes into every aspect of the game, not just the obvious gameplay elements. In combination, the smaller details contribute massively to the overall quality of the experience.