When Ian and I founded Big Sir in 2015, the idea was that I would be spending all my time on character animation, which is all I was really trained in. Now, animation is only like a third of my role here. I’ve filled in the gaps just about everywhere – concept art, modeling, sound design, web design, game design, testing, balancing, producing, secretarying, marketing and probably 10 other things that I’ve forgotten.
I haven’t done a ton of animation in the last few months, but big things are in store after I finish up some marketing work. The plan is for our main character to interact a lot more with his environment. I keep thinking about the used boat salesman from The Secret of Monkey Island as reference for this. Morvin will just be moving his arms randomly, but with more purpose than the salesman. We’ve tested out a few iterations of this already and we’re definitely getting closer to the look we’re going for. The challenge for this kind of thing is making sure Morvin moves right away when a key is pressed or mouse is clicked. That means there will be little to no anticipation on a movement, which makes all my animator brain cells spaz out.
We’ll also be adding in more interact animations for the customers. They already have individual animations for most “modules” they use, but we’d also like them to be aware of Morvin in the space and move out of his way when he comes barreling through. Whatever we end up doing, it will be hilarious and we’ll be sure to share it here.
Wish us luck!
Erin