Just because you're using 3D models, that doesn't mean everything needs to be realistic. Today, I'll go over some "unreal" visual techniques you can try.
mega man legends is so timeless aesthetically because of the tricks capcom pulled off to replicate manga styles on low poly models, i miss the series dearly
coneg
Always remember, exaggeration is how animation reaches its fullest potential as a medium
kaplooeygames
The first three Crash Bandicoot games were a revelation in their era, because the PS1 couldn't do the kind of dynamically-calculated squashing, stretching, and movement exaggerations of animation bones that Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin wanted to do (since they wanted the Crash games to have the animated feel of a Warner Bros Looney Tunes cartoon).
The solution they came up with was basically an animation form of pre-rendered 3D graphics, where they used high-powered workstations to initially calculate and animate the characters using vertex-based animation (moving around the points that make up the anchors of the 3D polygons for a 3D model, basically moving them without underlying animation bones) to pull off the extreme exaggerations they wanted, while another computer recorded the points and relative changes in where the models were moving and then stored them as pre-rendered movements. This meant the animations, once recorded, couldn't be dynamically adjusted by the PS1, but they could re-record the animations after making changes. The results of course are visible in the high quality of the Looney Tunes styled slapstick physical comedy of Crash and the other characters (best demonstrated with all of Crash's various failure animations).
GreyWolfLeaderTW
I can't not think of Dragonball Fighterz and how it uses camera angles and model warping to get those iconic expressions.
theotherky
Dang! Someone finally mentioned MML's facial textures and animation. That game truly was ahead of its time.
benpilotti
Sonic, Mega Man, Crash Bandicoot, and Tom & Jerry got mentioned by Sakurai
plumberboy
And here's me, most taken aback that Tom & Jerry of all things is mentioned!
FightingTorque
If talking about doing manga-like CGI, ArcSystemWorks ought to get a mention too, but then again, they're not doing manga-like visuals... they're literally doing manga-visuals with frame by frame stuff.
sinteleon
Dang, Mega Man Legends and Crash Bandicoot both getting mentioned by Sakurai-sensei. Sweet! Love manga visuals!
LucidPhoton
I am so glad he mentioned Sonic's side mouth! Sonic Unleashed was the first game where Sonic team got the bright idea to program Sonic's mouth to snap to whatever side of his face was angled towards the camera. They've been using that system ever since and for a character with a stylized mouth like Sonic, it does a lot to preserve his cartoon-y charm in 3D. In games where Sonic's mouth stays dead center he kind of looks like a Muppet and it's off-putting, especially head-on (in my opinion at least), so I do think that stylization really makes a difference.
Storm-tesf
Seeing that trick with Mega Man Legends gives me some ideas. A lot of 2D cartoon styles might be able to be replicated with some kind of anchor towards the camera, kind of like how older Nintendo games would make sprites constantly face the main character to cover up the lack of depth.
connordarvall
Oh man the timing! Just some days ago a dev channel I really like (Guinxu) posted a video about this exact topic- it's a really interesting new perspective, something that as a player you really don't even notice, but devs have to actively design and polish!
I really recommend that video for those interested, the video is in spanish but I believe it has english subtitles
piranhabones
I thought we were gonna get into the slight-of-hand done when displaying that type of manga-style mouth on cel-shaded 3D characters without the use of swapping cels, but instead with 3D modelling. Perhaps Sakurai didn't want to alarm his viewers, even though this is for gamemaking? The disfigured models for manga-style faces is actually fascinating to see without the final render hiding all the design that goes into it.
ojhat
Didn't expect to see Crash Bandicoot here. That's really cool.
MrConnman
Crying grateful tears as Masahiro Sakurai talks about the small things that we work hard to implement into games as 3D artists, even down to Sonic's side mouth. So lucky this channel exists to point people towards about this subject, it's so hard to explain as someone who does this stuff regularly to someone who doesn't know the big terms.
projectalpha_va
I always enjoyed the charming aesthetic of more cartoony styles.
NotTheWheel
1:00 "I wonder what it would look like if we could see the model from the front..."
Boundary Break: _It's my time to shine!_
chaosmiles
I love these videos, super informative and well edited. I can watch these videos all day!! I can't wait to use these tips into practice. Thanks for being a big part of my childhood.
bluegamingpanda
1:10 New Frame Plus has a great example of Sonic and his shifting mouth during the Unleashed segment, where you can really see how the game always adjusts the position of his mouth to face the screen
LegamSSF
I like him bringing out Tom & Jerry, cartoon from the late 40s, i was watching the 1949 christmas episode and i noticed that it was like an animation showcase of some sorts, with Jerry freezing, reflections, fire things, very interesting indeed, like a proof of concept for the full series going forward.
