Are animations better simple or complex?

[AwesomeCool]

I see tons of overly complex animations in lots of games, but is it really a good idea?  I get the general idea that over the top animations impress, but with each flashy animation you have to go more complex with the next one to keep on impressing.

And is it really worth it for animations to be super over the top to begin with?  A swordsman doesn't generally go the speed of light after all.

What are your thoughts on animations?

 

[captainproton]

Like anything, the answer is somewhere in the middle. Some visual razzledazzle is pleasant and pretty much expected in a game. But if you have too much going on, then the player can't focus. Also, skill/spell animations shouldn't be too long, either. See FF7's Knights of the Round summon for an example. Plus, too much actual flashing, and you run a real risk of inducing seizures.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I prefer simple ones as they're easier to the eyes, plus I don't play games for the battle animations.. Though I'm mostly more concerned of the time, anything beyond around 3 seconds seems to be so long for me. Unless of course it's an action RPG which the effects last for a long time, then long animations would make sense.

I really liked the ultimate attacks on Valkyrie profile though, but you know it still gets tiring to look at after some time. 

 

[TheoAllen]

In my personal opinion, the animation should be satisfying to look. How to make it satisfying is depends. Simple animation could be satisfying enough if you could done it properly. Not only graphical part, sound effect could affect it as well. 

But as general rule, it should not take too long if the animation displayed many times (such as normal attacks). 

A swordsman doesn't generally go the speed of light after all.

It just the matter of the total time of animation. I personally don't really like if I need to wait the battler moving to the target and it already took half second. Attack the target slowly could make me bored already. Even it doesnt really makes sense that the battler move to target in 5 frames and looks so fast, it saves much time.

 

[boldpaste2]

Simple ones most of the time but for any of those super powerful spells you get sometime later in the game then I would feel a scene of satisfaction for super animation (so long it's not overdone.)

*cough* like this one

 

[whitesphere]

I think, in most cases, a good battle animation is simple, has some flash and is quick.  It lets the player know what happened, without slowing down the action.

If you have really over-the-top animations, like the DS version of Final Fantasy IV's Summons, it's essential to allow the player some way to skip the animation (pressing a button on the DS version for example).  Even if there is an Ultimate Attack, it shouldn't take TOO long to execute, or it's just plain silly.

It also depends on the type of game. If you're doing a JRPG, they can have FAR more theatrical animations than you might use in a Modern RPG or a Cuthulu-esque game.  The more modern or realistic the game is, the more subdued the animations should be.  After all, when you fire a regular gun, it doesn't cause a 5 second theatrical display, does it?  Now, if you had a nuke in the game and used it, it probably WOULD show a much longer animation...

So there's no one-size-fits-all rule.  But make sure, if an animation is longer and more theatrical, the player has some easy way to skip it. 

 

[AwesomeCool]

@Theo I see your point on realism and like the idea of less used moves being more flashy.

What I am getting from everyone so far is that animations should be short (or skip-able) and have mostly simple animations with some complex ones for the bigger spells/skills.

 

[Missile]

Another thing (not sure if anyone else feels this way), but screen flashes during quick animations can be very taxing. When you're sitting 2-3 feet away from your monitor and it flashes white every time your character executes a simple, snappy skill, it messes with your eyes. Especially in a dark room.

 

[Wavelength]

I assume you're talking story animations.  I actually really like when games include very complicated, multi-faceted animations.  It helps immerse me and makes things seem less cheesy.  If you're good at making these, go all-out with them, even for simple scenes - it will truly help draw people in.

For battle animations, I also like them pretty complex, but these need to be as quick as possible - ideally less than one second for common spells/attacks and no more than three seconds for rare things like Limit Breaks.

And while flashy is good, avoid overuse of actual flashes, which are uncomfortable on the eyes.

 

[Tsukihime]

To be fair about FF7, it's pretty over-powered and if you can just spam that quickly, things just get too easy (toss in a few mimes in there as needed...)


Forcing you to decide between a quicker battle that may take a few extra actions or just throwing a summon at them while waiting half a minute is a good way to discourage players from using it too much.


So whether you're going for simple or complex also takes into account the purpose of the animation.

 

[Nivlacart]

Early Dragon Quest games had really simple animations and I was satisfied with those.

Cooler names usually should warrant cooler animations though.

 

[Omnimental]

Assuming skill in asset creation isn't an issue, complex animations are almost always better than simple animations.  Keeping in mind that complex animations are not necessarily longer than simple animations.  Subtle complexity can have a powerful affect on how you feel about the game.  Just make sure the flashiness is balanced properly.  Major abilities and bosses can (arguably should) have flashier animations, basic attacks and trash mobs should be more subdued.  Ration your pizazz properly, and you'll be fine.

 

[OM3GA-Z3RO]

FF8 made an advantageous approach on long summon animations, while the animation is going you can try and boost your summons damage if you don't accidentally press the boost button while the X is over the boost button (Resets the boost power level)

FF9 also did well on summon animations, they allowed you to see the whole summon animation the 1st time you cast it and through out the game it shows you only the last bit of the animation but you still have a small chance that it will show the full animation again, if that happens it means the summon is going to deal more damage,

 

[Patryk]

I like how default animations are in RPG Maker. More advanced animations are not overly complex, but they're not too simple. A perfect balance. In the end, if I had to chose, I'd chose simple ones, because it's just such a pain to wait through some of the longer animations in some games, it just makes playing the game annoying.