Battle Animation length/general discussion

[SLEEP]

If flashes trigger people with epilepsy and other problems caused by flashing lights, they need to take up a certain field of vision. A whole screen flash takes up a large field of vision, which makes it triggering. A good sound effect, and a target flash rather than a screen flash (a target flash takes up much less fov) can mitigate these problems, as well as slow flashes with time to ease in and out. Mostly though, some cool audio design can replace flashes no-risk, so go crazy with sound effects if fov problems get over the top!

 

[Eschaton]

I think the animations do not have to be very long at all in order to make the attack seem super-powerful, even if we're talking about character's or boss' ultimate attack. All it needs is just for it to look different to every other attack in the game and to make it look grand by maybe putting a lot of flashy stuff on the screen, but it can easily last under 10 seconds, maybe even 5. The right sound effects can also give it the right punch. I agree that the summon animations and some boss specials in FF games were way too long. The players will be even more picky and critical if this stuff happens in an indie RM game than something that's already popular.  

If you want the player to know it's powerful, have it do a crippling amount of damage.

 

[Silent Darkness]

My opinion is that the more memorable attacks are often not the ones that do the most damage, but the ones that look distinctive.

 

[Eschaton]

My opinion:  the attacks that piss me off the most are the ones I'm going to remember.  And dread.

 

[Silent Darkness]

I find that rather sad. I'm not joking. Srsly.

 

[Eschaton]

I've been playing too many WRPGs.  Short and sweet animations.

 

[Tai_MT]

There's a difference between an attack "looking distinctive" and "lasting far too long so that it overstays its welcome".  If you can't make your attack "distinctive" in less than 7 seconds, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Silent Darkness]

I think that powerful attacks that affect all enemies can be a bit longer.

 

[Kes]

I really question whether an animation should ever last more than 7 seconds - even if it is affecting all enemies.  That's actually quite a long time.  Usain Bolt only takes a couple of seconds longer to run 100m.  A 'distinctive' animation, plus significant damage is going to be a far more positive experience for most players (especially if they have to see it a lot of times) than something that drags on.

 

[Tai_MT]

7 Seconds is really close to the "tolerance level" of most players.  Longer than that, and you start running into "annoying" territory.  Look at any of the "major" attacks in Pokémon.  Most of those last no longer than 4 or 5 seconds.  The ones that really drag on in that game are the ones that do multiple hits like Doubleslap.  Those drag on much longer than even the strongest attacks in the game.

My absolute favorite animation in the Pokémon franchise is Aeroblast, which really lasts no longer than 3 or four seconds.  Second and a half charge up, couple second beam across the screen to hit the enemy, done.  Flash sprite, play damage sound, drain the bar.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yeah... long animation is a lot more of annoying than grand...


+ I think that an attack that has minimal animation + large damage output is much POWERFUL than an attack with long animation + large damage output... why? come on! It hit you almost instantly and still dealt large damage as opposed to the other one that either took time to charge or hit you for a long time frame and dealt around same damage...

 

[Berylstone]

I agree with those who say to keep them short and sweet.  At least as it regards the ones to be used frequently.

Because no matter how cool a long animation might look the first time you see it - it will eventually start to get tedious if the player has to watch it over and over.  For example: I have played RPGs in the past where I purposely did not use certain abilities just because I wasn't in the mood to watch the animation that went along with it.  So I would be careful to avoid a situation like that. 

Now If they are rare and not used very often I think it will be alright to make them longer.

 

[Hesufo]

I'm also on the side of short-and-sweet animations. On single target animations, any more than 3 or 4 seconds is too long. It could get a bit past 7 seconds in multi-target animations. The frequency with which I'll see the animations obviously plays a big part, as many in this thread have already pointed out. If it's a cheap or commonly-used ability, it better have a short animation because I'll have to plow through it often. This obviously hinders the desire to show off your prowess in making awesome animations that last long enough, but it all depends on the pace of battles.

Golden Sun did this well. For the usual battles, you have many usable Psynergy spells to hit single targets, groups of enemies or all targets. There are also lower-tier summons with nifty effects. Then come the higher-tier summons: these have pretty long animations but they were so damn badass I didn't really mind sitting through them - and I only really used them in boss fights (because of their high damage output and high recharge cost), so it was worth spending the extra time, in all honesty.

I'd like to bring out the Pokémon X & Y games too as a prime example, because I think they've outdone themselves in making short yet memorable animations. Look at the signature move of one of the Legendaries, Yveltal:




No more than about 3 seconds for an awesome animation. Also, I like the fact that gameplay effects such as the HP bar depleting happen while the animation plays.

 

[Omnimental]

Going to agree with the majority here and say that animations should be short and sweet.  The absolute most I would accept a constantly used ability's animation cycle to last would be three seconds, and that's pushing it.  You want to show me your uber sweet summon god spell?  Go ahead and make it flashy and epic the first time, but if you expect me to use it in combat afterwards you'd better have a shorter animation for my use.  ESPECIALLY if we're using an ATB and the enemy's gauges are filling up while I wait.

 

[Venks]

I think the animations do not have to be very long at all in order to make the attack seem super-powerful, even if we're talking about character's or boss' ultimate attack. All it needs is just for it to look different to every other attack in the game and to make it look grand by maybe putting a lot of flashy stuff on the screen, but it can easily last under 10 seconds, maybe even 5. The right sound effects can also give it the right punch. I agree that the summon animations and some boss specials in FF games were way too long. The players will be even more picky and critical if this stuff happens in an indie RM game than something that's already popular.  

My favorite attack in Poke'mon is easily Hydro Pump. I feel the animation and the sounds it makes do a great job making the move feel powerful. A lot of competitive Poke'friends all tell me to run Scald instead due to its higher accuracy... but it just isn't as fulfilling as landing a Hydro Pump. I feel sound plays a huge part in how good an attack can seem to a player and not enough developers realize this.

 

[Silent Darkness]

I hope it doesn't slowly devolve into the female characters thread, just drolling on and on. Okay, point taken. We're all rather settled on the length.

 

[Kyutaru]

Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite of the series and it's completely GF (summon) oriented.  Some of the summons take over a minute of the exact same animation over and over and over again, in a game where summoning your "pokemon" is the often the best possible move with the highest damage output.  So don't fear making a game with freakishly long animations... IT'S BEEN DONE BEFORE!

 

[kerbonklin]

Final Fantasy 8 is my favorite of the series and it's completely GF (summon) oriented.  Some of the summons take over a minute of the exact same animation over and over and over again, in a game where summoning your "pokemon" is the often the best possible move with the highest damage output.  So don't fear making a game with freakishly long animations... IT'S BEEN DONE BEFORE!

Actually i'm pretty sure like 80% of people just go through the game with Normal Attacks and spells alone. (With the right junction setups)  I never used GF summons once throughout my whole playthrough, lol.

Anyways, sure it's been done, but it's definitely not the right way to go most times.

 

[Tai_MT]

Keep in mind, Final Fantasy 8 does have a TON of design flaws that basically gear most players to just "spam attack to win".  Your GF summons are overly long and take forever, so there's really not point to casting them.  Especially since in the time you've summoned them and they've dealt damage, you could've dealt twice that amount of damage just mashing "Attack".  On top of which, most players really won't cast magic either (unless they absolutely have to) because it's much better to just draw and junction your best spells to your stats.  All of the mechanics in the game basically subconsciously tell a player to just "mash attack to win", because to do anything else wastes a massive amount of time or a really super valuable resource you could be using in much better ways.  What's even worse than only linking your magic spells to your stats?  Drawing magic.  Takes for freakin' ever.  Did you cast 8 Fire spells that last fight?  Guess what, 5 minutes of battle minimum to get those 8 Fires back!  Going from 0 to 100 of a spell?  You're looking at 20 minutes of Drawing Magic for at least two people (and enemies can run out of magic, so if they run out, you'll have to go into ANOTHER battle to do it again).  Yes, there are ways around Drawing Magic, but a good portion of them are also just as tedious.

Basically, FF8 wants you to mash "Attack" and nothing else.  Animation length teaches you to mash it, and how valuable the magic spells are during the junction process teaches you to mash it.

"Done Before" doesn't mean it's a great idea to begin with.  Sometimes, it just means someone was stupid enough to try it the first time.