Why Do Games "Feel" Good? | Project Feline Devlog #29

The animations were not an exclusive priority for this build as I dedicated a lot of my time to composing original music and sfx, only squeezing in time to make small improvements to the existing animations. I am not looking for feedback on the animations right now, as more work will be done on them later. I would appreciate thoughts on the music. While I appreciate comments, if you feel so inclined to criticise my work please do so constructively, and with consideration that I am one man making all of this and I am by no means a triple-A studio. All I ask for is time, patience, and support of my community. DISCLAIMER: Project Feline is in pre-production at the time of recording. Gameplay footage may not represent the final product. For more information, visit the development roadmap: projectfeline.com/roadmap. Join the Discord: projectfeline.com/discord Twitter: twitter.com/raymondafcripps Instagram: instagram.com/raymondafcripps Facebook: facebook.com/raymondafcripps

I think the anime speed-lines are just a little too eyecatching, but they probably feel more subtle when you're focused on the gameplay.

Regarding the running animation: I'd suggest you take a look at how Lucio from Overwatch is animated. His animations convey a lot of speed even though he is skating

I feel like the anime speedlines would be better as a temporary effect just as the character starts getting faster and then fade away shortly after as a sort of boost effect, right now it feels like it stays around too long weakening the impact.

Looks like a game about movement and momentum, however the thing that sticks out to me is the inconsistent momentum with sudden stopping, and seemingly no conservation of the characters speed. I think that having the character slowly gain momentum while running, or rapidly gain it from sliding/rail-riding etc would feel extremely satisfying. Also having momentum be lost from bumping into a wall or box would create more of a challenge to keep the momentum going without slowing down. That being said, incredible work so far, love what you're doing and looking forward to seeing more of Project Feline as time goes on.

While it’s stupid impressive you’re doing this yourself, I recommend getting advice from some friends/colleagues in game development or 3D art when you can. I personally feel as if the running animation is a downgrade from the skating animation in regards to game feel. I could go on for a paragraph or three why, but I’ll leave it at this: Skating is just more interesting. I disagree with the notion that it felt stiff due to the frame rate and agree that posing is likely the biggest factor, but that’s not necessarily a mistake with the choice of action, but maybe a lack of experience in posing. My first inclination was to say that the skating as it is rn looks too low effort at top speed for a parkour game, maybe consider longer strides? More exaggerated movement? But I couldn’t guarantee those would work without seeing them. It could also just be down to quality of animation, at which point, you should talk to an animator or a few and get feedback. I understand you’re still in the prototyping phase and shouldn’t spend too terribly long on this kind of polish, but any critique can be future-facing as well. Also all that aside, I just want to say that this is absolutely incredible work dude, been keeping an eye on this project for a while and will def be picking it up when it’s eventually out.

When she's in the air and grinding a rail, there's a lack of movement making it look like she just floating/standing there, it doesn't convey that she's raising and falling, or that she's trying to stay balanced. Love your videos and keep up the good work!

i'm very impressed that you're doing all of this yourself! you have lots of skill in many different areas!

I can't believe how far this game has come with the work you've put in. Well done! I love game animation and some things stuck out to me when watching. I think would exploring the following might further improve the flow of the parkour in your game : A different Jump anim whose pose transitions from your running pose rather than the old idle pose. Perhaps a different in air pose that has more of a forward directional feel. A different landing anim whose pose transitions to your running pose rather than the old idle pose. A landing anim for when you begin a wall run A landing anim for when you begin a rail grind A jump off anim for when you jump off of a rail grind Some anim that gives an indication of the dash being performed other than the characters shifting in itself And perhaps an anim of the character skidding to a stop when coming to a stop rather than just going idle straight away. I'm not an animator, I just really love great animation in games and I pay close attention to it. I hope this is useful more than it is critical. Keep up the good work!

I don't know why but the movement / Character still looks so clunky. It feels like there are too litte animations, like different animations for different movements

By the way, Spider-Man Miles Morales just released a trailer for the inclusion of the suit from the animated Into the Spider-Verse. You can see in the swinging gameplay using this suit that the frames of the animation are limited and it looks sick! Thought you might be interested.

The wall skating looks weird without the skating run

This Devlog was so perfectly timed, its almost like its here to rescue me from my slump and lack of motivation. Great work as always btw!

First of all, this is the part of game design that I've been waiting fornyou to get to. The part where everything comes together and magic happens. Im so happy that you've reached it. Now you have EVERYWHERE to go to. I cant wait for where you go to next. On a different note, you don't have to scrap the skating and hunched over pose just yet. Have you thought about adding a break and a dash button? Think Pepsi man game where he breaks and hunches over for a few frames then dashes forward,breaking the obstacles in his path. You can have gabby break for a few frames, then dash forward for a bit for a burst of speed (covered in energy shield) to break through obstacles like enemies and walls. And the dash is few frames of her skating pose,just held longer. You can also do air dashes using those animations. So no wasted animations. ANYWAYS HOPE YOU THE BEST OF LUCK LOVE YOUR WORK♥

3:50 i'd say it's not just about posing, but also keyframe spacing. anime action rarely (in fact, never) has regular keyframe spacing, since the spacing is the only tool that kind of animation has to convey rythm, tempo and emphasis on key moments.

The new art effects look great and the music is better then anything I could do. This is getting cooler every video!

Your music is very strong for the skyport level. To enhance more game-feel I would make it that the music's volume adjusts to the speed the player is going.

This game has huge potential... fast-paced and visually pleasing

Seeing how the game has progressed since i started watching the devlogs is really amazing. It's almost like it's a completely different thing, but i can still kinda feel the things that started it all, it's pretty cool. All this polish really gave me a new perspective of the game, and i feel more excited about how it will all turn out now than ever. I do gotta say tho, i'm gonna miss the skating animation. It was one of the things that inpired a game idea that's been bouncing on my head for quite a while now.

I’ve been waiting so long for a new video