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Animation & VFX · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Animation for Games

Animation in video games is functionally different from film; it must be interactive, responsive, and seamless. This course teaches the specialized workflow of “Game Play Animation.” Students will create looping cycles (Idles, Runs, Attacks) and learn to implement them into a Game Engine (Unity/Unreal). The curriculum covers state machines, blending, and the mechanics of weight and impact required for satisfying player control.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Create seamless, looping animation cycles (Idle, Walk, Run, Sprint)
  2. Understand the logic of "State Machines" and transition blending
  3. Master "Attack" and "Hit Reaction" timings for responsive gameplay
  4. Implement Inverse Kinematics (IK) for foot placement on uneven terrain
  5. Optimize animations for real-time performance (Bone counts/Compression)
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Game vs. Film: The Interactive Difference
  2. 02The Idle Cycle: "Keep Alive" Mechanics
  3. 03Locomotion I: The Walk Cycle (In-Place)
  4. 04Locomotion II: The Run & Sprint
  5. 05Transitions: Blending Walk to Run
  6. 06Directional Movement: Strafing
  7. 07Jumps: Launch, Loop, & Land
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Combat Animation I: The Attack Swing
  10. 10Combat Animation II: Anticipation & Impact
  11. 11Hit Reactions & Death Animations
  12. 12Exporting to Engine (FBX Pipeline)
  13. 13Setting up the State Machine (Animator Controller)
  14. 14Animation Layers & Masking
  15. 15Debugging & Polishing in Engine
  16. 16Final Project: Playable Character Set

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: Playable Character Set

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Game Anim: Video Game Animation Explained by Jonathan Cooper
  2. Video Game Animation Explained by Jonathan Cooper (2nd Ed)
  3. Game Character Animation by Paul Steed
  4. Unity Animation Essentials by Alan Thorn
  5. The Animator's Survival Kit (Applied to Games) by Richard Williams
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