Animation Chronicles - Episode 2: Animation Controllers

I've created IK handles for my skeleton's feet, which allows me to quite easily pose them (e.g. in order to place the skeleton in a sitting position, I just have to translate the hip joint). Thing is, IK handles are a bit small and are hard to reach when the the skeleton is skinned. For this reason, I'm going to create controllers. We'll also see that it has other advantages.

Animation chronicles - Episode 1: Joints and IK handles

DISCLAIMER: I am not an animator, This series of articles represent what I understood from my experiments and may contain mistakes.

When making my custom rig, I intend to work from the feet to the hands. Since the feet are closer to the root in the hierarchy, that should make things easier. But before actually starting on making the rig, let's quickly to talk about bones in order to understand why I need to do what I'm about to do.

Animation chronicles: Prologue

Character animation is one the aspects of game development in which I have little to no practical skills. I know how it works, but I don't really know how to do it. I've decided to change that.

Gamasutra - A rational approach to Racing Game Track Design

Very good article on the subject. Most of it is common sense, but it's always better when put into words.

Although the article is focussed on arcade racers, the metrics described are valid for any kind of racing game.

Link

Camera axes: To invert or not to invert?

If you're the kind of person who likes to browse a game's menu and settings before playing (or if you're the kind of person having trouble with camera rotation in games), you probably know that many first person and third person games allow you to invert the x and/or the y axis of the joystick/mouse for camera movement. But why do we have that option, and why should game developers care about that? Let's see...

New Game+

New Game+ is the name (or one of the names) of the game feature that lets the player restart a game while retaining some of the stuff earned in a previously finished game save, like experience, skills, money, weapons...

The Unsung Secret of Great Games - and How Some Games Get It So Wrong

Interesting paper on how the rhythm of the game's mechanics makes it feel good or not.

The Unsung Secret of Great Games - And How Some Games Get It So Wrong