Desolate Echo – Week 7

So, I’ve been working on an animation for an energy shield for the hovercraft, specifically when the shield is recharged and re-activated again after being depleted by an enemy’s attack.
This is what I ended up with:
(and it’s looking pretty cool if I may say so myself)

I used GraphicsGale as usual, as the ability to create layers with opacity really is a big help in making this kind of transparent shield.

Design-wise I went with a bubble shield as it looks good, is easy to understand and implement, and is most plausible if you crave realism in all things (because of magnetic fields and such, I’d rather not go into it now, I’m very tired).
To make it look more like the kind of blocky design we wanted to give to our protagonists’ technology, I made the bubble consist of several hexagonal panels. The bubble shield featured in Halo 3 has been a major influence for this artefact.

The animation was done by creating the brightest state of the shield first, using multiple layers of circles and one layer with the hexagonal panels. Then, I gradually made the different layers more transparent until they disappeared completely.
I also made some panels disappear before the rest, and then some more of them, and then even more, until I achieved an effect where it looks like the panels go out a bit asymmetrically.
After that, I simply made a reverse version for the build-up and followed the whole thing up with some panels that light up individually. I made it so that one panel never completely disappear before another lights up, except for the last one.

The whole point of this animation is to give the player a visual feedback that their shield is recharged and fully operational again. I wanted it to be eye-catching without it being too distracting, you are supposed to be able to tune it out after a while, only registering its mechanical significance when it happens. Also, it’s not supposed to look like something bad is happening, you’re supposed to feel reassured and a tiny bit safer.
Speed-wise, I tried to make it so that it would match the sound effect we had chosen for this feature. It’s kind of an electronic “whooshy” sound, that turns into a short stream of sounds that are somewhere between beeping and clicking.

All in all, it turned out pretty good. I think.

Well, that’s it for this week. More to come.

About Peter Andersson

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