ANTICIPATION - The 12 Principles of Animation in Games

[@forresthenry297]

I remember a GDC talk by a League of Legends animator where they showed how they had their default pose be an anticipation pose, like having a bow character keep an arrow nocked at all times. Pretty cool trick to have both good anticipation and responsive characters!

[@luuketaylor]

I remember when I first noticed that in Uncharted (more specifically, the multiplayer). When Drake or other characters stand still, they don't stand straight up like we normally would. They're always slightly crouched and look like they're ready to start running, which is exactly what you, the player, makes them do. It keeps everything very fluid, and ND is known for their insane attention to detail in their animation and blend trees.

[@thatthinker]

That talk really changed the way I thought about autoattacks in mobas, specifically because I was playing a lot of Dota 2 at the time, which has Drow Ranger do her full anticipation before firing, which is ... a thing at least, lol.

[@ArcaneAvian19]

I was actually just thinking about this in terms of real life. I'm a fencer, and part of being a good fighter is reducing your anticipation (which we call telegraphing) as much as possible. However, the stance we start in basically allows us to transition into almost all our standard techniques with little-to-no build up.

[@sampawli7985]

When you realize the intro shot of Mewtwo charging power was anticipation for the credits shot of Pichu getting blasted

[@IronPineapple]

every video on this channel is such a treat

[@ACuriousTanuki]

I like that in a lot of games with combos, the sequence of actions is shaped so that the recovery pose of the previous action often serves as a sort of anticipation for the next. It's less visible in the Smash example at 4:21, but more so at 6:56, and is pretty clear in other examples like at 5:05 and 5:31.

[@silkworm2595]

Kinda like boxing. Lots of these games have anime styles so the low frame rate makes up for the drastic transitions

[@carrot5779]

What game is 5:05? I've seen it before but dont remember the name and its bothering me.

[@sledgehammersssssquad3624]

@@carrot5779 River City Girls

[@RobWirdWachsen]

I mean it can't really by a sort of anticipation, as the player still decides whether the next attack will be coming or not. But in all your examples the recovery frames and anticipation frames (or first attack frames) transition so nicely (because the body stays in exactly the same stance) and it just looks really smooth

[@BergsArt]

Monster Hunter really nails it for me. The move with the longsword, where your character flies up in the air and slices down at the monster. The WIND UP for the last swing gives you that split second decision to change the direction you aim the sword at, making the overall feeling of both SLOW AND RESPONSIVE at the same time. Truly genius.

[@JoshForeman]

Been anticipating this one for a long time!

[@swoleboiproductions]

Haha so funny wow

[@nicholasharvey5628]

Yes!!!

[@ivanaviNiebla]

In smash bros. ultimate; the smash attacks, when charging up, look like the anticipation of a cartoon, you know what's going to happen, and how hard it's going to hit.

[@matiidesign]

ivanaviNiebla except G&W lol

[@Gamyeon]

Hearing your talking about Sekiro and being able to deliver the proper response, all I could hear was "That was a sweep". Amazing video as always. And it's really fun to see footage from Playframe!

[@20XSteveX08]

This might be the a reason why Red Dead Redemption 2 feels so sluggish at times. They went for more realistic animations and so the anitcipation time is much longer.

[@NewFramePlus]

That is a big part of it! They're giving each movement the time it needs for proper weight shifts and realistic physicality, which usually results in less responsive control.

[@NestorCustodio]

See also: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ7Ye6yvoN9_ras

[@20XSteveX08]

@@NestorCustodio Awesome. Didn't know there was already a whole video about it. Thanks!

[@azuregriffin1116]

I personally like it. I think it gives a certwin weightiness to it. Gritty.

[@funa8843]

to me personally, the best thing about good animation is that it FEELS like real life, but its so much better

[@Kiladahut]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for including links to the Music used. I can drive myself crazy catching a few seconds of a song and spending too much brain power piecing the whole song together from those few notes, or I just wanna listen to it myself.

[@Ansible100]

Really interesting stuff here! Dan, two things: This channel got name-dropped on the Overly Sarcastic Production Hollow Knight Stream yesterday. 2: You need to check out the anime “Keep your Hands off Eizoken”. It’s an anime about animation, they discuss a lot of the principles you showcase here, and it’s really really cute besides.

[@jonasboel2473]

A specific moment I hold dear to my heart in video games was using anticipation to facilitate teamwork. Me and a friend was playing Terraria and was fighting a boss that dealt way to m damage for the level we were on, but had so much wind up, that if you just looked at him, it was practically impossible to get hit, however due to all the m he had, my friend focused on taking it the minions while I focused of the boss. Due to the wind up, I could call out "JUMP!" just before the attack, which allowed my friend to avoid the attack. SUCH an awesome feeling I team work

[@Artista_Frustrado]

seeing a new New Frame Plus episode fills me with antici...

[@Artista_Frustrado]

...pation!

[@Artista_Frustrado]

-oh Byleth actually hits without her sword, neat -one of the uses for removing anticipation that I have seen is to sell the speed of action, for example, Dudley's punches in Street Fighter Third Strike

[@lephoquebleu8302]

I was scrolling to find a Rocky Horror reference, thank you.

[@ernestotorelli1209]

The slow acceleration in the Nameless King's thrust immediately sells you on the fact that there's half a ton of swordspear coming your way.

[@Actual_Mr_G]

It's usually difficult to see in the heat of battle all those details. But, without them games would feel very empty. Thanks for reminding us of the work that goes into our entertainment.

[@queas]

Thanks for still making these. I noticed they aren't the top viewed videos for you and I think people just don't realize how important the 12 principles are to the craft. I feel like I'm making my career so far off of two.

[@SheezyBites]

5:33 Specifically with swords it can be pretty accurate physically, maybe not the way Link swings (which I understand he does for readability) but many sword swings are powered by the wrist and a shift of weight, both being things you can do quickly, but that do take a while to recover from (often by making a sword loop, rather than a full body gesture, but sure). There are similar things you can do with spears and other medieval weapons but more situationally... but martial arts are often about removing anticipation and readability from your own movements, which doesn't exactly help game animators do their job.

[@spectacularlysentimental]

It's really sad that this series isn't performing well on your channel. It's really educational and fun. It's like, the best thing on New Frame Plus. Thank you for this amazing video and not quitting on this series!

[@callowguru2611]

Ooh that ending animation from Sayonara Wild Hearts demonstrates it so well. It makes you want to see it happen.

[@NailGunZero]

How is your comment already a day old if the video was just released a few seconds ago for me?

[@ericvilas]

@@NailGunZero I think Patreon supporters get videos a day before the rest of us?

[@JochemKuijpers]

Plus, it's an amazing ending to the video. The way the teleport lines up with the outtro is great :D

[@597das]

thank you! I was looking for the name of that game

[@deusdragonex]

Just so you know, this video, and your comment specifically, introduced me to Sayonara Wild Hearts, which had a profound effect on me last year. It was a game that just came at the right time in my life. So, you know, kudos to you.

[@nospimi99]

Yes! Normally I’ll put KZbin on in my headphones while getting stuff done, but if it’s a NFP video, I’ll drop what I’m doing and focus on what’s happening. The writing is so clean, and the editing to show examples of what you’re talking about as you’re saying it is great. Love these principal videos so much, looking forward to the next ones!

[@NightFore]

I was *anticipating* this video so much that I clicked instantly the moment I saw it.

[@Ban-Dam]

Every single one of your videos is a masterpiece.

[@g1ngerbred723]

When I saw the video title I kind of immediately thought about how Mario almost uses the principal of anticipation and puts into the players control. Specifically I'm thinking about how,in order to long jump, the player has to crouch while running, and then hit jump. The crouch IS the anticipatory action, and it sells the idea of this being a big jump. Similar thing can be said for the backward somersault and the side somersault. It's pretty tight imho!

[@NSilverwolf]

I love how this series is demonstrating so clearly how all of these principles are dependent on each other to create the full experience. Another great job!

[@TheGamerASD]

**Sees Comments made 1 day ago** Video: **2 minutes old** Me: **confused screaming**

[@NewFramePlus]

$5 Patrons get to see new episodes a bit early!

[@ScentedPineForest]

Patreons get early access to videos.

[@Nugcon]

So you're saying that I can time travel for $5

[@roy4173]

@@Nugcon You won't find better prices anywhere else

[@Jedi2016]

@@NewFramePlus Would you call that an... anticipation animation? I'll leave now.. lol

[@chan742]

I find it fun that, for video games, giving the player an anticipation movement helps them avoid attacks. While in some combat sports, like fencing, part of the objective is to have as little anticipation movement as possible, so that your opponent DOESN'T have the information to avoid your attack.

[@DaakkuuYRS]

Well duh, because games like Sekiro and Nioh are single players that meant to beatable and fair (despite being super hard). Sports' fairness are shaped by their the rules, not by their players' actions.

[@Storyograph]

This was the episode I was waiting for! I always wondered why playable video game characters don't anticipate much, but yet their animation still seems to work. Great explanation!

[@oswaldhomolka]

About anticipation, in "Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition" there is a jump animation that i dislike very much. There is nearly no wind up, it looks like you just fly up!

[@NikolaBg35]

Quality content as always. Keep it up! It's fun how if you look at combat sports like boxing for example they are trying to hide that windup as much as possible. You don't want your opponent to see your jab incoming. I think these anticipations in animation and movies as well has led to people having a very distorted view of an actual fight. :D

[@voltaicdrake5968]

I always love Dan's videos. Playframes is great but I also enjoy seeing these more in-depth dives in subjects and games he really loves. Also, I really like his taste in music. I've noticed the different music for the intros and outros of his playframe videos but I hadn't paid as much attention to the New Frame music.

[@GameOver-ou1ge]

1:56 looking like a big wide surprise. (I don't know if that's what he sound but some ppl will get the reference 😂)

[@Matthew_Klepadlo]

This concept can also apply to music as well. Ever heard of DragonForce? With a large portion of their songs, they have the video game sounds and they’re sometimes used as a windup/anticipation to prepare you right before their craziest solos. It conveys to us metalheads that we are going to get something amazing, while it conveys to the rest of society that you’ll be getting something insane lol.

[@salgen1319]

Thank you Dan! I think these are the most interesting videos you make, and really want to know about all the principles, and a large reason to my interest is probably your supreme telling of these facts!

[@lynkedchain1511]

I love the "Hello" at the start of this video it sounds so adorable

[@charlieboothby7347]

Happy that I discovered this video series as it is still being worked on so that it can be fresh and use recent examples, less happy that I now have to wait for more videos

[@zenith8417]

Animation is one of the most incredible artforms I've ever seen. Shadow of the Collosus is a perfect example of Anticipation. It's slow, weighty, and gives the illusion of immense power. You have plenty of time to move, but seeing the slow wind-up is just stunning, you really feel like you're fighting a giant.

[@wwbim]

Nice series! But, oh my it seems to need 6 years to cover all 12 principles...can't wait already.

[@kiruk4to]

This is my favourite video on the 12 principles and it's bothering me that it isn't getting more views.

[@lonthecomposer884]

Im so glad you guys are doing this, your channel is the reason I discovered animation and I realize that this is something I actually want to pursue

[@ultramarinescommander]

Changing playback speed to 2.0 for that higher pitch nostalgia. Great video!

[@coenphillips4233]

The fact that he referred to immeaditiate input being important and showed a clip of sfv is absolute comedy gold

[@vecvecvec]

As an aspiring artist, this is easily one of my favorite channels on YT. I take notes every time :P please keep it up!!

[@Gilbot9000]

Excellent video as always, Dan. I was just explaining the other day how the anticipation poses of Cuphead bosses make the difficulty of fighting them fair, because it puts the pressure on you as a player to respond appropriately to my wife just the other day.

[@sjames551]

I missed these videos. So much interesting stuff to learn about game design just in the visual conveyance of information.

[@sbrowley947]

It might have nothing to do with anything, but seeing that pichu happily bounce was great at the end there

[@prophetroll4086]

I always look forward to your next video, they're really informative and fun, could you do a video on ragdoll and physics such as with clothes?

[@1LosTemplarios1]

I love that you made us wait Mewtwo’s attack for the entire video.

[@dantefromdevilmaycry9857]

3:01 Best Boss Fight!! You're fighting Three, and yet it's fair.

[@MarionetteDuAuguste]

New frame plus got talked about on overly sarcastic productions by Jocat...what a wonderfully interconnected world we live in

[@yaboi821]

1:14 strong golfer dont need no anticipation frames

[@Theyungcity23]

The animation style is really interesting because even though it has such a grim and oppressive aesthetic the animations often feel doll like. Like Woody from Toy Story where the animation is great but it’s conveying that the character doesn’t have a lot of body weight.

[@captaint.tearex9279]

Finally Monster Hunter is featured on this channel, even if only for a bit and not as much as in your first Anticipation video. Great video regardless, and keep up the good work!

[@andrewmirror4611]

There is a very good GDC talk from a Skullgirls animator with very good anticipation stuff, and just how little you actually need to sell a move. Like initially animations were drawn much longer than they are in the game, this move has to be 8 frames fast, and it's one of the slower ones, with these kinds of constrains you as an animator have to properly work on the actual magic of animation, when there are no in-between throw out frames, and still put anticipation, and prioritize anticipation over everything else

[@KyleSchutter6]

Honestly felt like the video was too short for how interesting it was. I'd love to see more in-depth examples of the principles and the specific pros/cons of including them!

[@Khae.]

You know, I think this is why that gif of Sage Northcutt doing a front flip looks so strange to me. I don't see the anticipation of it. He just tosses a leg back (which I only noticed at 25% of normal playback speed) and just... does a frontflip. Check it out, it looks super weird, and he makes it look SO easy.

[@eNDiKay]

Great vid, Dan, as always!

[@lilfrailecillo6506]

Yaaaaaaaay! Love it EVERY time you upload Dan. You’re the best!

[@alexandrecucatti4887]

Nice work, Dan! I'd like to suggest you to put a note on the screen for which game the current footage is from, like GMTK does. I'm curious for the last game you put on the video, but no clue on how to find it

[@HeeminGaminStation]

a little surprised you didn't mention any charge attacks. but seriously I love these Principles videos.

[@Binidj]

Dan I wish you'd take a look at the animations for Guild Wars 2, especially the jumping puzzles, they feel _so_ good in play, quite unlike most other MMORPGs.

[@darkphoenix2]

It would be cool if someday a game came along that had super realistic martial arts techniques with no unnecessary wind ups or overswinging or weird, unrealistic attacks...but there was still a system in place that made it possible to react and respond to what the characters are doing. No idea how it could work, but it would feel nice to have extremely fluid and realistic attacks.

[@steinfliege9912]

The pokemon wiggeling while you said wiggle room made me happy.

[@YullaNellis]

Finally another episode YAAAAS i'm so happy !

[@JoyceW-Art]

These videos are soo darn fun to watch and very informative!

[@strongrudder]

*charge blade salute* I've definitely noticed a lot of this stuff myself. Seems to boil down to how the game is designed, whether a lack or abundance of anticipation in PC animations works or not. For Monster Hunter in particular, I think a lot of action game people bounce off the game because they're used to instant translation of their input. I did, initially. But when I came back to it, I learned the dance and have been having a blast.

[@christopherverhoef9112]

I see you shiver with antici-

[@reishiki]

.......-pation! Thank you for this. Kinda hoped Dan would referenced to that scene.

[@undercoverduck]

God, I have no aspiration to get into animation but these videos make me appreciate the work and thought behind it so much more. Thank you!

[@Maggotbone]

I like how anticipation is used in horror games, especially in older Silent Hill and Resident Evil titles. In Silent Hill 2, for example, James takes much longer to prepare for a swing (and to recover from one) than characters in other genres do. It gives off the feeling that James is afraid, uncertain, shaky, and that he has barely any idea how to wield a weapon or even fight at all. By contrast, in Resident Evil, the characters are hardened operators who've gone through specialized combat training, yet they still take a long time to aim and fire a handgun. Here, the anticipation serves to sell the notion that combat is dangerous, risky, and that it's often better to avoid it. It makes the player feel scared to open a door and encounter an enemy in close quarters. Games like these, where the player has to deal with long anticipation before they can attack, can and will come across as unresponsive to some people. However, they're far from being "objectively" bad - it's a purposeful stylistic choice.

[@benedict6962]

The Celeste one is a masterful trick. I only realized when you emphasized it literally didn't have anticipation. It's so cool when you can take very simple sprites and still incorporate anticipation into a limited sprite sheet. Anticipation is definitely one of the places helped by extensive experience in mo'cap. Some motions don't have intuitive windups until you see or feel the movement for yourself, and you have to know what it is in reality before you can make tweak it into a fantastical one that feels right.

[@tenacityxl]

I don’t know why, but hearing you talk about exertion and stuff when watching Banjo’s animated mug is kinda funny to me.

[@thepedanticcreature680]

When Celeste was brought up, I actually thought you would point out how she is constantly bopping up and down outside jumps which can either catch you jumping from a grouch already or create a feeling of implied grouch through the expectations that the idle animation builds.

[@Rednetthall2]

1:14 KING CRIMSON!!!

[@duckmaster4326]

Jesus, these videos are unbelievably well made.

[@solomonrahmani7980]

Thank you so much and waiting for the Next one.

[@artstsym]

This is one we've all been waiting for.

[@KlausWulfenbach]

Player characters need fewer anticipation frames because when a player presses a button, they have already physically started the action. By the time a finger is applying physical force to a button, the signal has been travelling from the brain for a few milliseconds (Or is it microseconds? Something like that. I'm not a doctor.). So whether the player is conscious of it or not, the game's response to their physical inputs is already being anticipated by the player by the time they have performed those inputs.

[@konstantinchenchikov6307]

Exactly

[@essneyallen6777]

200 milliseconds if memory serves :)

[@theyakkoman]

As a fighting-game connaisseur, I've noticed that the anticipation part is often used for the heavier attacks, special moves etc. Jabs and light kicks are quick, with little to no anticipation, which works in the moves favour since they're suppose to be quick at the cost of damage. Heavier punches and kicks have more of an anticipation, which gives the opposite player the chance to react and block or parry, but they deal more damage if they connect. And special moves like the Hadouken for example have an even more clear (as in more frames of) anticipation. Ryu/Ken/Akuma first places their hands roughly by their hip furthest from their opponent, charge up the hadouken and then throw it at the opponent. And super moves like the Power Geyser have Terry winding up before punching the ground, as to give the opponent a short time to block and selling the impact of the geyser.

[@Junoswoof]

Curiously, in swordfighting this is an important concept. You always try to move in an unpredictable way and therefore try not to show any anticipation on your move - just move from point A to B as suddenly and fast as you can.

[@Junoswoof]

Great swordfighting animation plays with these facts as a dial - turn it one way for more realism, turn it another way for more readability. What "feels good" will be somewhere in the middle.

[@xanderwyatt8234]

I'm not an animator, but I'm interested and I box (it's related to the rest of this comment). Whenever you animate a fight scene make sure the characters attacks demonstrate the professionalism in that action (or lack thereof). A professional fighter isn't gonna rear back their fist/weapon right before an attack because it telegraphs to your opponent that you're about to attack.

[@MidnightSt]

before i knew how is this thing called officially, I used to call it a "windup" (and I first realized the concept exists in music). and as soon as I wrote this comment and unpaused the video: "it's the windup before the pitch" oh. =D

[@D3Vlicious]

I remembered your old Monster Hunter video on this. Glad something like it is out (though I still wish we'd get a new version of that video).

[@StepBaum]

Excited for the rest! rly good video :)

[@mie.nyamin18]

If someone could help me on 05:11, which kingdom hearts series is that? And which part player on sky like that?

[@ekimr90]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the mechanics of anticipation as they apply to fighting games more. Some attacks come out slower than others and can be trumped by your opponent _during_ that anticipation if they're good enough.

[@emerald1968]

Finally ,after all this time this masterpiece has been brought upon us

[@_fedmar_]

3:49 Listen to the music here... Do you here anything? IT'S MEGALOVANIA! MEGALO-FUCKING-VANIA!

[@_fedmar_]

I thought It was unintentional, but as soon as i heard "sans." a few seconds later i convinced myself I was Indeed wrong.

[@sanketvaria9734]

You are nailing down the easier one first lol. I want staging and appeal next as a video.

[@nillioz8712]

I have dyslexia and read: Anticonception, The 12 principles

[@richerlecool]

This should be top comment

[@SireDevathrius]

Ah yes, Sobble wiggles as Dan says "wiggle", learned well from the first video I see

[@MrTombombodil]

I've heard a few people mention the Sekiro frame by frame animation tuning. Is there a developer interview article of video somewhere about this because if so I would love to read/watch it.

[@erlonbrunosouzamiranda8525]

I'm a Dark Souls fan and I always wondered what it would be like if the Chosen Undead and the enemies we face had proper sword fighting technique, with subtlety and sudden, quick movements without a huge recovery time. On one hand, you could have a more realistic combat system, with more responsive controls. On the other, it would be a nightmare to make the enemies' attacks recognizable and distinguishable, and maybe make less in-world sense considering most of the enemies are hollows without consciousness, and you are basically a prisoner who most likely didn't train with any kind of weapon in your entire life.

[@Bedinsis]

Makes me think of The Darkest Dungeon where all the player characters have a default pose and a battle pose, the latter of which makes them look more alert and look like the action that they perform has had their wind-up already done.

[@thattimestampguy]

Anticipation • “The Wind Up” • Creates Contrast • A Cue for incoming motion

[@Soumein]

The end card was a lengthy anticipation of Pichu getting hit. A Punchu, if you will.

[@destoria2]

Yaaaaaaas! Finally new episode

[@majupiju2347]

yeah finally a new principle video! cant wait for the next one ;D

[@nightniro131]

How much animation is truly happening in games like Undertale or Deltarune? They are pixel games so I wouldn't expect a lot of animation to be used but yet the games feel so fantastic and give off so much personality. Why is that?

[@creamtoneshoes]

Yeeeeeeeesssss! Been waiting for this!!

[@greengruntdude]

Yass, finally. Been waiting for this for so long

[@lethiwemwendwa]

Your videos are so damn amazing!