Procedural First-Person Camera and Limb Animation With Physics-Based Shake
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for animating virtual character limbs in first-person video games fail to replicate the natural, dynamic movement of a player's arms and handheld objects, resulting in a linear and mechanical appearance, and are either costly or lack design control.
Innovation Solution
A method involving two-dimensional mass-spring-damper systems and procedural animation techniques to determine the orientation of virtual character limbs and handheld objects, using view vector orientation and angular velocity to create a chaotic, non-linear motion, with customizable parameters for control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional 2D animation blend space or motion mapping is used, then animation poses can be pre-defined and extracted, but the movement appears linear and mechanical instead of natural and dynamic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from static 2D animation poses to dynamic procedural animation using mass-spring-damper systems. The virtual character's limbs are modeled as physical masses connected by springs and dampers that respond in real-time to player input, creating natural, dynamic movement patterns that adapt continuously rather than following predetermined linear paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes parameters by using mass-spring-damper physics parameters (mass, spring constant, damping coefficient) to control limb movement characteristics. By adjusting these physical parameters, the system generates varied and natural movement patterns without requiring manual animation creation, transforming the approach from pose-based to physics-based parameter control.
2Shape
If motion capture data from actors is collected and stored in a database, then realistic movement can be extracted and blended, but the process is time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the virtual character's limbs to animate themselves through physics-based mass-spring-damper systems that automatically generate natural movement patterns. The system serves itself by using player input combined with physical simulation to produce realistic animations without requiring external motion capture actors or manual animation creation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical motion capture process with a computational physics simulation approach. Instead of recording actual human movement mechanically, the system uses virtual mass-spring-damper physics to generate equivalent natural movement patterns, replacing the entire motion capture infrastructure with procedural animation algorithms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If pre-shot motion capture data is extracted and blended at runtime, then animation variety is achieved, but design control over the final look is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the limb animation into independent mass-spring-damper subsystems for different body parts (torso, arms, legs). Each segment can be controlled independently with its own physical parameters, allowing designers to adjust specific movement characteristics without affecting the entire character, thus maintaining both variety and design control.
4Shape
If the virtual camera is animated procedurally to simulate handheld movement, then cinematic realism is achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using the same mass-spring-damper physics framework to control both character limb animation and camera movement. The procedural animation system serves dual purposes: animating character movements and simulating handheld camera shake, reducing overall system complexity by consolidating animation control under a unified physical simulation approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described for imparting dynamic, non-linear and realistic movement and look and feel to a player's/virtual character's first-person limbs and hand-held object model, and procedurally animating a first-person virtual camera such that it simulates the movement of a camera handheld by the player/virtual character. To impart chaotic or random motion to the first-person limbs and hand-held object model a first module defines and implements first and second two dimensional mass-spring-damper systems, each of which is linked to the player's/virtual vector's view vector. Procedural animation or rotational shake is implemented by a second module by applying a coherent noise function to each of the six axes of the first-person virtual camera.