I really love the animations of both games - They have different styles, and different purposes, but they're both beautiful works of art - What other games do you love the animations from?

2:26 "Let's look at THIS animation" Yeah I was definitely looking at the animation, and nothing else

2B's feet also don't slide while she walks as far as I can tell.

2B's walk cycle is the stuff of legends for animators. A gold standard for sure.

Yeah, Eve's butt jiggles less. That means her steps are less firm. 2B meanwhile exudes experience just by the walk alone.

Animation is like grammar, the more you know the more you notice how many terrible ones are out there.

Damn those actress are exceptionally expressive.

Another way to describe the differences is that 2B more resembles a runway model. There stride for 2B has more emphasis on each step, and the upper body is more stiff with the shoulders also matching each step with confidence as you can see the hips sway more. While Eve's upper body is generally more fluid to convey the softer and more innocent nature of the character.

The animator's ability to animate 2B with one hand is commendable indeed

The 2B walk animation is top tier. Eve's animation is different in tone as you said, but it's also not in the same tier for quality.

Eve's walk cycle is sliding lmao

2b moves like a woman with a purpose no wasted motion. Eve is relaxed but unsure but still confident in her figure.

Straight away I noticed that 2B walks with more confidence, like she has more experience in this world and Eve walks with less of that. She seems unsure about something i.e. herself. Pretty much what you said. The timing of this video is interesting as yesterday I was sitting in traffic and noticed a guy's walk that made me think "Yeah, he probably used to get bullied in school".

I could watch 2b walking for hours. It's beautiful

Bro knows his thumbnail game lmao

Both of them have an elegant walk but 2B's looks more purposeful, like a fashion model, while Eve's is a bit more relaxed and has a bit more grace that you'd attribute to an angel

Can we just appreciate for a second how freakishly good that motion capture actor is.

Yeah, of course THESE are the examples he uses. Never change, Royal Skies.

And that my friends is why "Appeal" is one of the 12 principles of animation

The walking animation are pretty good but what grinds my gears is what I call the "slide walking." If you see it you cannot unsee it unless you are distracted but if it is very noticable, there is no hiding from it.

Mmmm yes... let's look at 2B's walk animation

As a unreal dev I learned to appreciate animations with personality. There’s not many but there’s some animsets on the market with a bit of personality. If you have unique personality in your anims its what really sets you apart. Universal / neutral anims only belong in like multiplayer shooters or something. Character based gacha games like PGR, Aether Gazer, Hi3 have very specific personalities in their attacks and movement and they have to, to set themselves apart from eachother in a huge roster of characters.

In other words. He's really saying the jiggle animations are what makes a game top tier. And I totally agree!

You just had me stun locked, the sheer amount of character depth you are instantly able to extrapolate just based on the visuals and animation is just sth. that hasn't crossed my mind to this extend. I used to care a lot about sound-design but how they use post-fx and make it all come together really shows that making a masterpiece is a work of art, passion and dedication... Thank you for that video, I really enjoyed watching it! - Mike ^-^

Maybe it's just me, but something I noticed with Eve is that as the game progresses, her special attacks and finishers on bosses look more and more confident, precise, and full of determination. I would say she even looks awkward at times early on, like she's really playing by ear. It parallels her rapid evolution from a "new born" that just started life on Earth, to a grown woman who has now seen what life truly is and eventually makes her own pivotal decisions as a result. The attention to detail is marvelous.

Shift Up did a great job on Eve's movement, be it walking, running and jiggle physics.

You bastard you knew I wouldn't be able to resist the thumbnail.

I'm glad someone brought this to light. Character design, is by far, is what draws me into gaming. I love when all the actions convey traits of the character. 2b & EVE are fantastic examples and appreciate your comparison.

Interesting analysis. You focused on the artistic and practical elements of how the game looks and moves without going down that rabbit hole of whether the two characters are "too sexy".

I had looked at the beauty of the characters and there environment but I did not notice this point. overall great analysis. Thanks

the shift in your contents pretty cool, this was really eye opening aswell thanks :)

Excellent choice of subjects for this intriguing case study. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Me: Accidently clicking the notification bell with 9+ on screen because I wanted to clear the notification... Me: Does it again, few minutes later... "Damn it..."

The animation of 2B looks so classy in side of Eve's.

Amazing video! I love all of your more “basic” videos about animation and modeling concepts!

They also exaggerated the hip action of the high heels in the first character and less so in the second

Big kudos to the creator of the 2B walking animation, the man created this masterpiece single handedly

Great video!!!! Im actually building a world as a personal project and a lot of this can be applied to world building as well, thank you so much!!!!

This is the type of analysis I can get behind 👍

5:12 - 2B walks like a dominant woman, very assertive and determined while still having a sassy hip sway, Eve walks like a normal every day girl, way less assertive than 2B, a lot more girly with her hands up on her sides and way more laid back in slow walk, almost like she's about to just sit somewhere to enjoy a sundae. She's also chubbier than 2B, giving some of her animations almost a nerdy or tomboyish feel.

I feel stock animations are like frozen factory-made dishes in restaurants. They have their place in certain settings where it can work (greasy spoons, diners, indie games with no budget, etc) but generally if you use slop, people WILL notice.

"Lets look at 2b walk" bro i have it as my screensaver you don't have to tell me that

Good video! I would be interested to learn more about animations on a deeper level like this!

The thumbnail is CRAZY

05:16 What do I think the differences are? 2B has more of hip sway to her gait, and her feet hit slightly harder on the ground. This implies a more confrontational, head-on approach as her preference. Eve walks in a softer way, fewer unnecessary motions, and possibly a more silent way of walking. This implies a preference to stealth, either avoiding conflict or taking a smart roundabout approach rather than head-on.

Thanks for all the Info provided very helpful as I have just 8 more years till retirement then I'll start learning how to do Animations clothing ETC so starting to slowly gather up info

Spot on analysis on what the walk animations communicate for both characters. I'll also add that Eve's walk animation tells she's someone who's very curious about the world while 2B walks like someone who's very much done with all the shit the world throws at her.

Super Nice Explanation, Thank you!

2b's walk animation is so beautiful

Everything about NieR series is an art

2B definitely comes off as sharper and colder than Eve, much more precise and calculated with the way she struts, which reflects her personality and her... "role", so to speak. If you know, you know. On the other side, Eve strikes me more as a secure, confident, but also cautious type, someone who is always keeping an eye on their surroundings, both for safety and curiosity in equal measure. Eve is someone who knows she is in a dangerous environment and is cautious, but still hasn't completely lost the sense of marvel and awe for the world she lives in. This in opposition to 2B, who knows she is basically living in a dystopia where her masters are gone and all that's left is hostile machinery.

I am way too old and stupid to know/learn how to do this, but it's really cool to listen to. Always wondered what language I was missing to convey my issues with certain "generic" video game animations.

I’m not a gamer…not sure how I even had this vid in my suggestions. But this was very interesting…thanks Dude.

LOL 9S has that generic Unreal 5 walking animation.

2b walk cycle also includes the slight shudder in her step due to her heels. firm, precise and with purpose. Eve feels a whole lot floaty. abit clippy, abit more jiggly but nevertheless still points out her softer personality.

3:14 everything tells you that 2B... Is a Female... and the Robot is a dude that's about to make someone catch deez hands. *Procceds to walk menacingly towards the camera*

You nailed it man, I couldn't say it any better. A great animation could possibly make a game go a long way just by itself.

5:44 I think 2B moves like a confident master, while Eve walks like she's a little timid. 2B moves quite quickly, whereas Eve has more careful steps

as they say: "Good things takes time."

Should've included Bayonetta's walk. She's on another level XD.

Another thing that help showcase a character personality is the neutral standing and idle animation, sometimes i would let the character stand in place for a couple of minutes just to see their idle and neutral animation. It a nice little details that goes the extra mile to bring life to the character.

5:16 So, Eve from Steller Blade feels more relaxed and a bit uncaring about the way she's moving forward, like she doesn't really need to get where she's going. 2B feels more weighed with her steps and while she is just walking she feels like she's waiting to get running again.

Sakana definitely makes some of the best animations in the whole industry.

One thing that always annoyed me when I was playing Mass Effect was that Female Shepard had the same animation as Male Shepard. Which looked fine on a guy who had a more muscular build, but it looked so very goody on a more slender woman.

Their "PERSONALITY"are different 🤣

Gotta admit, I stopped playing video games a while back and mostly just focus on cinematics and practicing lighting in my free time. But now I fully understand why I see so much 2B when I go post my work around lol

Bayonetta's walk animation is another good example

With 2B's animation you can actually see the camera speed up and slow down with every step. Human walking speed does not maintain a constant velocity like Eve's does.

2 words: Physics & round things.

These two games gave me a feeling no other game has matched. When you first land in the abandoned city/silent street and the music starts going off in both games… goosebumps. Made me feel like a kid finding a secret castle to explore, this weird feeling of exciting mystery. Think only Death Stranding might’ve given me that feeling too.

There's something about the silence during the UE mannequin's first walk cycle that kinda made me laugh.

I appreciate both your animation review and Dillon Goo's animation comparison. I wish he went over some of the more subtle animations like you did as i do think they are the more interesting ones that have the small attentions to detail. Like for example did you know thst Eve has 2 variants for most of her movement actions. When she double jumps she can either flip with her legs in unison or with one delayed and she can vault onto platform with a spin or normally. Same thing with her dash, she can dash with a spin or without one. There are even more subtle ones liike how she spins her sword in her hand when she does her . (Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, (if i remember right)) Combo finisher.

The Thumbnail: I See 2 Bakery

Yeah, A2 in the same game also has her own vibe. The teams making these mocap/animations are extremely talented. I struggle even with great tools like cascadeur

a great example of animations conveying personality are the Arkham games, from Batman, Nightwing to catwoman, each character's personality is conveyed pretty clearly with the way they walk.

Would love to see deep technical analysis like this about Starfield and explain to us why everything in it feels so bland and generic.

yeah, let's just keep looking at those walk animations, because knowing what makes them great is exactly why I clicked

Yeah, you likely can tell just by studying a still of them, and definitely by seeing them in motion for even just a few seconds, that 2B is a stone cold fox that always goes for the jugular while Eve honestly comes off either languid or unsure most of time. Baroness vs Ingenue. And the fact their personalities are so clearly conveyed just through body language shows how well-designed both are.

you have perfectly described one of the things that made Nier: Automata my number one game. It's the animation, the style, the fluidity, the intent, the personality and of course the aesthetic, class and culture.

Gentlemen of culture, here we meet again, educating ourselves on useful knowledge and skills of the current age.

The entire video could just have been of 2B walking and I still would've watched it. :)

Simply a work of art

Dude, good video. Thanks!

2B crosses her feet as she walks (like, but not as severe as a runway model) which creates a more purposefully exaggerated feminine hip sway. Eve still has the feminine wide hips and feet close together, but with a more innocent feet straight gait.

this explanation is a masterpiece

Do remember shift up has experience telling an audience about a character’s personality through only 2D sprites with a handful of animation in Nikke.

Watching Sakana acting and hearing your useful information at the same time is a win.

4:14 just walk like that and you will not be a next target - lesson learned

"Simply a work of art"

"Its good cuz it has more personality than stock anim.." such profound analysis...

How to makes a GOOD Animation ? "Learning from Kotte animation"

4:55 Main differences are them cheeks of course. On a serious note I find 2Bs walk to be more realistic and organic while Eve's walk feels mechanical, stiff even though the animation is smooth, it just feels artificial, maybe due to the fact that her feet aren't planted to the ground when she walks, they tend to slide.

Yes, I can stare at 2b's brilliant walk animation all day.

Fantastic vid!

That Chinese motion actress is really good.

You cooked with that thumbnail

I could watch 2B walking for hours. She's hot and walks with style.

Awesome essay about the difference ❤

I wouldn't praise SB animations as much as you do. Besides the skating feet that were pointed out by others, the animations are not done as professionally as in NA, I would say. First, look at 5:55 : in the sprinting animation on the left her pelvis is pretty much static - that is not how how humans run, especially women. The pelvis rotates with respect to legs moving forwards and backwards, and it also rotates when landing a foot on the ground due to the propagating impulse. Second, a pretty much technical point, there are some very stiff and sudden transitions between actions: look frame by frame at 7:36 and 7:41 for example. Also there are pauses in animations, when Eve just stops all motion while the enemy does not. And it's not related to frame sampling in the video. Third, a subjective point but nonetheless. I am wholeheartedly disgusted by that shy-scared-nervous-girl knees together feet apart poses and movement. You may call that a style but I find that 'style' unfitting and contradictory. That is not how a warrior/battle unit would move. That stance is physically very unstable, you would get knocked all over the place if you get touched by any enemy. It also is very taxing on your knee joints due to not being parallel to force vectors. And with that it is very contradictory to the moves that Eve does - her acrobatic abilities would very soon force her to unlearn that nervous-girl pose and move like a proper warrior.

2B costume pack DLC for Stellar blade - please for the love of (insert your favourite religious deity)! ❤❤