Like I said, I’d post a bit about some prototyping. Nowadays I’m usually using Processing for small prototypes. Some years ago I used to use EVALDRAW for little algorithmic tests. I love it for the immediate feedback when working with it, and also the different modes it provides.
But after I started to like more the whole concept of isolated first-stage prototypes, I felt EVALDRAW wasn’t just enough for all of my needs. After pondering with some alternatives I ended up “standardizing” on Processing, although it would still have a lot to learn from EVALDRAW. :-) However the one cool thing with Processing is that you can export your creation to be a stand-alone mini-app or even to a web page. As long as you have installed Java.
Lately when working with some ideas for a platformer game, I wanted to make some tests for a “walker”. To be exact, the simple kind which would just use some carefully chosen formulas like sine curves to move feet and body.
So here are my results.
[Java applet shows up below, in case your browser supports such things…]
As said, you need to have Java plugin installed.
I think it took from me roughly 2 hours to code & tweak those after having thinked about it beforehand. Naturally I had a few iterations – and actually the order of progression goes from bottom to up. I like how just the movements seem to convey different characteristics – the bottom one is somehow very steadfast, middle one is in haste, and the top one is a joyful jogger.
I actually wanted to make a “running one” as well but failed at it for the time being. :) I did check out Braid and some Mario games just to analyze how they approach the idea of making a character run or just generally move around.
Update: Added a “disney-happy version” of the bottom walker as suggested by Late below. Thanks! :)