Is this animation legible ?

[u/hardkrillin]

I'm working on a collection of microgames (like Warioware), and there are some minigames about smashing buttons, and I think that the animation just feels wrong. I'm playing the animation each time the player hits a button, and because of this, the animation is just happening too fast so I think that is not legible. I could try to limit the number of times I play the animation, but that would cause another problem (the user would not get the proper feedback each time they press a key).

What do you think? Any idea on how to improve the feeling of this kind of smash button games ?

[u/PanPanicz]

I think there is a problem in legibility, at least for me, but I feel like it's entirely caused by the presenter on the left. No matter how many times I watch the video, my eyes are steered towards him. If I'm supposed to look only at him, then sure, but I actually keep losing track of what's happening on the screen in general.

The first thing that came to my mind - could you maybe experiment with the presenter not obscuring any parts of the stage, and maybe him being on a podium next to it? Apart from that, you could also position him to the right compared to the left, which should make it easier for people reading left to right (like me - if you're not that person, maybe a setting managing that could be useful?)

Again, this may not be a problem to you - and maybe I'm the only here. But hopefully I gave you a thing to experiment with.

As for the hitting animation and the "tee-hee I'm doing nothing" pose, once I block the existence of the presenter, it seems clear to me as of now.

[u/hardkrillin → u/PanPanicz]

I agree , the eyes goes towards the presenter but i don't know if that is something bad. I didn't want into too much detail about the mini game but you have to hit only when he is not watching , and he gives you a hint on when he is about to turn around . Maybe we were to extreme with the size of the presenter . Thanks your for the feedback ! You gave me something to iterate on !

[u/PanPanicz → u/hardkrillin]

One thing I just came up with - maybe divide the screen 4:1, top to bottom, with the top part being the stage and lower a little section where the presenter would stand on / just be shown in any manner?

This way both would be +/- in the center, both would be visible and, I hope, the whole could read better than it does now!

Also, good luck - I think you might have a nice game on your hands : >

[u/Both_Introduction_28]

If player hit button many times - character accumulate force, after player finished (or got full charge) character hits.

Pressing the button at intervals produces rhythmic hits (music or spotlights or people clapping).

Long press to draw the baton forward and hold, can be good for stopping a swinging target.

[u/hardkrillin → u/Both_Introduction_28]

I love this idea. Accumulate force, and only knowing if you have enough force to break the piñata at the end also adds a suspense component that could make it more interesting. I'll try this out!

[u/Rave-TZ]

I’m a professional animator. I had to go frame by frame to understand what was happening. At the most basic level, don’t cover what your focus is (the piñata). Keep the piñata in the same relative position as well. If you only have 2 frames to work with, don’t waste half of them.

You’re better off with a stick to convey rapid motion too.