Portal 2 developer commentary: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m (→Wheatley Model: added the test chamber where it’s found. I am doing this for every node, might take a while) |
m (→The Eye Has It: added the test chamber where it’s found. I am doing this for every node, might take a while) |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
=== The Eye Has It === | === The Eye Has It === | ||
{{Quotation | Karen Prell | {{Quotation | Karen Prell, Secret Panel | ||
| How do you make a giant mechanical eyeball express life and emotions, let alone give the impression that he's talking when he has no mouth? The animator's understanding of human behavior came in handy for bringing Wheatley the personality sphere to life. Talking is so much more than just moving a character's mouth. You have to use body language, head attitudes and rhythm of movement and eye focus to indicate a character's feelings and motivations. Slow, smooth head moves, a steady gaze and a relaxed eye aperture indicate that Wheatley is calm. Short, sharp head turns, rapid blinks and glancing around indicate nervousness or deceit. Add a tightly constricted eye aperture and a little shiver to show fear. Tilting the body away while keeping the eye focused on the player signals an attempt at cleverness that ultimately only fools Wheatley himself. Suspicion is communicated by squinting his eyelids and handles, which function as very expressive eyebrows and cheeks. It's also fun to remind the player that Wheatley is a machine. When hacking, his eye and body segments become perfectly centered and spin mechanically, inspired by the spinning tape reels on old Univac computers. And when he wants to look far in front, he flips his eye all the way over to the other side of his head. This animation approach combined with the writing and vocals makes Wheatley quite a unique and entertaining character--part human, part machine, all eye, and no brain. | | How do you make a giant mechanical eyeball express life and emotions, let alone give the impression that he's talking when he has no mouth? The animator's understanding of human behavior came in handy for bringing Wheatley the personality sphere to life. Talking is so much more than just moving a character's mouth. You have to use body language, head attitudes and rhythm of movement and eye focus to indicate a character's feelings and motivations. Slow, smooth head moves, a steady gaze and a relaxed eye aperture indicate that Wheatley is calm. Short, sharp head turns, rapid blinks and glancing around indicate nervousness or deceit. Add a tightly constricted eye aperture and a little shiver to show fear. Tilting the body away while keeping the eye focused on the player signals an attempt at cleverness that ultimately only fools Wheatley himself. Suspicion is communicated by squinting his eyelids and handles, which function as very expressive eyebrows and cheeks. It's also fun to remind the player that Wheatley is a machine. When hacking, his eye and body segments become perfectly centered and spin mechanically, inspired by the spinning tape reels on old Univac computers. And when he wants to look far in front, he flips his eye all the way over to the other side of his head. This animation approach combined with the writing and vocals makes Wheatley quite a unique and entertaining character--part human, part machine, all eye, and no brain. | ||
}} | }} | ||