Horizon Forbidden West reusing animations isn't new, but it's fine
A video published by IGN recently compared some gameplay footage between Horizon Forbidden West and its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn. The idea was to show off improvements made between the games, but it led to an age-old debate in gaming on social media.
That is the subject of reusing animations, and in particular, Aloy’s grappling hook animation is the same in both games. People on social media instead ridiculed the developers, Guerilla Games Studios, for reusing an animation, which is a common occurrence in development, and it’s also a good idea.
The argument comes back every time a game in a new franchise comes out, it seems. People with no experience in game development shout their opinions across social media, and these people do not understand the reasons for the reuse of assets.
When a comparison video between two games in a series comes out, this argument surfaces, and people complain, calling game developers lazy. The main reason art assets or animations get reused is it’s all about the studio’s priorities.
It’s financially irresponsible to redesign animations for every game character in a series, every single time. Instead, that time and money could go to the game mechanics, fleshing out the world and polishing the game in general. Virtually every game franchise on the planet reuses animations or assets in one fashion or another.
Batman’s grappling hook animation is always the same, and so is Nathan Drake’s gunplay. Pokemon pop out of Pokeballs the same way in every game. Every game character from Scorpion to Spider-Man gets animations reused because the animations make sense. It allows game developers for massive games like Horizon Forbidden West to work on other vital parts.
Not every animation gets reused,
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