The exaggerated animations and tottering wobble bones of Lil Gator Game
Wholesome games are in vogue. In recent years, there has been a notable uptick in the number of developers—largely indie—striving to tap into a burgeoning consumer demand for titles that prioritize adorable mechanics and twee concepts above all else.
What, though, makes a video game "wholesome." Dip into one of the semi-annual Wholesome Directs, which aim to highlight a kaleidoscopic bushel of winsome projects, and the answer it seems would be any title that can be defined as uplifting, cozy, or compassionate.
Communicating those concepts to players might be done in a variety of ways, ranging from designing a cute protagonist, including slice-of-life mechanics that tap into our desire for rose-tinted "simpler times," or baking in cute animations that tug on our heartstrings.
In the case of Lil Gator Game, an upcoming adorable adventure that had already featured in a Wholesome Direct, developer Scott Slucher used the latter technique to imbue the lead character (yep, it's a cute lil gator) with a sense of giddy charm. Outlining his approach to animation during a Q&A with Game Developer earlier this year, Slucher explained how he used a range of techniques—including the addition of WOBBLE BONES—to make the titular character as adorable as humanly possible.
Game Developer: What design and animation considerations went into making lil gator as adorable as possible?
Slucher: I knew I wanted to focus on exaggerated animations, so I made a design with really big head and arms compared to the rest of the body, so that even small arm or head movements would feel big and cartoony. I deliberately chose not to have any kind of hands, to make holding objects a lot easier to fudge - it doesn't look like it's being held wrong if
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