Moving along

A picture can say a thousand words; animated it can say another thousand. Movement adds a whole new dimension to the message sent by an image (time to be precise). This also applies to game design, and its useful to keep in mind at all times. When designing a new enemy, when considering player feedback, even when planning game UI; movement allows the player to better understand your world at a glance.

Now, movement, is not the same as speed. Speed can be baffling; it can confuse and frustrate. Almost always, high speeds signify danger. Sometimes that's exactly what you want :) The eviscerating vertigo that comes from moving rapidly is always exciting. But then again not all games are to be exciting, sometimes you want them to be peaceful and relaxing....even then, movement is important.

Take a game such as Flower for example. The game is meant to be appeasing, to have a zen-like quality to it, that makes very different to what most gamers are used to. The serene skies and colorful grounds make it very easy on the eye. However, its the movement of the blades of grass, the playful tumbling of the flower petals that really sells you the pastoral scenery. Picture if you will, the same colors, the same grass and the same flowers....but all still. As an image in a gallery it would be very pretty to look at, but it wouldn't be alive. It'd be stiff, as a corpse, beautiful but not reachable, as it would follow its own rules, in a world without time. In the end, only death is truly still.

When thinking how to communicate with the player, how to create emotions, remember to play with movement. Be it adrenaline-pumped action sequences, or peaceful reflection, it can all be accentuated by making even the tiniest animations to the tiniest parts of the game. Few images are associated with an apocalypse as much as the sight of paper fliers being carried by the wind. Few scenes accentuate the beauty of nature as much as running water. If possible include movement in all possible aspects of the game, even if its very slight, as this way the world become so much more alive.