Good afternoon! I’m TJ, you may already know that, but if you didn’t, now you know. I do primarily 3D modeling and tech for PNT Cubed. One part of tech that I focus a lot on is animation. Today, I’ll be going over my process of utilizing animation in our attractions, and some looks behind the scenes.
I think of animation to be any form of kinetic energy, movement. That energy is very important to not just get the attention of you, the guest, but to also immerse you in the experience. Without that kinetic energy, that experience often feels, I hate to say it, but, dead, inanimate.
When we first started building the hub, we had the idea of having a PeopleMover, very similar to Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom. I was able to create a fully automated ride system for that PeopleMover, all that’s needed to run it is a guest present in the hub. That PeopleMover was one of our first uses of kinetic energy. All of those trains running on that track around the hub makes it feel very alive. We would then start practicing, adding more and more kinetic energy to the hub, like the boats, jumping water fountains, the lights on the SkyTower, and more.
Another part of animation is animatronics. These are the most important to get right in an attraction or experience. Although we only have team member animations on the server right now, do expect to see a lot of animatronics at EPCOT 89 in the future. Backstage Magic will be our first attraction with a fully animated figure: Julie.
Julie will be the foundation of how all of our animated figures will be. Although she is a very slow and simple figure, there’s a lot of specific, human-like behavior to make it feel like she’s real. Combining head and body rotation to smoothen her movement, her shoulders occasionally moving to simulate breathing, her arms moving in an actual presentation-like manner, slight inertia in sudden movements, and eye contact with the audience and other parts of the show (I/O, Mr. Eggz, and the computers). All of these combined are able to create a lifelike figure like Julie.
Some of what I said on paper may seem a bit weird or creepy, but when it’s actually seen in-game, it does look very impressive and is a big factor of the show. Future attractions like Journey into Imagination will utilize all of what I mentioned for figures like Dreamfinder and Figment.
Speaking of Imagination, let’s talk about fountains and other water features. Water is another key part of making an area look alive, or just relaxing. If you’ve been by the Imagination Pavilion, you’ve probably noticed the jumping fountains and the upside-down waterfall.
Water features, big or small, create very nice and majestic picture spots, and we take advantage of that in Minecraft. In the hub, you can spot various small water features around the SkyTower, or winding around some of the paths. A lot of these were implemented to fill in dead space around the hub and create, you guessed it, kinetic energy.
It may be simple, but it has a big impact. If you’re trying to make an area look natural, add water.
Actively moving rides, lighting, animatronics, and water can all work together to create a very kinetic experience for everyone. From our PeopleMover, to the SkyTower. Imagination’s jumping fountains, and the upside-down waterfall. Even something as simple as our animated team members around the server can bring in so much life to such an inanimate world.
That’s all I have for you! In my next blog, I’ll be talking about our automated ride systems and how those work, so keep your eyes peeled for that. I, along with the rest of the team, hope you are all excited for Backstage Magic and World of Motion! Expect an announcement or few this month.
See y’all!