X1BD0

A robot I created for our entry into the Metroidvania Monthly 21 Jam, MECHROIDVANIA. This character has a full set of animations and is fully playable. He was initially inspired by mecha designs, like Gundam, Megazords, Armored Core, or EDF Fencer, but gradually took his own form as I built him. With a balance of pulling inspiration but also trying to build him in a psuedo-mechanically accurate way, meaning the way the parts bend and articulate was somewhat grounded in reality and prevented any clipping while moving, he really began to take shape. This process taught me a lot about bone constraints and IK, as I set his rig up in a completely unique way when compared to my other humanoid models. I made the rig with the constraints in mind first and foremost, and built it alongside the model. This meant I had bones set up to rotate and articulate joints I hadn't considered with other rigs, and also meant the rig got a lot more complicated.

This model also taught me a lot about having the mesh be dynamic and changable by the player, since the weapons and upgrades change the way the character looks in game. This meant I had to model and rig every single upgrade, but also ensure all my animations worked with the different variations. I did this by just enabling the most complex, upgraded configuration we had available, and making the animations around that. Then I switched back to the most simple configuration to ensure it worked.