The Matrix resurrections doesn’t shy away from his video game influences. Starting off, Thomas Anderson is forced to work on a sequel to his groundbreaking game The Matrix, a straight meta-parallel to Lana Wachowski’s involvement in the film. But amidst all the company chatter and Christina Ricci’s cameo, there’s a more subtle hint at gaming.
It wormed its way into a montage of Neo’s monotonous, time-warp waking life; it’s the treadmill. It’s even mentioned a few times in dialogue, a symbol representing the illusion of progress. It’s about the futility of nostalgia and the devastating cycle of capitalism and learning to see when you’re actually going nowhere.
It also represents the first, most basic animation created for many video games. the walking cycle. Most video game characters begin their lives endlessly on a game developer’s screen. It’s the most common animation you’ll see in a game, so it needs to look good.
But humans have a strong sense of what a real human gait looks like, and there are many pitfalls that animations fall into, from over or under animation to foot slides and more. Walk animations go awry in many ways, but at their peak, they can help define who a character is meant to be.
Watch the video above to learn more about how a walk gets off track and what game developers do to make sure they look good.
