Amid the stunning work done on video game animations year in and year out, it’s easy to ignore the incidental animations. These are the small flourishes and details that occur naturally during gameplay that can be hard to miss. However, they play a part in making the game feel that much more real and immersive. Let’s take a look at 10 of the best incidental animations in video games.
The Division – Door Closing
When The Division was first revealed to the world, it was completely from what ended up being released. The brutal survival-based title with PvP that could seemingly happen anywhere gave way to a looter shooter with more cover-based gameplay. It wasn’t all that bad – the transition resulted in one of the biggest new IP launches of the generation next to Bungie’s Destiny. However, before launch, fans expected one detail to carry over into the final game – the animation of your Agent dynamically closing a car’s door.
As one moved in cover, any open car door they passed by would be closed by the player character. They simply reached out and nonchalantly shut it. Thankfully, this little bit of detail didn’t just make the jump to the full release – Ubisoft Massive even tracked the number of car doors closed during the beta and also added an Achievement for it in the final game.
