Instead of the traditional particle system approach, we’re building our impact effects like stop-motion animations. It may seem like a small detail, but we think it makes every strike feel more physical and tactile.
Here’s how it works:
We start with 2D frame-by-frame doodles of the effect to nail the motion and timing.
Each of those frames is then modelled in Blender as a 3D mesh.
In Unity, when you land a hit, the game pulls from a pool of custom flipbook components that cycle through those meshes one after another.
We’re happy with the results and plan to use this technique for most of the VFX in the game going forward.