‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ Facial Animations Critiqued By ‘Uncharted 4’ Animator

Mass Effect: Andromeda has been widely criticized for its facial animations, but that didn’t sit right with Uncharted 4 animator Jonathan Cooper. In a series of tweets, he both defended and explained BioWare’s controversial choices.

Having spent time at BioWare through the development of the first Mass Effect, Cooper was the first to point out that Andromeda’s ambition as an open-world RPG can’t possibly compare to the linear nature of Uncharted 4. “Animating an RPG is a really, really big undertaking, “ he said, so any “comparisons [between franchises] are unfair.” While Uncharted’s capture process is “highly controlled,” Cooper said RPG designers mix pre-created animations “like DJs with samples and tracks.”

Read: Mass Effect: Andromeda Devs Slammed For Bro Culture & Harassment

This process becomes even more complicated when time is introduced into the equation. Because it’s difficult to address every scene by hand, algorithms with preset quality standards fill in the blanks. “Andromeda seems to have lowered the quality of its base algorithm,” he mused,” “resulting in the ‘my face is tired’ meme featuring nothing but lip-sync.” He presumed “BioWare planned to hit every line by hand, but a five-year dev cycle shows they underestimated the task.”

Before offering that insight, Uncharted 4’s animator also touched on the controversy surrounding BioWare staff being cyberbullied by angry gamers. He called these acts “despicable” and reminded his followers that “we should never single out one person for a team’s failures.”

Mass Effect: Andromeda ’s lackluster facial animations became apparent hours after the game’s early access demo went live last week. With middling review scores to show for it, those criticisms have compounded considerably since Tuesday’s release. While BioWare continues to investigate ways to improve animations, no fixes have been released or confirmed.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Is it right for gamers to compare the animations of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Uncharted 4? Do Cooper’s comments make the issues more understandable? Tell us in the comments section!