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    First Person Hug

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    First person hugs are a design challenge. How do you communicate a hug in a first-person game without it being super awkward?

    Short summary describing this concept.

    First Person Hug last edited by Mento on 02/19/23 06:07AM View full history

    Overview

    A hug is a gesture that expresses love. It's when someone embraces someone else in his or her arms. First person hugs are usually found in first person shooters. Most of the time the player doesn't get to control the hugging, the game does it automatically.

    A first person hug is in fact a considerable design challenge for two reasons: it involves two game character models coming into contact with each other, and it is meant to be emotional.

    Keys to Success

    To accomplish a good first person hug, two things are required.

    1. No part of the characters' arms or bodies may clip through each other. This glitch is common in many games and can ruin the moment, making it look like two barbie dolls trying to interact with each other. To make the action believable, the player must be able to see the arms of their character embracing the other, the head movement must be perfectly set so the player can actually believe their character's head is resting on the other character's shoulder, and the player must be able to see the side of the other character's head.
    2. The hug must also fit into the context of the narrative. If it feels out of place or misused, the hug will feel awkward and miss the emotional mark.

    Good execution of all these criteria can make for a good first person hug.

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