I saw this on Reddit recently and thought it was a good analysis of the animations in Injustice 2.
Credit: XXXCheckmate
"I think most of us have seen this video...
https://youtu.be/t06Dkdg6fEo
...explaining why MKXs animations are pretty bad. Seeing as how Injustice 2 has just come out and their animations are a relevant topic, I thought Id explain why these animations are considered to be subpar. I dont have any experience in art or animation but Ive played plenty of fighting games so I have an idea of how a fighting game character should move. This piece was going to cover more than just the idle animations but going through the roster I realized that so many of them were awful they warranted their own post. I might do a part 2 sometime in the future but for now Im just going to stick to covering these lazy/placeholder idle stances that somehow made it to the final release.
Deadshot:
So there are a number of things wrong with Deadshots idle animation...
Supermans isnt perfect either but theres a lot worse stuff to cover in this game so Ill just focus on those instead.
First of all, Deadshots stance just looks lazy. A lot of this games animations can really be pinned down to one key aspect; these are not fighting poses. This is a fighting game so characters should be in the proper stance to not only throw an attack but to also take one. If you can convey personality over utility thats fine too but Deadshot does neither. For example, Superman is excusable in this scene because invincibility is part of his character. No one can actually hurt him so he has no real reason to actually prepare for a blow. Deadshot, however, is a mere human as well as a trained assassin. Even if you dont know martial arts, youre basic instinct would put you in a pose that wouldnt have you fall over from one punch and youd position yourself in such a way that would protect vulnerable parts of your body. His legs are erect, making him easier to knock down since his knees arent bent to support him. His chests and face are exposed and theyre all facing his opponent almost head on. Hes essentially asking to get hit. You think someone who is trained in killing would understand that this is not how youre supposed to fight.
Deadshot is also an assassin that incorporates a lot of weapons into his fighting style. Him leaving his body exposed would be OK if that meant he looked as if he was in a position to pull out the proper weapon at any given moment. Too bad he clearly isnt. He doesnt have a hand near his shoulder to pull the rifle off his back. It doesnt look like hes trying to take aim with his wrist cannons since theyre moving around so much and his hands are nowhere near his legs to pull out the knives on the side of his body. It looks more like hes in an awkward conversation at a club rather than trying to kill someone.
I couldnt think of a fighting game character that also used wrist cannons in a way that Deadshot does, but there are plenty that use guns in combat. Jill Valentine...
...does the mercenary stance right. She has an actual fighting stance; something that a trained officer would actually use. Chris Redfield is the same way...
His body is protected but at the same time hes ready to fire his gun. These two characters arent quite the same as Deadshot in terms of fighting style but at least you can tell that they are by their stances. If you they were just stick figures or silhouettes you would get an idea of what exactly they did and how they fought. With Deadshot you wouldnt even be sure if he was in a fighting game or a background character in Dance Dance Revolution.
Cheetah:
I dont know much about the character Cheetah but with a name as blatant as that, youd think itd be easy to animate that character properly. But of course NRS chooses the lazy route and gives her the poise of a lazy house cat rather than a ferocious predator...
Actually, if this movement was placed on Catwoman it would actually be passable (unfortunately NRS thought she would be better off with the traditional wading in water...
...stance that everyone in their games seems to have). Anyway, theres another DC fighting game that came out waaaaaay before Injustice called Justice League Task Force. It was for the SNES and Genesis and was developed by Blizzard and is their only fighting game. I honestly think that game has a better stance for Cheetah than Injustice 2.
The way her knees are bent shows that shes ready to pounce at any moment (just like a real cheetah), and her claws are in a proper position to actually slash at opponent instead of trying to do the Egyptian dance. Seems like even the NRS animators felt that her stance was weak because if enough time passes youll see her do a little roar so that you dont forget that shes actually supposed to be a Cheetah. Plenty of animal characters exist in fighting games so it should be too hard to get an idea of a proper stance. Is she savage like Talbain?
Or is she more playful like Felicia and Taokaka?
I dont know much about the character but from what I can tell by her mannerisms in game, a Talbain pose would be more appropriate than this.
Flash:
The Flash seems to have the exact opposite problem as every other character mentioned.
He moves way too much. At least NRS attempted to express personality through an idle stance but they failed in animating it a sensible manner. Here, the Flashs bottom half is completely out of rhythm with his top half. His legs move up and down quickly but his arms out of sync with the rest of his movement. Not to mention that his legs are just bouncing up and down. Hes not taking a step or lifting his foot off the ground. Hes just shaking his legs. And what exactly is his right hand doing? It doesnt look like hes prepping or stretching; it just looks like hes moving his hand around for the sake of looking active. We get it. Hes the flash and hes fast. But at least put some rhythm and coherency into his movement.
I couldnt think of another fighting game character that was comparable to the Flash in terms of speed but the idea of a quick and nimble character is not new to the genre. There are plenty examples of characters that agile and you can tell just by their idle animations. Vanessa is a great example.
Shes anxious to fight so she keeps herself moving. Her entire body is in sync in terms of movement so it looks natural. She even manages to take a couple of steps to show that she is on the move and thatll shell be all over the place during the fight. El Fuerte also does this right.
He puts his energy into natural movement. His legs are moving which shows that hes a runner and it compliments his playstyle perfectly.
Cyborg:
Out of all the characters in the game, Cyborg probably has the worst idle stance.
I have no idea what this character is trying to convey. Hes half-robot and half-human, so he stands like hes about to throw a football? There are so many things wrong with this stance its hard to decide to where to begin. First and foremost, this is not a fighting stance in the slightest. He arms arent ready to throw a punch. His face if forward just asking to get hit since his arms are pointed downwards at an awkward angle and his body facing towards the front making it impossible for his right to be of any use in actual combat.
Secondly, he is completely facing forward so when he inevitably turns around his entire back is to the screen.
A couple of other fighting game characters have been animated with their back to the players (Kim Kapwhan in the Real Bout games and Kouryu in Last Blade 2) but you can tell that they were designed with that pose in mind.
You can clearly see their legs and at least one arm at all times, not to mention that Kim uses mostly kicks so his attacks are all still depicted properly while Kouryus sword is always shown to the viewer. In Cyborgs case, his entire body is hiding his limbs which in turn hide some of his attacks.
The worst part of this, however, is the fact that the idle animation on the character select screen is significantly better than what is present in game! He looks calm and calculating just like how a cyborg should be. His cannon is ready to fire but his other arm is near it so he can steady his shots as well potentially protect his face. I have no idea why they went with the quarterback pose over the Megaman/Samus Aran style pose."
I'll post the second half later as it is too long.