A question for you lot:
If I choose my characters' walk cycles to consist of flailing their arms and legs like epileptic chimps who are trying to figure out how to operate tazers, would you consider it...
a) Funny?
b) Likeably quirky?
c) An interesting take on the effects of entropy on the complexity of the human psyche?
d) Lazy?
e) Fucking stupid?
I'm not really working on anything at the moment, but it would be terrific to know what the community thinks about an "artistic direction" like this.
Well, Ben There, Dan That! had some pretty crazy epileptic like walk cycles, and I thought they were funny. :P
I'd consider them based on the content of the game overall. If the game itself is quirky then zany animations are right at home. If the game is something resembling a serious effort, however, then if I were you I'd rethink such a plan.
There are complications, depending on how "wild" you want to make it. My walkcycle for Charlie Foxtrot after he gets drunk was the hugest pain, because he would stumble all over the place and "appear" to walk off the walkable areas and through/over solid barriers. Players seemed to like it though, but then it was integral to a puzzle and furthering the plot. If it furthers the plot or character development I say go for it.