What is the best way of doing animations in 2d RPG games?

Animation
1

I’m new to this engine and I am trying to work out what is the best way to handle overlay objects and animations. We are trying to make it so players can equip articles of clothing and weapons(that are separated from the base) and at the same time, allow them to be switched. We have tried several methods, like having the overlay object attach to the base object and have it listen to what the base listens to(in other words, play the animation the base is playing). However, with this method we’ve found it hard to sync up the animations and we also have to create an animation controller for all the overlay items. Another method we tried was adding the clothes themselves onto the animations of the base as properties. With this method we’re not exactly sure how we would handle the changing of overlays if a person equips a separate item.

What is the best way to handle animations for a 2D game of this sort? It is hard to find many references in this area.

2

If you’re using sprite sheets, look into sync layers. This should keep the overlays in sync with the base.

If you’re using skeletal animation, you may be able to add the overlay as a child of the appropriate bone (e.g., make a helmet a child of the head bone). This only works well for rigid overlays such as helmets, not so well for overlays that need to deform with motion such as flowing cloth.