--- title: "Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Unity Animation (UNITY)" platform: "Promptally" canonical_url: "https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-unity-animation" modality: "SKILL" category: "Game Development" compatible_models: [Universal / Model Agnostic] access_tier: "Free Public Artifact (No Auth Required)" license: "MIT" --- # Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Unity Animation (UNITY) **Summary:** Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Unity Animation (UNITY) is a verified SKILL blueprint on Promptally in Game Development optimized for leading AI models. Drive Unity 6.3 LTS character animation with Animator Controllers: states, transitions, parameters, blend trees, animation layers, and humanoid Avatar IK. Use when wiring an Animator, setting parameters from script (SetFloat/SetBool/SetTrigger), building blend trees, or when the user mentions Animator, Mecanim, state machine, blend tree, or .controller. Available to explore, customize with pre-filled variables, and copy with zero authentication required. ## Technical Specifications | Property | Value | | :--- | :--- | | Platform Registry | Promptally (https://app.promptally.dev) | | Modality | SKILL | | Category | Game Development | | Compatible Engines | Universal / Model Agnostic | | Dynamic Variables | None (Static Blueprint) | | Approx. Token Length | 1,545 | | Access Tier | Free Public Artifact (No Auth Required) | | License | MIT | ### Pre-Filled Template & Production Source ````md --- name: unity-animation description: > Drive Unity 6.3 LTS character animation with Animator Controllers: states, transitions, parameters, blend trees, animation layers, and humanoid Avatar IK. Use when wiring an Animator, setting parameters from script (SetFloat/SetBool/SetTrigger), building blend trees, or when the user mentions Animator, Mecanim, state machine, blend tree, or .controller. --- # Unity Animation (Animator / Mecanim) Control animation state with Unity 6.3 LTS's `Animator` and Animator Controllers: parameters, transitions, blend trees, layers, and humanoid IK. Targets **Unity 6.3 LTS (6000.3)**. ## When to use - Use when connecting animation clips into a state machine, driving them from script via parameters, blending locomotion (idle→walk→run), layering an upper-body action over movement, or adding foot/hand IK on a humanoid rig. - Use when the project has `*.controller` (Animator Controller) and `*.anim` assets, or a rigged model with an Avatar. **When *not* to use:** simple non-skeletal value tweens (UI fades, position lerps) are better done with a tween/coroutine — see `unity-csharp-scripting`. Timeline cutscenes are a separate tool. 2D sprite frame animation also uses the Animator but with sprite keyframes. ## Core workflow 1. **Add an `Animator`** to the model and assign an Animator Controller; for a humanoid model, set its rig to **Humanoid** so it has an Avatar (enables retargeting and IK). 2. **Define parameters** on the controller — `Float` (Speed), `Bool` (IsGrounded), `Int`, `Trigger` (Jump) — and states with transitions whose *conditions* read those parameters. 3. **Set parameters from script**, never poke states directly: `SetFloat`, `SetBool`, `SetInteger`, `SetTrigger`. The state machine resolves transitions for you. 4. **Blend continuous motion with a Blend Tree** (one `Float` like Speed drives idle↔walk↔run) instead of many discrete states + transitions. 5. **Layer additive/override motion** (e.g. an upper-body "aim" layer with an Avatar Mask) and control its `layerWeight`. 6. **Verify** in the Animator window during Play mode — the live state highlights and parameter values update, so you can see exactly which transition fired (or didn't). ## Patterns ### 1. Drive locomotion + a one-shot action from script ```csharp using UnityEngine; [RequireComponent(typeof(Animator))] public class CharacterAnim : MonoBehaviour { private Animator _anim; // Cache parameter hashes — faster and typo-proof vs string lookups every frame. private static readonly int Speed = Animator.StringToHash("Speed"); private static readonly int IsGrounded= Animator.StringToHash("IsGrounded"); private static readonly int Jump = Animator.StringToHash("Jump"); private void Awake() => _anim = GetComponent(); public void Tick(float planarSpeed, bool grounded) { _anim.SetFloat(Speed, planarSpeed); // drives a 1D blend tree (idle/walk/run) _anim.SetBool(IsGrounded, grounded); // gates a falling/landing transition } public void DoJump() => _anim.SetTrigger(Jump); // fire-and-forget; auto-resets after use } ``` ### 2. Smooth a noisy input into a blend parameter ```csharp // dampTime smooths Speed so the blend tree doesn't snap; great for analog sticks. _anim.SetFloat(Speed, targetSpeed, 0.1f /* dampTime */, Time.deltaTime); ``` ### 3. Play / cross-fade a state directly (bypassing parameter conditions) ```csharp // Useful for hit reactions where you want an immediate, explicit transition. _anim.CrossFade("Hit", 0.1f); // 0.1 = 10% of the state's length, not seconds _anim.CrossFadeInFixedTime("Hit", 0.15f); // duration in seconds // Or jump instantly: _anim.Play("Hit"); ``` ### 4. Wait until the current state finishes ```csharp private System.Collections.IEnumerator AfterAttack() { yield return null; // let the Animator start the transition // During a transition the "current" state is the one being left; read the next one. var info = _anim.IsInTransition(0) ? _anim.GetNextAnimatorStateInfo(0) : _anim.GetCurrentAnimatorStateInfo(0); // layer 0 yield return new WaitForSeconds(info.length); // seconds; approximate, varies in blend trees // ...follow-up logic } ``` ## Pitfalls - **`SetTrigger` missed or "sticks"** — triggers are consumed by the next satisfied transition and auto-reset; if no transition consumes it, it can fire later unexpectedly. Use `ResetTrigger` to clear, or prefer a `Bool` when the condition is a sustained state. - **String parameter typos fail silently** — a misspelled name just does nothing. Use `Animator.StringToHash` and cache the int hashes. - **Transition feels laggy** — `Has Exit Time` makes the transition wait for the clip to reach a normalized time. Uncheck it for responsive, condition-driven transitions (jump, hit). - **Character slides or won't move** — `Apply Root Motion` is on but your code also moves the transform (or vice versa). Decide: root motion *or* scripted movement, not both. - **Upper-body layer overrides the whole body** — set the layer's Blend mode (Override vs Additive), assign an Avatar Mask, and tune `layerWeight` (0–1). - **A cross-fade is much slower or faster than expected** — `CrossFade`'s duration is *normalized* to the state's length. Use `CrossFadeInFixedTime` to give the duration in seconds. - **IK does nothing** — IK only applies inside `OnAnimatorIK`, requires "IK Pass" enabled on the layer, and needs a Humanoid Avatar. ## References - For **blend trees** (1D vs 2D Freeform/Directional), **animation layers + Avatar Masks**, and **humanoid IK** (`OnAnimatorIK`, `SetIKPositionWeight`, `SetIKPosition`, look-at), read `references/blend-trees-and-ik.md`. - Primary docs: Unity Manual "Animation" section and `ScriptReference/Animator`. ## Related skills - `unity-csharp-scripting` — the MonoBehaviour and coroutine timing used above. - `unity-physics` — moving the body that the animation visualises. - `game-ai` — deciding *when* to play which animation state. ```` ## Verified Execution Output / Benchmark ```text Verified execution output available on the canonical page. ``` ## Related Blueprints on Promptally - [Agent Skill to Community Mod Pack](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-community-mod-pack) - [Agent Skill to Game Dev Rust Godot](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-game-dev-rust-godot) - [Agent Skill to Godot Engine 3D Developer](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-godot-engine-3d-developer) - [Agent Skill to Solo Community Outreach](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-solo-community-outreach) - [Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Router (GAMEDEV-SKILLS AWESOME-GAMEDEV-AGENT-SKILLS)](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-router-1) - [Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Ebitengine Game (EBITENGINE)](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-ebitengine-game) - [Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Godot Tilemap (GODOT)](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-godot-tilemap) - [Agent Skill to Game-Dev Skill: Godot Multiplayer (GODOT)](https://app.promptally.dev/p/skill-godot-multiplayer)