11. Blend Spaces 1D, Key Bindings, and State Machines

Overview

This chapter begins by creating the Blend Space asset needed to allow movement animation blending from idle to walking, and finally to running, based on the speed of the player character. We will then implement new key mappings and use those mappings in C++ to code gameplay functionality for the player character, like sprinting. Lastly, we will create a new animation state machine within our character animation blueprint so that the player animations can smoothly transition between movement and jumping.

By the end of this chapter, you will have the SuperSideScroller player character animating correctly when moving around the environment and moving in a way that feels best for the game. This means that the player will support an idle, walking, and sprinting animation, while also supporting the animations needed for jumping.