Interview with Carlo Andrei Mercado: Thinking of Animation as a System
- Vanessa
- 9 juin
- 9 min de lecture
This month on Animotion, we’re looking at the start: that brief transition where a character shifts from stillness into movement.
A handful of frames where reactivity, intention, control and game feel take shape.
To explore this key moment in locomotion, we’re joined by Carlo Andrei Mercado, Lead Gameplay Animator at Ubisoft Bordeaux and Epic Instructor, whose deeply gameplay‑driven approach connects animation, technique and player experience.
What follows is a precise and generous conversation, grounded in practice. It brings us closer to that tipping point where movement begins and where gameplay is felt.
To start, could you walk us through your journey toward becoming a Lead Gameplay Animator?
I’m a Lead Gameplay Animator at Ubisoft Bordeaux. I just finished my work on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resync and am currently working on an unannounced project.
With over 12 years of experience in the video game industry, I’ve developed deep expertise in gameplay animation, motion capture pipelines, and technical implementation across multiple engines, specializing in Unreal Engine 5.
My career began at Level Plus Game Studio in Colombia, where I built my foundation in animation and game development.
I later joined Streum On Studio as a cinematic and gameplay animator on Necromunda: Hired Gun, where I supported most of the cinematics, helping with animation, mocap, and pipeline tasks, as well as animating the main NPCs in the HUB.
Later, as Lead Gameplay Animator on Daimon Blades, I managed the complete animation pipeline : from rigging and mocap editing to Animation Blueprint creation and UE5 implementation.
At Ubisoft Bordeaux, I served as Lead Gameplay Animator on the Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Claws of Awaji DLC and on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resync in the Scripted Events , where I focused on refining gameplay animation systems and ensuring seamless player experiences.
My technical background has also led me to teaching opportunities with Epic Games, where I worked as an instructor and teaching assistant for the Unreal Animation Fellowship in 2023 and the Unreal Game Fellowship EMA 2025.
In these programs, I specialized in Animation Blueprints, gameplay frameworks, and runtime animation systems.
My animation foundation was built in ICESI’s Interactive Media Design University program and further developed through iAnimate’s Game Workshop program, before being refined at GOBELINS, l’École de l’Image, where I specialized in 3D character animation.
"I’m passionate about the technical side of gameplay animation, building robust systems that bring characters to life and create fluid, responsive experiences for players."
You’ve worked in radically different environments. Across all these cultures and production styles, what ultimately shaped your “gameplay DNA” as an animator?
There were three key moments that really defined my “gameplay DNA” as an animator.
The first was when I played Assassin’s Creed 1 back in college. That experience completely changed how I saw animation in games, it wasn’t just about movement or aesthetics anymore; it was about how animation could drive gameplay and make the player feel connected to the character. That was the moment I decided I wanted to focus on gameplay animation.
The second was my background in programming and game design thanks to my studies in Interactive Media Design at ICESI University. I’ve always been curious about how things work under the hood, and that curiosity evolved throughout my career.
It helped me communicate better with other departments, understand pipelines, and see game development as a whole system rather than isolated disciplines.
It also made me more independent when prototyping or creating new systems with my team, I could bridge the gap between animation and tech.
And finally, learning about space switching in Animation Sherpa with Laura Lico completely reshaped how I think when animating. It taught me to approach motion and control from a more technical and spatial perspective, which deeply influenced how I prepare my scenes in the DCC, how I build my tools, and how I solve complex animation problems.
Together, those three moments built the foundation of how I think, create, and collaborate, blending artistic intent with technical precision to make gameplay feel alive.
Across your various projects, what has been the most technically challenging gameplay system to make work in animation and how did you eventually solve it?
There have been two gameplay systems that really tested my technical and creative limits as an animator.
The first was reworking the attack speed system in Daimon Blades. The game designers and director wanted both NPCs and players to have attack speeds controlled in a fully data‑driven way.
The challenge was that traditional attack montages don’t scale well, if you speed up or slow down an animation too much, it quickly feels unnatural.
But creating six or more variations per attack type wasn’t feasible either.
To solve it, I worked closely with the programmers to find a middle ground: we built a system that supported a maximum of three speed variations per attack, each covering a broader range of speeds while maintaining natural motion.
"A small tip for anyone dealing with animation speed adjustments:
the sweet spot for speeding up without breaking the feel is around 120–130%, while slowing down should stay between 85–80%, depending on the attack.
Beyond those thresholds, it starts to look like slow motion or loses impact."
The second major challenge came during Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Claws of Awaji DLC.
I wanted the Bo Master, one of the unique NPCs, to emulate the player character Naoe’s style and responsiveness.
Typically, NPCs use full‑body animations, but I decided to integrate the player’s layering system instead, a complex setup designed for the main character.
With the directors’ approval, I adapted that system for the Bo Master, allowing him to blend upper‑body and lower‑body actions dynamically. It was technically demanding because the layering system was built for a completely different architecture, but once integrated, it gave the NPC a much more fluid and player‑like feel.
Both cases taught me that technical challenges in animation are rarely just about solving a problem, they’re about finding creative ways to preserve believability and responsiveness while respecting the gameplay vision.
On a project as large as Assassin's Creed, how do you navigate the collaboration between gameplay animators, technical animators, and game designers? What makes the difference between an animation that truly serves the system and one that just looks good in isolation?
On Assassin’s Creed, collaboration is everything, and what helps me navigate it is the balance I’ve built between technical and artistic skills.
My background in programming and game design allows me to speak the same language as technical animators and designers, while my animation training keeps me focused on performance and emotion.
That mix helps me support my team and make sure every animation serves gameplay, not just looks good in isolation.
"And honestly, one of the most important aspects of game development is learning together, so I never hesitate to ask questions when I don’t understand how a system works. Being curious and open is what keeps collaboration strong and ideas evolving."
You're an Unreal Authorized Instructor and a TA for the Unreal Game Fellowship, which means you spend time both shipping games and teaching them. What does teaching give back to you as a practitioner? Has it ever changed the way you approach your own work on a production?
Teaching has given me a lot back as a practitioner.
It’s helped me trust more in my own knowledge and learn how to guide others effectively, not just by explaining concepts, but by creating clear documentation and learning materials that my team and students can actually use.
It’s also improved how I give feedback and review work, making me more structured and supportive in production environments.
And one of the best parts of the Unreal Fellowships is the people. I’ve met incredibly skilled and knowledgeable professionals who share their insights generously.
Those experiences are true collaborative learning opportunities, and they constantly inspire me to keep growing and refining how I approach both teaching and production.
From your experience, what do gameplay animators tend to understand too late about Unreal, something you wish they would internalize from day one?
One thing I wish gameplay animators understood earlier about Unreal is that the engine isn’t just a place to play animations, it’s a place to express yourself through systems.
Unreal only really opens up when you understand the fundamentals behind those systems.
If you want your work to feel as good in‑engine as it does in your DCC, you need to get comfortable with the basics: Blueprints, Animation Blueprints, gameplay systems, notifies, physics, and the skeletal animation pipeline.
The more you understand how these pieces talk to each other, the more independent and creative you become, and the easier it is to collaborate with designers and programmers.
That’s exactly why I’m promoting this mindset in my new workshop, the Unreal Engine Character Animation & Gameplay Foundations Workshop at iAnimate. It’s built to help animators internalize these fundamentals from day one so they can bring their full artistic quality into the engine, not lose it in translation.
https://ianimate.net/workshops/unreal-for-animators
When you train animators transitioning into gameplay, what strengths and weaknesses do you see most often, especially from those coming from a more “classic” animation background?
The biggest challenge I see when animators transition from a classic background into gameplay is understanding the fundamental difference between traditional animation and gameplay animation.
In games, animation isn’t just about looking good, it has to serve the system and enhance the player’s experience.
A beautiful animation that doesn’t respond well to input or breaks the gameplay rhythm simply doesn’t work as gameplay animation.
"Once animators internalize that gameplay animation is about function and feel, not just form, they start thinking in terms of player feedback, timing, and system integration, and that’s when their work truly comes alive in‑engine."
Throughout your career, you’ve animated starts for very different types of games. What truly changes in the way you design a start depending on the genre ( FPS, action‑RPG, open world) and what never changes?
When designing starts, the first thing I focus on is understanding the type of game I’m working on.
If it’s a snappy, arcade‑style experience, I’ll aim for an almost instant, highly responsive start that matches the fast locomotion and player feedback.
But if the game is more grounded or semi‑realistic, like an action‑RPG or an open world, I’ll go for a distance‑matching approach, similar to the one used in the Lyra locomotion system, which helps preserve the player’s momentum and makes movement feel more natural.
"What never changes is the goal: making sure the start feels connected to player input and supports the gameplay rhythm.
No matter the genre, the start has to serve the system first, responsiveness and believability always come before style."
And finally, what are the most common pitfalls you see in directional starts, even among experienced animators, and how can they be avoided?
The most common pitfall I see in directional starts (even among experienced animators) is using root motion directly to control starts and stops.
It often makes the character feel clunky and less responsive, breaking the sense of player control.
Directional starts should always prioritize responsiveness and player feedback over perfect motion fidelity.
Another frequent issue is making the start animations too long.
In gameplay, starts are usually very short, even in systems like Lyra, which use two‑second clips, only about 20 frames are actually used during gameplay.
The rest is there to blend smoothly with the locomotion system.
Keeping starts short, responsive, and system‑driven ensures the animation feels snappy and natural while maintaining full player control.
To wrap up, could you share a piece of advice for gameplay animators, whether it’s a skill you wish you had learned earlier, the best advice you were ever given (and now pass on), or something you believe the industry should change in the way it trains gameplay animators?
If you’re starting out or looking for your next role as a gameplay animator, my biggest advice is to build a portfolio that shows both your animation skills and your ability to implement them inside the engine.
Studios want to see that you understand not just how to animate, but how those animations function in gameplay.
For example, in my last Unreal demo reel, I used Lyra as a base system to implement my animations, showing that I understand the framework and can work within it.
To take it further, I created a fully functional melee system inside Lyra, complete with combat animations and logic.
That kind of work demonstrates not only animation quality but also technical understanding and system design.
So my advice is simple: don’t stop at beautiful motion.
Show that you can make it play, that you understand how animation interacts with gameplay systems.
That’s what truly sets a gameplay animator apart.
"That’s why, when I’m hiring a new animator to work with me, I don’t just look at demo reels, I look for implementation.
Seeing how someone brings their animations to life inside the engine tells me far more about their understanding of gameplay and collaboration than a polished render ever could."
A heartfelt thank‑you to Carlo Andrei Mercado for sharing his journey, his vision, and his expertise with such clarity and generosity.
What stands out most in this conversation is the rare coherence between Carlo’s thinking, his practice, and his approach to teaching. He never talks about animation as mere movement, but as a living system, a language that connects engine, player, and artistic intention.
His hybrid background across tech, design, and animation gives him a sharp, grounded understanding of the realities of modern gameplay.
And what impressed me most is the way he explains things: always with the intention of making others more independent, better equipped, and more confident in the engine. Sharing what he’s learned isn’t a duty for him, it’s a natural reflex.
His answers don’t just describe how he works; they reveal a way of thinking about the craft, a philosophy of animation that puts the player at the center and treats systems as a space for expression.
If you’d like to explore more of Carlo’s work:
Linkedin : Carlo Andrei Mercado Morales | LinkedIn
New youtube channel: Carlo Animator - YouTube