GS_Performer

1 - Performer Manager & Skin Slots

The Performer Manager and Skin Slot system provide modular character appearance management at runtime. The manager handles global performer registration and lookup. Skin slots define individual mesh/material combinations that can be swapped independently, enabling runtime costume and equipment changes.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Contents

• GS_PerformerManagerComponent
• Skin Slot System
• VelocityLocomotionHookComponent
• PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent
• Setup
• Extension Guide
• See Also

GS_PerformerManagerComponent

Singleton manager extending GS_ManagerComponent. Handles global performer registration, coordinates skin slot configuration across the level, and provides performer lookup.

Bus: PerformerManagerRequestBus (Single, Single)

Skin Slot System

PerformerSkinSlotComponent

Individual skin slot component. Each slot holds one actor mesh asset and its material overrides. Addressed by slot ID.

Bus: PerformerSkinSlotRequestBus (ById, Single)

SkinSlotHandlerComponent

Manages the complete collection of skin slots for a character entity. Applies PerformerSkinSlotsConfigProfile presets to swap entire outfits at once.

Bus: SkinSlotHandlerRequestBus (ById, Single)

Data Types

VelocityLocomotionHookComponent

Reads entity velocity each tick and writes locomotion parameters (speed, direction) to the EMotionFX animation graph. Drives blend trees automatically without manual parameter management.

PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent

Hot-reloads prefab animation assets during development without requiring a full level restart.

Setup

1. Add GS_PerformerManagerComponent to the Game Manager prefab and include it in the Startup Managers list.
2. Add SkinSlotHandlerComponent to the character root entity.
3. Add one PerformerSkinSlotComponent per modular slot (head, body, arms, legs, etc.) to child entities.
4. Create PerformerSkinSlotsConfigProfile assets in the Asset Editor for each outfit configuration.
5. For locomotion, add VelocityLocomotionHookComponent to entities with an EMotionFX actor.

Extension Guide

The Skin Slot system uses the companion component pattern. Custom slot behavior (equipment integration, visual effects on swap) should be added as companion components that listen to SkinSlotHandler bus events on the same entity.

See Also

For related component references:

• Paper Performer
• Locomotion
• Head Tracking

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Framework API: GS_Performer

Get GS_Performer

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2 - Performers

The Performers sub-system defines the character entity types in GS_Performer. Each type encapsulates a complete rendering strategy — from the lightweight billboard paper performer to the full 3D avatar pipeline integrating EMotionFX, skin slots, and locomotion.

The performer type determines the fundamental visual structure of the character entity. Performer Features then layer onto it, independent of type.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: Performers.

Contents

• Core Pattern
• Paper Performer
• Avatar Performer
• Extension Guide
• See Also

Core Pattern

Each performer type is a self-contained entity configuration. The Paper Performer requires only sprite geometry and a facing handler component. The Avatar Performer drives an EMotionFX actor and composes with skin slots and the locomotion hook. Both types participate in Performer Manager registration and support the full Performer Features set.

Paper Performer

Billboard-based character rendering for 2.5D and top-down games. The facing handler orients the sprite quad toward the active camera or a configurable target each tick. The base component allows custom facing strategies through extension.

Paper Performer API

Avatar Performer

The full 3D character pipeline. Drives a rigged EMotionFX actor with support for skin slot equipment, velocity locomotion parameter binding, and animation asset hot-reloading during development.

Avatar Performer API

Extension Guide

Custom paper facing strategies are supported by extending PaperFacingHandlerBaseComponent. Override the tick method to compute any desired facing rotation and apply it to the entity transform each frame. See Paper Performer API for the full extension walkthrough.

See Also

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• The Basics: Performers

For related component references:

• Performer Features API
• Performer Manager API
• GS_Performer API Root

Get GS_Performer

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2.1 - Avatar Performer

Get GS_Performer

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2.2 - Paper Performer

The Paper Performer system provides billboard-based character rendering for 2.5D and top-down games. Facing handler components keep sprite quads oriented toward the camera or a configurable facing target each tick.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Contents

• PaperFacingHandlerBaseComponent
• PaperFacingHandlerComponent
• Camera-Aware Variant
• Extension Guide
• See Also

PaperFacingHandlerBaseComponent

Abstract base component for billboard facing logic. Extend this to implement custom facing strategies (face camera, face movement direction, face target entity).

PaperFacingHandlerComponent

Concrete paper-facing implementation. Orients the entity’s quad toward the active camera each tick. Suitable for standard 2.5D billboard characters.

Camera-Aware Variant

A camera-aware paper facing handler is provided by GS_Complete as a cross-gem component (PhantomCam + Performer):

See Utility: Angles Helper for details.

Extension Guide

Create custom facing strategies by extending PaperFacingHandlerBaseComponent:

1. Create a class extending PaperFacingHandlerBaseComponent.
2. Override the tick/update method to compute your desired facing rotation.
3. Apply the rotation to the entity transform each frame.

See Also

For related component references:

• Performer Manager & Skin Slots

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Framework API: GS_Performer

For related resources:

• Utility: Angles Helper

Get GS_Performer

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3 - Performer Features

Performer Features are components that apply to any performer entity, independent of performer type. They represent capabilities that layer onto the character rather than define it — procedural bone targeting via head tracking, typewriter-synchronized vocalization via babble, and runtime mesh swapping.

The performer type (Paper or Avatar) defines the character’s rendering pipeline. Performer Features extend what that character can do within it.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: Performer Features.

Contents

• Head Tracking
• Babble
• Mesh Swap
• See Also

Head Tracking

Procedural look-at targeting for performer bones. Drives bone orientation toward a world-space target each tick using configurable angle limits and spring damping, enabling characters to naturally track targets, speakers, or points of interest.

Head Tracking API

Babble

Procedural vocalization tones synchronized to Typewriter text output. Fires audio tone events on each character reveal, keyed to speaker identity, creating the characteristic character-voice effect.

Babble API

Mesh Swap

Runtime mesh and material swapping for performer entities. Provides lightweight visual variation without the full slot-based equipment system.

Mesh Swap API

See Also

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• The Basics: Performer Features

For related component references:

• Performers API
• Performer Manager API
• GS_Performer API Root
• Typewriter API — GS_Cinematics

Get GS_Performer

GS_Performer — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

3.1 - Locomotion

The Locomotion system bridges entity movement to animation. The VelocityLocomotionHookComponent samples entity velocity each tick and pushes values into the EMotionFX animation graph, driving blend trees without manual parameter management. The PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent supports hot-reloading animation assets during development.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Contents

• VelocityLocomotionHookComponent
• PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent
• Setup
• See Also

VelocityLocomotionHookComponent

Reads the entity’s current velocity each tick and writes locomotion parameters (speed, direction) to the EMotionFX animation graph. This drives blend trees automatically — characters walk, run, and idle based on their actual movement speed.

PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent

Hot-reloads prefab animation assets during development without requiring a full level restart. Monitors animation asset files for changes and reapplies them to the entity’s EMotionFX actor.

Setup

1. Add VelocityLocomotionHookComponent to an entity with an EMotionFX actor and a movement system (GS_Unit mover or physics rigidbody).
2. Configure the speed and direction parameter names to match your EMotionFX blend tree parameters.
3. Add PrefabAnimAssetsReloaderComponent during development for faster animation iteration.

See Also

For related component references:

• Performer Manager & Skin Slots
• Paper Performer
• Framework API: GS_Unit Movement

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Framework API: GS_Performer

Get GS_Performer

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3.2 - Head Tracking

The Head Tracking system provides procedural head look-at targeting for performer entities. It drives bone orientation toward a world-space target using configurable angle limits and spring damping, enabling characters to naturally track targets, speakers, or points of interest.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Contents

• How It Works
• Setup
• See Also

How It Works

The head tracking component reads the target position each tick and computes the desired bone rotation to face it. The rotation is clamped to configurable angle limits (horizontal and vertical) and smoothed via spring damping to avoid snapping.

Setup

1. Add the head tracking component to an entity with an EMotionFX actor.
2. Configure the target bone (typically the head or neck bone).
3. Set angle limits for horizontal and vertical rotation.
4. Configure spring damping parameters for smooth tracking.
5. Set the look-at target via code or companion component.

See Also

For related component references:

• Performer Manager & Skin Slots
• Paper Performer

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Framework API: GS_Performer

Get GS_Performer

GS_Performer — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

3.3 - Babble

The Babble system generates procedural vocalization tones synchronized to the dialogue Typewriter output. Each speaker can have unique babble tone events that fire with each character reveal, creating the characteristic “character voice” effect used in games like Animal Crossing or Undertale.

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Contents

• BabbleComponent
• Data Types
• How It Works
• See Also

BabbleComponent

Bus: BabbleRequestBus (ById)

Data Types

How It Works

1. The TypewriterComponent (GS_Cinematics) reveals text character by character.
2. On each OnTypeFired notification, the BabbleComponent triggers its configured babble tone.
3. The tone varies based on the speaker’s SpeakerBabbleEvents configuration.
4. The result is a procedural “voice” that matches the text reveal rhythm.

See Also

For related component references:

• Typewriter
• Klatt Voice Synthesis

For conceptual overviews and usage guides:

• Framework API: GS_Performer

Get GS_Performer

GS_Performer — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.

4 - 3rd Party Implementations

For usage guides and setup examples, see The Basics: GS_Performer.

Get GS_Performer

GS_Performer — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.