The video game Spore is fairly old now, but it was ambitious in creating a world where the player can design his own creatures with a unique amount of appendages and body shapes. The player's choices would determine how the creature would behave when it walks, runs, picks things up etc.
The developers studied arc movement and how it is affected by the length of bones and positioning of joints. The height of the character determined the length of his stride and sway. Also they took into account mass, so if you have a really top heavy creature, it would walk in a way that would teeter back and forth in order to maintain balance.
It's incredible what Spore did when it came to customizing animation; add an extra pair of legs, you have an animal, add another and you have an insect, you could even add more if you wanted.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of glitches in the game that limit the possibilities of animation. There's plenty of mesh-clipping that ruins suspension of disbelief. 4 legs animate like 2 seperate people instead of an actual animal walk. Weight and balance is an issue at times especially when it comes to sitting or idle poses.
EA and other companies should continue to support Spore's innovation in animation since it still needs development.
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