Making Partner Emotes

Emotes for two players, like the hug or the high five. How players use them is on Partner Emotes, this page is about making them.

The three parts

A partner emote is three animations:

sequenceDiagram
    participant S as Starter
    participant P as Partner
    Note over S: intro<br>(holds its last pose)
    Note over S: waiting...
    P->>S: accepts
    Note over S,P: both play at the same time
    Note over S: action
    Note over P: partner_action (optional)

Loading

intro - the starter plays this while waiting, like holding a hand up for a high five
action - the starter plays this once someone joined
partner_action - what the partner plays, the same as action if you leave it out (optional)**

in the pack.json

"high_five": {
  "look": false,
  "partner": {
    "intro": "high_five_intro",
    "action": "high_five",
    "partner_action": "high_five",
    "distance": 0.9
  }
}

Field	Default	What it is
intro		played while waiting
action	the emote's animation	the starter's part
partner_action	same as action	the partner's part
distance	1	blocks between the two players during the action

The intro and action animations don't show up as emotes of their own.

The intro

Give it "loop": "hold_on_last_frame", so the starter keeps holding the pose while they wait.

Lining them up

This is the important part. Animate both actions as if the partner stands distance blocks in front of the starter, facing back.

        starter              partner
          -->      0.9 blocks   <--
           O  _________________  O

In game nobody gets moved. Each player's game draws both of them exactly where the animations expect them, so if your animation is made for 0.9 blocks, distance must say 0.9.

The easiest way to get it right in Blockbench: put two templates in one project, the second one turned around 180 degrees and moved distance * 16 pixels forward. Animate both, then export each one's animation on its own.

Same or different parts?

• Same part (high five): both do the same thing mirrored to each other, leave out partner_action.
• Different parts (fusion dance): the partner does the mirror image of the starter, so it needs its own animation. Give it in partner_action.

Sounds

Sound and particle keyframes play for each player's own animation. If both play the same action (like the high five), both make the sound, which is what you want for a clap. For a sound only one of them should make, put it in only one of the two actions. See Sounds and Particles.