🚀 Running the Project

To run the project, simply build and execute it in Release mode.
All assets and systems are configured to work out of the box — no additional setup required.

⚠️ Make sure dependencies are correctly linked before building.

🎮 Character Controller & Animation System

A simple character control system with animation switching, designed for intuitive movement and clean transitions between states.

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🕹️ Character Controls

Key	Action	Animation Triggered
W	Move Forward	Walk Forward
S	Move Backward	Walk Backward
A	Strafe Left	Walk Left
D	Strafe Right	Walk Right
SPACE	Jump	Jump (plays once)
ESC	Quit Application	-

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🧠 How Animation Switching Was Implemented

The core animation system is built around an Animator class that handles various animation states such as idle, walk, and jump. Animations are stored in a map and triggered by input events.

🔄 Key Features:

• State-Based Switching
  Character begins in an idle state and only transitions when a valid input is received (e.g., pressing W to trigger a walk forward).

• Single-State Priority (No Stacking)
  When multiple keys are pressed (e.g., W + A), one animation takes priority — for instance, forward walking overrides strafing.

• Non-Looping Animation Handling
  Certain animations like jump are played once and automatically return to the idle state upon completion.

• Smooth Transitions via Matrix Decomposition
  Blending is achieved by decomposing the transformation matrix into:

  • Position
  • Rotation
  • Scale

  This allows more natural transitions between animations.

• Performance Fallback Option
  For lightweight builds, a simplified glm::mix() blending approach is available as an alternative.

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⚙️ Built with extensibility in mind, this system can be expanded to include combat states, reaction animations, or full locomotion blending with root motion.