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How do you make a giant mechanical eyeball express life and emotions
let alone give the impression that he's talking when he has no mouth?
The animator's understanding of human behavior came in handy
for bringing Wheatley the personality sphere to life.
Talking is so much more than just moving a character's mouth.
You have to use body language, head attitudes and rhythm of movement and eye focus
to indicate a character's feelings and motivations.
Slow, smooth head moves, a steady gaze and a relaxed eye aperture indicate that Wheatley is calm.
Short, sharp head turns, rapid blinks and glancing around indicate nervousness or deceit.
Add a tightly constricted eye aperture and a little shiver to show fear.
Tilting the body away while keeping the eye focused on the player
signals an attempt at cleverness that ultimately only fools Wheatley himself.
Suspicion is communicated by squinting his eyelids and handles,
which function as very expressive eyebrows and cheeks.
It's also fun to remind the player that Wheatley is a machine.
When hacking, his eye and body segments become perfectly centered
and spin mechanically, inspired by the spinning tape reels on old Univac computers.
And when he wants to look far in front,
he flips his eye all the way over to the other side of his head.
This animation approach combined with the writing and vocals
makes Wheatley quite a unique and entertaining character
part human, part machine, all eye, and no brain.
