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L.A. Noire's amazing MotionScan facial capture system demonstrated (video)
In gaming, 3D graphics get more powerful, environments get more expansive, enemies get more intelligent, but still facial animations haven't progressed much since Pac-Man chomped his first power pellet in 1980. Finally, a major breakthrough courtesy of Australian company Depth Analysis. It has developed technology called MotionScan, which enables a high-res 3D recreation of a person's face -- not just capturing bits and pieces of facial animation but their entire head, right down to the hairstyle. It's getting its first use in next year's L.A. Noire, a 1940s PS3 and Xbox 360 murder mystery game from Rockstar, and while we don't know enough about the title to be able to say whether it's worth plunking down a pre-order now, after watching the video embedded below it's clear that the bar has been raised.
LA Noire's MotionScan technology captured on video
MotionScan, the technology that powers LA Noire's impressive facial animation system, is detailed in a new behind-the-scenes video released by Rockstar. "It's a constant close-up," actor Keith Szarabjaka explains in the video. "But it's a close-up from 360 degrees." Sure, you'll see him and the rest of the acting crew don the usual motion capture suits, but the addition of MotionScan lets Team Bondi recreate facial performance with an accuracy previously unseen. A wide array of cameras surrounds the actor, from all sorts of angles, creating a 3D composite that can be used within the game engine. "A big theme of this game is dishonesty and to detect when people are lying," leading star Aaron Stanton emphasizes. "You couldn't have done that in the past."
L.A. Noire's mocap system claims to set new bar for 3D performances
"Traditional motion capture could never bring to life the subtle nuances of the chaotic criminal underworld of L.A. Noire in the same way as MotionScan," claims Team Bondi's Brendan McNamara, commenting on MotionScan. It's the new motion capture technology being employed first by his studio's moody crime game, L.A. Noire. In a press release yesterday, Depth Analysis announced the new tech and touted its many applications in the forthcoming Rockstar title. Allegedly, MotionScan uses "32 high-definition cameras to capture true-to-life three-dimensional performances at up to 30 frames per second," thus allowing for the supposedly "emotional performances" that McNamara says make L.A. Noire "a truly unique and revolutionary game." Aside from the claims of higher quality, the mocap system supposedly has lower operation costs due to a streamlined post-production processing time. With any luck, we'll finally see all this big talk in action -- and compare ir with other performance-capture scenes in games like Uncharted 2, Alan Wake and Heavy Rain -- this September when the game arrives on store shelves.
