uncanny-valley
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Real Mario just got a lot scarier
If a the above image wasn't enough of a scare for you, then know that some person who is very much interested in causing you nightmares has decided to go and animate the thing. That's right, this "real-life Mario" now actually speaks and blinks its eyes. We suggest you only click through to the animated picture if you want to: scare children not sleep tonight know what the face of evil looks like
Super Real Mario Brother is super unpleasant
Poor Mario. Thanks to this simulated image of what he might look like in real life, the internet has turned against him. You often don't hear words like "creepy" and "pedophile" associated with the portly plumber, but with this picture, it's hard to think anything else.Even so, this image (which was created by Pixeloo using Photoshop CS2) isn't completely fair to the lovable Nintendo hero. For example, why are his eyes so unrealistically big? Also, that thing on his mouth looks more like a raccoon tail than an actual 'stache. Still, this is certainly an interesting conversation piece -- one that makes us hope that Mario will continue looking cartoony for eternity. A realistic looking Mario definitely enters the Uncanny Valley, which is one place our favorite plumber should never dare to venture.[Thanks, Mark and Mikey!]
Express yourself, come on and do it...
Over the years, most of us have grown accustomed to the typical avatar gestures... /wave, /kiss, /kneel, and the like. Even some of the more outlandish emotes have their place, like /robot or /rude. Of course, this kind of thinking is not out of the box! Since most people labor under the assumption that the money is to be found out of the box, you can pretty well kiss the box goodbye! For Bob Moore of Terra Nova, the most unbox-like development in the MMO sphere is in what he calls "free gesticulation," a technology capable of reading the physical movements of a player and translating them on-screen to their avatar of choice.The gesture system that exists in games today, coupled with a competent VOIP solution, is adequate for most of your basic communication needs. Standalone gestures like waves, nods, and bows do just fine by their lonesome, and informative pointing gestures work particularly well with VOIP software. But what of expressive or descriptive gestures? Moore suggests that these previously untapped lines of communication could open up whole new avenues of gameplay possibilities, particularly for role players. And best of all, the technology is extremely close to mainstream. All we need is for somebody to implement it. You can practically /kiss the uncanny valley goodbye!
Heavy Rain devs have "conquered" the Uncanny Valley
Quantic Dream, developers of the mysterious Heavy Rain title, let their co-founder, Guillaume de Fondaumière, talk about development of their game. First off, Guillaume (we'd like to call him Fondie, but we'd hate to be so informal) claimed having their own motion capture studio was more useful than outsourcing because they're on their own time and not someone else's -- meaning they can get more out of the tools because they've got them down the hall from the bathroom, so to speak.The problem with their initial video, many people cried, was the inability for viewers to suspend disbelief. Some emotions seemed awkward and the mouth movement of the character was a bit twitchy at times. However, Guillaume claims that "I can officially announce that there is no uncanny valley any more, not in real-time." If this turns out to be true, it's a real breakthrough for the industry and something the PS3 can claim was done on its console alone. Bragging rights, or something. In light of this new technology, more A-List Hollywood actors are showing interest in taking part in this new virtual medium -- a way to change their image without heavy makeup.Sony's in control of when any footage gets released. We expect a new trailer or a surprise demo to be wandering around in Home when it launches. Just our two cents. Working for Sony has been great, Guillaume says, since out of all the companies, Sony seemed to understand and really connect with the idea behind the game. Plus they applaud the versatility and power of Sony's machine. This isn't to say they aren't working on games for other consoles, but if Heavy Rain performs well critically and sells decently, we wouldn't be too shocked if the two signed up together for a while.
CB2 Child Robot is possibly the most disturbing machine ever built
Imagine if someone, somewhere managed to find the exact formula for producing the most perfectly awful example of the uncanny valley (say, for a horror movie or something). Now, accept the fact that this organization is the Japanese Science and Technology Agency, and that they managed to produce the most disturbing machine you've ever seen, without even realizing it. The 33 kilogram CB2 is literally beyond words in its freakiness, not only in its nailing of the uncanny valley, but in its description. Apparently it emulates "the physical ability of a 1- or 2-year-old toddler, can turn over and stand up with assistance," has 51 compressed air-powered actuators, and has 200 tactile sensors in its "skin." It sends so many shivers up our spine to think of the CB2's lifeless putty coating as "skin" that it's a wonder we're even able to continue typing. Seriously, just so that we can stop and move onto something else a little more human (heck, even a motherboard feels homely next to this), go check out the video after the break of the horrifying little thing writhing about on the floor.[Via Tokyo Times; thanks Dave]
CGI night elf causes screaming in uncanny valley
That sound you hear is the uncanny valley screaming out in terror. This latest completely CGI woman created by artist Max Kor blows our mind. Originally created to be a submission in a World of Warcraft contest, Kor says he didn't submit it because he couldn't finish the project in time -- something about details getting in the way. We can't imagine what he's talking about. Kor says on his site, "When I begin personal projects, I have a habit of starting something not knowing exactly what it should look like, but still imagining some very small and unimportant details that definitely should be there. While it may be seen as very unprofessional, that's what makes it fun; exploring the possibilities along the way" Yeah, unprofessional is the last thing we'd ever describe this as. Kor goes through the step-by-step process detailing the development of the night elf on the CGSociety website. We have to echo our sister-site WoWInsider in saying that if we didn't see how she was created (snapshots shown after the break), we'd swear it's a woman in make-up. Unbelievable work.[Via WoWInsider]
Sega Toys' Dream Pony is one freaky robot
Remember the Uncanny Valley? It's that place where robots look very much like the biological entities that they're meant to emulate, but just dissimilar enough to give them a very creepy appearance. Well we'd suggest that Sega Toys' upcoming Dream Pony falls squarely into the valley, as the 4-foot tall bot certainly resembles a real mini horse -- though as you can see in the pictures (both here and after the jump), it probably has the potential to really freak people out. Nonetheless, Sega is confident that this latest addition to its zoo of robotic pets will be popular enough among little girls (and immature men such as ourselves) that it can move 10,000 of these strange toys per year. Since you wouldn't pay $600 for a stuffed animal that just sat around looking weird, Dream Pony -- a virtual doppelgänger for Hasbro's Butterscotch -- responds to visual, audio, and tactile stimulation by jerking its head around or emitting a frightened whinny, among several other forms of exciting feedback. Although this robopony won't actually trot around the neighborhood like the real one your parents would buy you if they weren't so stingy, you can still sit on its back (assuming you're under 80 pounds) and "feed" it a plastic carrot over and over again. All-in-all, the Dream Pony doesn't really seem to provide the kind of long-term playability you'd get from an Xbox or a Robosapien, but once your little girl starts begging and whining for one, you'll have little choice but to welcome Dreamy into your home.[Via Pink Tentacle]
Wii and the psychology of cartoony graphics
To devoted fans, Nintendo's frequent use of cartoony graphics is comfortable and familiar. To others, they represent the company's biggest hurdle when it comes to dominating the American market (again). Over at Next-Gen, however, there's an interesting look at the psychology of cartoon graphics even beyond the issue of the uncanny valley. The Next-Gen piece focuses on "big heads" in Japanese games and points out that for many, those are familiar images associated with happy childhood memories -- and that association is a lock when it comes to selling games, whereas the discerning Japanese consumer might turn their collective noses (and wallets) up at a game that falls short of photorealism. With the imminent release of Wii -- and Wii Sports -- the question of pure fantasy graphics versus near-photorealism becomes more important. Nintendo is marketing Wii Sports toward a huge all-ages audience, but how will big heads play at grandma's house in Peoria? Some might point at the response to Gamecube offerings like Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but that may not be entirely accurate. To most gamers, the business of Zelda is a deadly serious one, after all; we care about Link and we want to see him grow up and get some Princess action. Childlike (or Hermey-like?) Link didn't do it for a lot of dedicated Zelda fans. But what if we'd had a Wiimote to keep us company on the high seas? The Wii controller seems designed to remind us that hey, these video game things are supposed to be fun! Sure, you can simulate real movements in a golf game, but that doesn't translate to real skill on the green. So forget about that and just have a good time.The Next-Gen article is largely speculative, and doesn't have much bearing on those of us slavering for the Wii release, but it does raise some questions about the cultural gap between gamers of the East and West. Wii Sports may not have true big-head avatars, but they are definitely cartoony. Can these blocky characters break down the walls that separate gamers and everyone else? That may be the first challenge for Nintendo's Wii philosophy.[Via Joystiq]
Heavy Rain in the "Uncanny Valley" [update 1]
Clive Thompson over at collision detection has spotted a very bad example of the "Uncanny Valley" rearing its ugly head (literally) in the trailer for the upcoming PS3 game, Heavy Rain, the sequel to Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy. The theory of the "Uncanny Valley", realized by Japanese robotics engineer Masahiro Mori, states that people's attitudes towards robots (or in-game characters) will become negative at the point at which the model is regarded as "almost human". Characters that lie within the valley are technically realistic, but their subtle differences compared to real humans freak us out.This trailer well and truly scrapes the bottom of the valley: the poor lip animation, the glazed eyes and the lifeless skin combine to make the model look like a mash-up of Sofia Coppola and a deformed porcelain doll (ouch!). Now that console hardware is capable of near-CGI quality graphics, game developers and artists better watch their backs if they don't want to unintentionally scare their customers. As for designers of horror games, they can quite happily add another tool to their belt.[Via collision detection]Update: added an extra word that restored sense to the sentence (and to life, the universe and everything).