Activision R&D Unveils Eerily Realistic Facial Animation Technology
- Thread starter Earnest Cavalli
- Start date
Uncanny valley ho!
Seriously, I can't help but think this is a complete waste of time. It looks nice, but it doesn't move like a living thing. I wish companies would actually spend time making games play better or have better stories rather than just going 'LOOK shiny realistic graphics!!!' all the time. Graphics aren't what make games great.
Seriously, I can't help but think this is a complete waste of time. It looks nice, but it doesn't move like a living thing. I wish companies would actually spend time making games play better or have better stories rather than just going 'LOOK shiny realistic graphics!!!' all the time. Graphics aren't what make games great.
that sure is a shiny face, but is it just me or was the lip syncing WAAAAAAY off? maybe they just need time to perfect the technique, but if you ask me it doesn't hold a candle to the technology used in LA noire. sure the wrinkles in the eyes look damn realistic, but the talking completely ruined it for me
P.S. weird how all them polys can convey the heart and soul of a character without any words, but realistic hair is apparently still unachievable
P.S. weird how all them polys can convey the heart and soul of a character without any words, but realistic hair is apparently still unachievable
I didn't think Activision would have R&D for facial animation technology.
I mean... boom-headshot in Call of Duty would make this whole thing pretty pointless.
I mean... boom-headshot in Call of Duty would make this whole thing pretty pointless.
Most facial animations I've seen this gen, in upcoming titles and prior to now have been terrible. What makes it completely outside my understanding is that it's been years and years and years since Half Life 2, HL2: Episode 1 and HL2: Episode 2 got facial animations RIGHT. That's the base, go up from there, but when I consistently see games not even manage to get it to HL2 levels, a very old game by this point, it's kind of . . . sad.
It doesn't speak well of the people in development positions, doing this work, these days when so few manage to do anything resembling good with the facial animations - especially the lip syncing. The Source Engine had this great lip syncing tech, by the way, that was inclusive to multiple languages since the tech made the face, rather the mouth, animate to the voice, rather than it being hand animated or through other means. Basically it would try and match up how the lips moved with the sounds being made, it wasn't perfect, but it worked quite well and it escaped a lot of the issues that occur when dubbing in a new language (ever played a Japanese game dubbed in english where the mouth kept moving beyond the english words spoken? That's what the source engine's tech allowed Valve, and other developers, to escape in non-english dubs of their source engine games).
It doesn't speak well of the people in development positions, doing this work, these days when so few manage to do anything resembling good with the facial animations - especially the lip syncing. The Source Engine had this great lip syncing tech, by the way, that was inclusive to multiple languages since the tech made the face, rather the mouth, animate to the voice, rather than it being hand animated or through other means. Basically it would try and match up how the lips moved with the sounds being made, it wasn't perfect, but it worked quite well and it escaped a lot of the issues that occur when dubbing in a new language (ever played a Japanese game dubbed in english where the mouth kept moving beyond the english words spoken? That's what the source engine's tech allowed Valve, and other developers, to escape in non-english dubs of their source engine games).
All the things you've said here--they'll never get it right, it will be too expensive for the masses, yada, yada, yada, were all said about the telephone, the car, electricity, and airplanes. Eventually it will work and will be integrated into everyday life. The problem is--what for? Snuff porn? Games that teach us to kill without remorse because, after all, its not human even it looks just like one...Of course, these ethical concerns won't stop its production. Onward and upward folks. But onward and upward toward what end?
i have got to know whats wrong with all you people?!?!!
new graphics best ever for a game. made by game developers
and you all just ether dismiss it as "it will never be used" or "it has i minor flaw never mind the achievement it was to make it this far"
if you look at the graphics on mass effect 3 (THE ONLY REDEEMING FEATURE)and compare it to the best graphics of the last generation you will see that what we just saw WILL be the next step in graphics. AND NO IT WONT BE THE END OF THE WORLD. check this post in five years bet u all $1 that's the base graphics for games, AND THAT ITS A GOOD THING!!!!!!!
new graphics best ever for a game. made by game developers
and you all just ether dismiss it as "it will never be used" or "it has i minor flaw never mind the achievement it was to make it this far"
if you look at the graphics on mass effect 3 (THE ONLY REDEEMING FEATURE)and compare it to the best graphics of the last generation you will see that what we just saw WILL be the next step in graphics. AND NO IT WONT BE THE END OF THE WORLD. check this post in five years bet u all $1 that's the base graphics for games, AND THAT ITS A GOOD THING!!!!!!!
People seem to misunderstand the improvement here. Its not extra polygons (ehmoshuun!), its the number of animation bones and accuracy of the movement. Pretty much what the source engine did, only with more detail.
The good thing about animations is you dont need to make them again for every face and scene they are used in. Its a very underrated part of game developement.
Smooth transition, detail and life-likeness of annimation can often do more for a game than sheer number of polygons or texture resolution.
Perfect example: Skyrim. Yes the NPC get lots of detail in them, the voice actors try their best, but they all make -_- faces and just stand in one spot facing the wrong way. Everything else falls flat if they dont move like a person.
What im hoping that with games like dead space 3 proving where sheer graphical fancy stops giving returns, devs focus on animation and sound where in a lot of cases there is a lot to be improved. (doppelganger effect anyone? long-distance sound delay? enviromental sound differences and echos? gunfire sound actualy changing dynamicaly over distance?)
The good thing about animations is you dont need to make them again for every face and scene they are used in. Its a very underrated part of game developement.
Smooth transition, detail and life-likeness of annimation can often do more for a game than sheer number of polygons or texture resolution.
Perfect example: Skyrim. Yes the NPC get lots of detail in them, the voice actors try their best, but they all make -_- faces and just stand in one spot facing the wrong way. Everything else falls flat if they dont move like a person.
What im hoping that with games like dead space 3 proving where sheer graphical fancy stops giving returns, devs focus on animation and sound where in a lot of cases there is a lot to be improved. (doppelganger effect anyone? long-distance sound delay? enviromental sound differences and echos? gunfire sound actualy changing dynamicaly over distance?)
Like that supposedly "revolutionary" technology we saw... what was it last year? Last year that replaced models made of polygons with what is essentially a digital molecular physics system, for more acute detail.Pinkamena said:
Aw yeah, that got a lot of use I bet. A few quadrillion digital data points is so much more economical than a few thousand polygons.
Seems some software developers just aren't realistic about their demographics. Game dev teams in this case.
Budgets DO exist. They're not a myth.
I also like how they start playing deep, ominous music when it starts trying to emote. Not exactly the best way to go about keeping people from feeling the uncanny valley.