im sure all of you are aware of the uncanny valley. well i want to talk (type?) to you about a variant i happened to notice which i call the simulation valley.
the simplest way to put it is that while the uncanny valley is about fake people, the simulation valley is about fake anything. this obviously applies to video games, especially "realistic" games. nonrealistic games like mario games usually get a free pass even though we know we cant jump ten feet in the air whenever we want. some games get a little more realistic, like prince of persia, but it still gets by because theres still some obviously fake stuff, like the castle the size of new freaking york. then we get games that slip right in to the muddy bottom of the simulation valley. these games are usually brown, have a lot of bloom, and usually have a physics engine. this is where it gets obvious because the physics engine usually does something wrong, which make people think things like "theres no way that car would go flying that far" or "theres no way that building should still be standing" or "how could this bridge stay up by itself but immediately fall apart as soon as i walk up to it?". these would be games like grand theft auto or half life.
like the original uncanny valley, its pretty hard to find something thats on the realistic side of the valley, cuz its a pretty steep slope to climb. this one mught be a little easier to climb but i cant think of anything thats done a really good job. post your thoughts.
the simplest way to put it is that while the uncanny valley is about fake people, the simulation valley is about fake anything. this obviously applies to video games, especially "realistic" games. nonrealistic games like mario games usually get a free pass even though we know we cant jump ten feet in the air whenever we want. some games get a little more realistic, like prince of persia, but it still gets by because theres still some obviously fake stuff, like the castle the size of new freaking york. then we get games that slip right in to the muddy bottom of the simulation valley. these games are usually brown, have a lot of bloom, and usually have a physics engine. this is where it gets obvious because the physics engine usually does something wrong, which make people think things like "theres no way that car would go flying that far" or "theres no way that building should still be standing" or "how could this bridge stay up by itself but immediately fall apart as soon as i walk up to it?". these would be games like grand theft auto or half life.
like the original uncanny valley, its pretty hard to find something thats on the realistic side of the valley, cuz its a pretty steep slope to climb. this one mught be a little easier to climb but i cant think of anything thats done a really good job. post your thoughts.
