The Uncanny Valley

[Psychochef]

Once again, it's time for another of my random posts based on my rambling scholarship. This time, the subject is The Uncanny Valley. It's a hypothesis that states that, the more human an artificial construction (i.e. prosthetics) or entity (robot) becomes, the more likely a human observer is going to become repulsed by it.

Now, I wouldn't mention such a thing, except that we as gamers are used to a certain degree of artificialness. So it stands to reason that we might have an entirely different attitude towards things. So tell me. What's your point of view?

 

[the monopoly guy]

Pretty much what you said.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

Once again, it's time for another of my random posts based on my rambling scholarship. This time, the subject is The Uncanny Valley. It's a hypothesis that states that, the more human an artificial construction (i.e. prosthetics) or entity (robot) becomes, the more likely a human observer is going to become repulsed by it.

Now, I wouldn't mention such a thing, except that we as gamers are used to a certain degree of artificialness. So it stands to reason that we might have an entirely different attitude towards things. So tell me. What's your point of view?

I would like to point out that it depends on how human the artificial construction intends to be. Concerning games this depends a lot on the style that the designers wish to portray.

I find Team Fortress 2 to appear more vibrant or "alive" than Oblivion. There are a variety of variables, but the crux is that TF2 limits itself to a number of variables. The designers don't have to worry about asking the red medic asking the blue scout how his day has been.

 

[Limos]

when you get really close to real looking eyes, but not quite right they look really messed up. It's weird, people can accept a white circle with a black dot as an eye, but once you give it corneas and an iris and make it sort of shiny it's really gross. I think NPC's don't blink enough. It just looks weird. Maybe also because the eyes don't focus right. I think more than anything else it's the eyes that suffer most from the Uncanny valley.

 

[Goenitz]

This is creepy...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/33094/robot_model/

 

[SteinFaust]

meh, i wouldn't mind if cybernetic organisms became more lifelike. 3 things i would like them to have are:
1) Specific identifiers designating as COs
2) Average human strength
3) No knowledge of war and tactics
these are precautions to avoid a revolt/destruction/nuclear winter/need for additional pylons.

 

[Unknower]

Behaviour and eyes are the biggest factors in alienation.

Example: talking to Oblivion's NPCs is horribly unnatural. The camera zooms way too close to their faces, they stare at you like fishes and they have almost the same facial expression when they talk, with hardly any relation how they're saying something. No one behaves like that when they talk to someone.

Another example: ever wondered why Alien from Alien is so scary? It's because it doesn't have eyes. Adding eyes to the Alien would alienate it much less.

But for crying out loud, I've talked about Elder Scrolls here more than I did in TES-forums!

 

[Psychochef]

I myself am starting to wonder if there's some sort of reverse corollary to the hypothesis. Something along the lines of "The more a subject sees humanity in general as undesirable, the less likely the subject is to see the artificially human as disgusting." Or does that make one a technofetishist?

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I believe it does.

I think if someone sees humanity as undesirable, they will prefer their robots looking unlike people.

 

[BurnoutPriest]

This is creepy...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/33094/robot_model/

I don't find that creepy; I see it as amazing. I don't have any repulsion for androids or artificial constructions, only awe of where they may one day lead.

 

[Danny Ocean]

I don't find that creepy; I see it as amazing. I don't have any repulsion for androids or artificial constructions, only awe of where they may one day lead.

Robotic prostitutes?

Seriously, it looks like it should look real, but when you look at it you can just tell. Is it the posture? Or the hands not moving? Or what?

 

[SteinFaust]

Robotic prostitutes?

in any sci-fi the concept came up, i've seen at least one self-destruct. lol no thanx!

 

[Danny Ocean]

Not to mention the ones in Austin powers

 

[hamster mk 4]

I think the creepiness comes from laziness. Poser users I'm looking at you. The closer some thing looks to being real the quicker our eyes discover what makes it unreal. For CG humans there is a tendency for the 1000 yard stare. Animators just don't feel like animating the little eye twitches that real humans make. So both eyes are locked 90 degrees from the plane of the face gazing into oblivion. Another laziness inducing horror is obvious key frames. When the character's entire body moves to a certain pose then stops and moves to another pose, you can tell the animator was not giving it his all.

 

[bananamin]

A good explanation I can give is that the uncanny feeling happens when the entity/robot is seen not as something that is trying to human, but as a person with something wrong or who is missing something.

 

[Erana]

Its because Man would know the workings of the entity. Disect the human face and see how many people you repulse by showing them how a smile works.

 

[Anarchemitis]

You mean this thing?
I find it a very conclusive and excellent device to justify or define things I may see or read about that are fiction, just like Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics.

 

[Birras]

Although robots are getting more advanced, the main thing is that they don't have anywhere near the dexterity of humans. I do not fear any androids or robots yet because the majority of them are slow and clumsy. Find me a robot that can play Stairway to Heaven or juggle and I'll start to fear our robot overlords.

 

[mark_n_b]

I challenge this theory considerably (i did not know it was called the Uncanny Valley, but I have heard it before)

There is a line of beauty. An artificial looking robot (say the one's from that Will Smith Movie... It wasn't AI... oh I can't remember) are going to make us naturally uncomfortable based on human survival instinct response to people with deformities.

If the Robo is either a perfect recreation or a distinctive mechanical device, this does not happen (I guess that is why it is called "The valley"?)

In the case of prosthetics, a fake arm is more comforting than no arm or a hook. the more realistic the arm, the more comforting.

And then there is the phenomenon demonstrated by Japanese styled pornographic comics / cartoons. Which does force us into reanalysis of the theory.

I will agree that gamer exposure to "robotic" imagery does normalize the appearance for us, in an environment of robots, it would be easier for us, I think, to acclimate to the oddity.*

 

[Eyclonus]

The Uncanny Valley is not universal in its effect.
Most of the time people who don't believe it tend to be in the smaller category who don't have the feelings of revulsion

And Mark your point about the cartoons is nearly moot, considering that anime characters look nothing like us then they sit way down the curve.