The design and business of gaming from the perspective of an experienced developer

Category: TV and Movies (Page 5 of 5)

The Uncanny Valley

Intelligent Artifice points out that there’s an interesting discussion going on in the comics/CGI blogosphere. The question is – why has the Incredibles earned nearly 200 million dollars, whereas Polar Express has barely earned 2.5 million of its 265 million cost back on its opening day? Many blame the MoCap of Tom Hanks, which were able to capture all of his movements except for his eyes and lips, creating a uniquely eerie experience. Or, as ‘The Beat’ puts it:

[One] is a marvelous romp, the other, frankly, scares the shit out of us…the beds of American children are going to be soaked with anxiety pee after watching a creepy digital Tom Hanks shout “All aboard!!!”

The animation industry has a term for the point in which graphic animation looks so good, it’s creepy. They call it The Uncanny Valley, a theory first propogated by Japanese roboticist Doctor Masahiro Mori. Continue reading

Nation States, and other Odds and Ends

I’ve found the most intriguing and addictive online game put up in the last 3 years. Create a nation, determine its level of political freedom, and lead as a benevolent ruler or a tyrannical despot. Unfortunately, the game is apparently running on an old Texas Instruments calculator, or something else that really can’t handle the load, but the game is nice in that it scales well to the level of involvement you want. You can put in a minute a day, and have something very near the BBS games of old, or you can join the United Nations and take part in the debates (which are, I might add, well worth the price of admission). Continue reading

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