Heavy Rain devs have "conquered" the Uncanny Valley

by Nick Doerr { Dec 18th 2007 at 5:00PM }

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.

Tags: heavy-rain, quantic-dream, uncanny-valley

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Organic_Shadow @ Dec 18th 2007 5:04PM

Well I mean if Mass Effect successfully crossed over then Heavy Rain should be able to as well. They seem to be engineering some really ground breaking game engine tech, so I doubt they aren't capable.

Nate @ Dec 18th 2007 10:01PM

Mass Effect did not "cross over" the uncanny valley. It's still very obviously animated. Good animation, but not spectacular. The reason you don't get much uncanny feeling is because it's actually not good enough to do it.

upz @ Dec 18th 2007 5:17PM

The original Heavy Rain tech demo was incredible the first time I saw it, but the cutscenes in Heavenly Sword and Uncharted have already made its facial animation technology look stiff. I have no doubt they've improved it many-fold since we last saw it and can't wait for the next trailer. One thing they've done better than anyone else is skin luminosity. I swear, the close-ups of Mary Smith holding the gun with tears running down her cheeks looks like a real person.

http://www.ps3land.com/previews/heavyrain/heavy-rain-01.jpg

ryan @ Dec 18th 2007 5:25PM

it's fairly easy to make anything look real nowadays...if all your making is a kitchen simulator. :)

Skyfire360 @ Dec 18th 2007 6:08PM

The problem isn't with screenshots. The uncanny valley describes something that looks so close to what you have seen in reality that you expect it to act and move just like the real thing. Herein lies the problem: if it looks as good as real life - as you mentioned, it comes pretty darn close - everything about it needs to move just like it would in the real world. Eyes, hair, mouth, facial muscles, wrinkles in clothing, etc. If you look at this video, you can see that the girl looks fairly realistic. One of the most glaring problems is when she moves her mouth: she looks like she went 10 rounds with de la Hoya. On top of that, her hair doesn't flow like hair would in the real world. She also doesn't blink until the camera gets really close in, her eyebrows don't move correctly, her jaw muscles don't move when she has her mouth clenched, etc...

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/811/811232/vid_1537283.html

Sure this was an earlier tech demo, but they have quite a long way to go. Until they can present two scenes side by side, present them to a general audience and get a 50% or less correct classification of the computer-generated video, they have not "Conquered" the uncanny valley.

They may claim to have conquered the uncanny valley, but it's all press talk.

KILLU @ Dec 18th 2007 5:29PM

so wtfuk is this game about

proArchy @ Dec 18th 2007 5:47PM

The lack of ANY information on this game is annoying. all i've heard is how awesome the mocap tech is. since being amazed by the tech demo, i'm constantly becoming less and less interested in whatever the hell it is. just a teaser, a screen cap, a proper classification for this game, anything and they'd probably have my interest again.

TXCrowe @ Dec 18th 2007 6:02PM

I'd say Peter Jackson beat them to the punch.
Tho in film not a game.

We hates the bagginses, hates them, forever!

Bucket @ Dec 18th 2007 6:08PM

I'll believe it when I see it. The more accurate the lighting/modeling/motion capturing, the more my eye is drawn to things like plastic skin, inhumanly graceful movements, pixelation...

NACHO @ Dec 18th 2007 8:17PM

Well i personally LOVED indigo prophecy (Farenheight) so w/e these guys come up with, i'll be with them

iNime @ Dec 18th 2007 8:26PM

So there actually is an updated tech demo that you can CLEARLY SEE A REFINEMENT IN THE ENGINE and this was a while ago. I totally can believe that the uncanny valley IS crossed with their technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0a6Oc0sSOo&feature=related

Notice the Jaw muscles, the facial motions, the subtle motions.

Sammy @ Dec 18th 2007 11:41PM

Okay it is not 100% perfect... I cannot think of many things in this generation of consoles or even on the current PC hardware that has been that close creating more lifelike characters.

I am sure the real game will go well beyond being a 'kitchen simulator'...Farenheit/Indigo Prophecy was an excellent forward thinking game. Which was overlooked a little last generation. It again had flaws, but showed an ambition to take games in a different direction no just in regards to technology but simply how the experience was played. I am sure they plan to do something ambitious and enjoyable.

Actually to go back to the 'Kitchen Simulator' comment I can really think of very few games that accurately depict the size and the dynamics of a real environment. I would be impressed to interact with rooms properly at the proper speed. Survival horror creates spaces that are not used or navigated realistically, characters are relative giants who dash through enclosed spaces. It is weird nobody has made a proper attempt to aknowledge this in the past. I know cameras are an issue but their must be some kind of solution to this. I can see it benefiting many genres.

mccomber @ Dec 19th 2007 12:52AM

I just don't think it's possible. Our brains are hard-wired to notice the smallest things that are "off", whether we are actually aware of them or not. I'm sure it will be incredible, and beyond what we've seen previously in real-time animation for humans (that's why it's in the uncanny valley now), but I doubt that anyone who watches it for more than a few seconds won't notice the minor details that make it valley material.