Popular Science on gaming's hardest technical problems
by Kyle Orland 
{ Sep 19th 2007 at 11:00PM }
The photo essay looks at some neat cutting edge technology aimed at fixing virtual modeling problems both natural (water and fire are particularly nasty to model) and human (artificial intelligence and uncanny valley faces, for instance), but the technology that impressed us most is based firmly in the real world. Organic Motion's Stage system replaces the standard black-with-ping-pong-balls motion capture suit with a simpler system. "Subjects step in front of the camera in their street clothes, and instantly their avatar forms onscreen," reads Pop Sci's description of what sounds to us like the coolest thing ever.
So will we ever reach that holy grail of totally reality simulation? It's a possibility if Moore's Law keeps up, but there'll almost certainly always be something to improve. As one designer put it to the magazine, "the more we can do, the more excited we get, and the more we want to do." In other words, the reach will always exceed the grasp.
[Thanks Wonderflex]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dr. Strangel0ve @ Sep 19th 2007 11:06PM
That last line immediately reminded me of "The Prestige"
Coming Soon From Bowie Games:
The Teleporter/Cloning Machine for Wii
Shidarin @ Sep 19th 2007 11:24PM
One of the points is about how difficult it is to program and show realistic water, and the screenshot they show is of... LAIR?
Yes that's right, the big goopy oceans you see in lair are somehow more impressive than 100% of Bioshock's water.
phattie @ Sep 19th 2007 11:31PM
Maybe Nintendo will get in on some of this technology for Wii 8.0
FordGTGuy @ Sep 20th 2007 12:09AM
They used NFS:Pro-Street for true to life realism? Are you kidding me? What about Forza 2 the most advanced car simulator you can buy on a console.
Singapura @ Sep 20th 2007 12:53AM
I couldn't care less about fire or water. What I'm still sorely missing in games is the lack of realistic interaction. In Oblivion the NPC's are standing in a church while the town burns down around them. If you come back five days later (presuming you haven't performed the "trigger" action) they will still stand around waiting for you to talk to them. The same goes for WoW and Guild Wars. There's just no "feel" in these games. The one thing I liked in Oblivion was when you try to steal something and the guard comes after you. Even then, streets are mostly empty and the people that are there just stand around. I really hope Assasins Creed will be an improvement on this.
warioswoods @ Sep 20th 2007 1:46AM
Their list should instead be entitled: reality simulation's hardest technical problems. Or, maybe a more catchy version of that; however, my point is that the simulation of real-world visuals and physics is only one component of game development, and not the most important I would argue.
I suppose one could object that 'technical' problems is meant to refer to technological limitations, and that therefore the original title is appropriate given the fact that the technological limitations of games generally concern their ability or inability to faithfully replicate the real world. I still, however, find that the article has as its implicit premise the notion that gaming's most important element is its reality-recreation. There's nothing that annoys me more; certainly accuracy to real world appearances and physics is very appropriate to some genres of games, yet I find that the best and most original games often do not set out from the assumption that physical and visual realism is to be desired above all else.
dbeech @ Sep 20th 2007 5:29AM
If we want photo realistic graphics then why don't we just start making really shitty cameras?
warioswoods @ Sep 20th 2007 12:36PM
Ha! now there's an idea. Similarly, we could create stupider human beings in order to make our game AI more realistic.
MikeUF @ Sep 20th 2007 8:23AM
My concern is that games are going to get too realistic. What happens when a FPS becomes photo realistic and you actually are killing people with a chain saw. Will people still want to play, and if so then will it be wrong when people call the game a murder simulator? The slightly cartoonish quality of games helps them separate the real world from the virtual, when we remove that difference we may find that we have crossed a very dangerous line.
Lianne @ Sep 20th 2007 2:50PM
I thought that was a very interesting read, but I have one gripe, which is similar to what other comments have said. Sometimes we don't want realistic graphics etc. Part of the reason we play games is to get away from real life!