"It's the theory that as you approach photo realism with CGI, the brain is always able to detect the subtle differences [... blah blah something made up about how brains work]"
As you attempt to make something more realistic, you end up tolerating deviations from "normal" less and less. That's basically it. There's no fundamental problem with CGI, just with CGI that isn't good enough.
Moving from the center of the uncanny valley means you're fixing some of those small deviations from the norm, which should make an image more acceptable. Whether that's happening here is your opinion, but whether it's possible isn't really the question.
Anyway, the Uncanny Valley is a hypothesis, not a theory. There's a big difference (mainly the fact that it hasn't really been tested/verified). Everyone seems to have an opinion about it, though, so it's kind of a folk-science thing now. Ah well.
"it's the equivalent of saying it's cheaper to ride a horse because it's not as expensive as a car."
Dude, horses are HELLA expensive. It costs around $1000 a year to feed the horse, and hundreds of dollars a month if you don't have a stable. Most car leases are around half the monthly cost of a horse.
AND they're slow. Man, we should just eat them and get it over with.
It's true, I guess I was referring more to the cost of the consoles/PCs required to play high-end games. It's certainly not a Porsche/Ford distinction, but there's still a difference. The cost is on the console, not the software.
High production-value products are rarely top-sellers in their market. Oscar winners usually take in less than summer blockbusters, and Porsche and BMW sell fewer cars than Ford.
It's trickier in video-games, because the prices for games are so similar, but don't be surprised when games on moderately-priced systems (Wii,DS,PS2,low-end PC) out-sell great games. If for no other reason, cheap DS shovelware should always be at the top of the list because there are so freaking many DS's out there.
New Heavy Rain screenshots seek path out of Uncanny Valley
Aug 7th 2008 8:14PM (Joystiq)As you attempt to make something more realistic, you end up tolerating deviations from "normal" less and less. That's basically it. There's no fundamental problem with CGI, just with CGI that isn't good enough.
Moving from the center of the uncanny valley means you're fixing some of those small deviations from the norm, which should make an image more acceptable. Whether that's happening here is your opinion, but whether it's possible isn't really the question.
Anyway, the Uncanny Valley is a hypothesis, not a theory. There's a big difference (mainly the fact that it hasn't really been tested/verified). Everyone seems to have an opinion about it, though, so it's kind of a folk-science thing now. Ah well.
Anyway, Joystiq = accurately describing untested hypothesis.
The official Braid walkthrough says, 'Please do not use a walkthrough'
Aug 7th 2008 1:58AM (Joystiq)Pachter: DS successor could be introduced this year
Jul 31st 2008 12:53PM (Joystiq)/seriously though, why don't these systems have games built into them? Even my cell phone comes with that damn snake game.
Igarashi: 2D gaming goes from 'will never die!' to 'somewhat alive'
Jun 18th 2008 2:04AM (Joystiq)Dude, horses are HELLA expensive. It costs around $1000 a year to feed the horse, and hundreds of dollars a month if you don't have a stable. Most car leases are around half the monthly cost of a horse.
AND they're slow. Man, we should just eat them and get it over with.
Pachter: American Wii Fit shortages due to weak dollar
Jun 1st 2008 3:31PM (Joystiq)Samsung Soul promo video shows 10 optical illusions in 136 seconds
May 17th 2008 7:17PM (Engadget)Kongregate to bring its service to Facebook
May 6th 2008 10:19AM (Joystiq)See the top 100 selling games of the past year
Apr 10th 2008 1:16PM (Joystiq)See the top 100 selling games of the past year
Apr 10th 2008 12:14PM (Joystiq)See the top 100 selling games of the past year
Apr 10th 2008 12:09PM (Joystiq)It's trickier in video-games, because the prices for games are so similar, but don't be surprised when games on moderately-priced systems (Wii,DS,PS2,low-end PC) out-sell great games. If for no other reason, cheap DS shovelware should always be at the top of the list because there are so freaking many DS's out there.