Uncanny Valley: When lifelike dummies scare u more than the Gman....

[Gordon's Beard]

Got your attention. Click here for more info on the Uncanny Valley.

So, does Half-Life suffer from the Uncanny Valley?

 

[Wraith]

how is half life a robot?

 

[Driftlight]

Nah. I think the animation in Half-Life 2 is sufficiently good enough to look pretty much completely human. Besides, the Uncanny Valley may not even exist. I personally doubt that it does, though I can see the reasoning behind it.

Edit: Wraith, did you read the whole article?

 

[Wraith]

Edit: Wraith, did you read the whole article?

Nah.


10charwo00t

 

[f|uke]

I buy the "uncanny valley" theory. On the left, one can look down on a robot as being 'cute', like a pet. When the AI gets closer to emulating human responce, however, but is clearly still a simulatoin, it becomes insulting to consider this machine on par with our humanity. Its an insult, and creepy, like a person without a soul. However, pushed farther, the illusion could very well become complete enough to be fully believeable.

Interesting article, GB. Thanks for sharing.

As for HL2, its hard to say. In a scripted sequence, it doesnt really fit,. However the character reactions of your teammates in battle might apply. In that case, however, I'm betting the characters would still be far too simplistic, repetitive, and evidently scripted to make it to the "uncanny valley".

 

[Homer]

This theory has no supporting evedence. at all.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

The theory works perfectly for the G-man character though. His entire persona is repulsive, bearing non-human qualities. The uncanny valley idea plays into the hands of Valve in that instance.

Though for the pure-humans such as Alyx etc it may indeed invoke that unwanted "repulsive" response.

 

[Robinhood_01]

That same article was used awhile back on Doom 3 in which i thought all the humans looked like zombies (before being taken over). Valve has characatured the people in HL2 just enough to make it feel like a game but close enough to make it believable (believable does not mean that they look real).

 

[Gordon's Beard]

This theory has no supporting evedence. at all.

Care to elaborate on that?

 

[Homer]

If anyone here has ever taken a class on the philosophy of science, this is a perfect example of where falsificationism is a good method.

There is no way to disprove this theory, so some people buy it.

 

[Dr. A]

well, we don't know for sure if HL2 will fall in that category unless we get to experience it for ourselves...u hear me, Vivendi?

personally, i truly believe that HL2 blurs the line between fantasy and reality to a certain extent.

For example, some of the facial textures are INCREDIBLE! like this pic of the G-man compared to Doom 3
http://www.xylicon.com/spaniard/Facial Comparison.jpg
the G-man screenshot is taken from the intro Bink - always amazes me.

NPC behaviour and interaction looks awesome too, remember the scene where Eli was teasing Alyx?

Holy moly, if HL2 is that good then wat will HL3 look like!?
Oh man, im nauseous with excitement again! Excuse me while i lie down for awhile... :dozey:

 

[Concept]

The theory works perfectly for the G-man character though. His entire persona is repulsive, bearing non-human qualities. The uncanny valley idea plays into the hands of Valve in that instance.

Though for the pure-humans such as Alyx etc it may indeed invoke that unwanted "repulsive" response.

I agree. I return to the G-Man bink (2003) frequently because of this very fact.

I'm amazed at Valve's startlingly use of life-like facial animation in that sequence, and also repelled by the fact there's an eerie sinister overtone to the segment as well... Down to the contasting levels of emotion shown, and how easily the G-Man jumps from one extreme to the next, which is out of character for his seemingly odd persona. The uncanny valley effect works there because it creates a lurid fascination.

Extremely believeable real-time character responses (whether they're scripted or not) contradicted by the fact we know they're entirely automated.

It's a theme I hope is explored in Half-Life 2 throughout the adventure... This idea of feeling in companionship with your NPCs, caring or fearing them, but also knowing they're entirely fictional and artificial to such concern.