Robin J. S. Sloan

Considerations for Believable Emotional Facial Expression Animation

Facial expressions can be used to communicate emotional states through the use of universal signifiers within key regions of the face. Psychology research has identified what these signifiers are and how different combinations and variations can be interpreted. Research into expressions has informed animation practice, but as yet very little is known about the movement within and between emotional expressions. A better understanding of sequence, timing, and duration could better inform the production of believable animation. This paper introduces the idea of expression choreography, and how tests of observer perception might enhance our understanding of moving emotional expressions.

Videogames as Remediated Memories Commodified Nostalgia and Hyperreality in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Gone Home

In the last decade, the maturation of the first generation of gamers has underpinned growing discussion of nostalgia for and in videogames. This article considers how the search for a connection to our past can be satisfied through consumption of the richly remediated memories represented in nostalgic videogames. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Gone Home are analyzed framed by Baudrillard’s theories of consumer objects and simulation. These videogames make extensive use of 1980s and 1990s cultural referents. In particular, they embed references to media (such as music, film, and television) that epitomize memories of these periods. The aim of the article is to discuss the ways in which the videogames commodify nostalgia to fulfill a consumer need for retrospection, and to examine the extent to which they provide a simulation of cultural memory that blurs historical reality with period modes of representation.

Choreographing emotional facial expressions

Realistic character animation requires elaborate rigging built on top of high quality 3D models. Sophisticated anatomically based rigs are often the choice of visual effect studios where life-like animation of CG characters is the primary objective. However, rigging a character with a muscular-skeletal system is very involving and time-consuming process, even for professionals. Although, there have been recent research efforts to automate either all or some parts of the rigging process, the complexity of anatomically based rigging nonetheless opens up new research challenges. We propose a new method to automate anatomically based rigging that transfers an existing rig of one character to another. The method is based on a data interpolation in the surface and volume domain, where various rigging elements can be transferred between different models. As it only requires a small number of corresponding input feature points, users can produce highly detailed rigs for a variety of desired character with ease. Copyright

Virtual character design for games and interactive media

in terms of their presentation and performance, the virtual characters that appear in games today can be extremely complex and lifelike. These are characters that have the potential to make a powerful and emotional connection with gamers. As virtual characters become more intricate and varied, there is a growing need to examine the theory and practice of virtual character design. This book seeks to develop a series of critical frameworks to support the analysis and design of virtual characters.

Physical responses (arousal) to audio in games

This study investigates the role that audio plays in the video gaming experience. Two groups of participants played three games (of different styles). One group played the games with the audio switched on; the other group played the games with the audio switched off. A bioharness was used to measure the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants as they played the game. The results showed that for all three games, the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants in the group (playing the games with the audio switched on) were higher than the heartbeat and respiration rates of participants in the other group. This suggests that audio effects in video games provide a measurable enhancement of the game-playing experience.