Image Metrics Gets Its Game Face On
Performance Capture Technology used to make game faces seem that much more realistic
Published: February 13, 2008
Ever heard of the uncanny valley? Image Metrics hasn't. After all, it's their technology that creates the realistic faces in today's top games which shatters the idea of that valley to begin with.Ever heard of the uncanny valley? Image Metrics hasn't. After all, it's their technology that creates the realistic faces in today's top games which shatters the idea of that valley to begin with.
Top Spin 3 from 2K Games, Unreal Tournament 3 from Epic Games, as well as Midnight Club Los Angeles and Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games all have something in common: they used a proprietary performance-driven facial animation solution from Image Metrics. The technology makes scars that much deeper and bug-eyed kills that much more visceral.
"Creating dynamic and realistic characters that engage the player is
increasingly critical to the success of today's video games," Kelvin
Duckett, chief operating officer at Image Metrics, said. "We're pleased to be able
to partner with innovative studios like 2K Games, Epic Games and Rockstar
Games to deliver superior facial animation pipelines in the shortest
possible time while also creating vivid, lifelike characters to inhabit the
games they've designed."
So what does the technology do? In Top Spin 3 by 2K Games, Image Metrics focused on sculpting fantastic in-game reaction shots as well as the in-game software component that allows players' user-generated characters the same facial animation capabilities as the game's tennis professionals. For Unreal Tournament 3 by Epic Games, they held a two-day recording session, where they captured and recorded six characters for the game's engrossing cut scenes.
"It was critical to maintain our high level of cinematic quality while reducing the amount of manual animation effort," Dr. Michael Capps,
president of Epic, said about the project. "We chose Image Metrics to be our partner on Unreal
Tournament 3 and were quite pleased with their effort and the end result."
The big game that Image Metrics has had a hand in, however, is Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games. You can thank Image Metrics for Niko Bellic's realistic facial expressions as well as those of all the supporting and random characters in the game. With the power of the PlayStation 3, Image Metrics was able to deliver an unprecedented 3,000 polygons to the face alone. Talk about uncanny valley broken.
Among the elite game companies of the world, Image Metrics is a savior, thanks to their fast turn-around time and attention to detail. Without them, some of the greatest games on the market wouldn't be nearly as impressive as they are now. Their technology allows even the most minute details to shine through, bringing such realism to PlayStation 3 that it'll leave players saying "uncanny what?" Thanks Image Metrics!
Top Spin 3 from 2K Games, Unreal Tournament 3 from Epic Games, as well as Midnight Club Los Angeles and Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games all have something in common: they used a proprietary performance-driven facial animation solution from Image Metrics. The technology makes scars that much deeper and bug-eyed kills that much more visceral.
"Creating dynamic and realistic characters that engage the player is
increasingly critical to the success of today's video games," Kelvin
Duckett, chief operating officer at Image Metrics, said. "We're pleased to be able
to partner with innovative studios like 2K Games, Epic Games and Rockstar
Games to deliver superior facial animation pipelines in the shortest
possible time while also creating vivid, lifelike characters to inhabit the
games they've designed."
So what does the technology do? In Top Spin 3 by 2K Games, Image Metrics focused on sculpting fantastic in-game reaction shots as well as the in-game software component that allows players' user-generated characters the same facial animation capabilities as the game's tennis professionals. For Unreal Tournament 3 by Epic Games, they held a two-day recording session, where they captured and recorded six characters for the game's engrossing cut scenes.
"It was critical to maintain our high level of cinematic quality while reducing the amount of manual animation effort," Dr. Michael Capps,
president of Epic, said about the project. "We chose Image Metrics to be our partner on Unreal
Tournament 3 and were quite pleased with their effort and the end result."
The big game that Image Metrics has had a hand in, however, is Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games. You can thank Image Metrics for Niko Bellic's realistic facial expressions as well as those of all the supporting and random characters in the game. With the power of the PlayStation 3, Image Metrics was able to deliver an unprecedented 3,000 polygons to the face alone. Talk about uncanny valley broken.
Among the elite game companies of the world, Image Metrics is a savior, thanks to their fast turn-around time and attention to detail. Without them, some of the greatest games on the market wouldn't be nearly as impressive as they are now. Their technology allows even the most minute details to shine through, bringing such realism to PlayStation 3 that it'll leave players saying "uncanny what?" Thanks Image Metrics!
Top Spin 3 from 2K Games, Unreal Tournament 3 from Epic Games, as well as Midnight Club Los Angeles and Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games all have something in common: they used a proprietary performance-driven facial animation solution from Image Metrics. The technology makes scars that much deeper and bug-eyed kills that much more visceral.
"Creating dynamic and realistic characters that engage the player is
increasingly critical to the success of today's video games," Kelvin
Duckett, chief operating officer at Image Metrics, said. "We're pleased to be able
to partner with innovative studios like 2K Games, Epic Games and Rockstar
Games to deliver superior facial animation pipelines in the shortest
possible time while also creating vivid, lifelike characters to inhabit the
games they've designed."
So what does the technology do? In Top Spin 3 by 2K Games, Image Metrics focused on sculpting fantastic in-game reaction shots as well as the in-game software component that allows players' user-generated characters the same facial animation capabilities as the game's tennis professionals. For Unreal Tournament 3 by Epic Games, they held a two-day recording session, where they captured and recorded six characters for the game's engrossing cut scenes.
"It was critical to maintain our high level of cinematic quality while reducing the amount of manual animation effort," Dr. Michael Capps,
president of Epic, said about the project. "We chose Image Metrics to be our partner on Unreal
Tournament 3 and were quite pleased with their effort and the end result."
The big game that Image Metrics has had a hand in, however, is Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games. You can thank Image Metrics for Niko Bellic's realistic facial expressions as well as those of all the supporting and random characters in the game. With the power of the PlayStation 3, Image Metrics was able to deliver an unprecedented 3,000 polygons to the face alone. Talk about uncanny valley broken.
Among the elite game companies of the world, Image Metrics is a savior, thanks to their fast turn-around time and attention to detail. Without them, some of the greatest games on the market wouldn't be nearly as impressive as they are now. Their technology allows even the most minute details to shine through, bringing such realism to PlayStation 3 that it'll leave players saying "uncanny what?" Thanks Image Metrics!
Top Spin 3 from 2K Games, Unreal Tournament 3 from Epic Games, as well as Midnight Club Los Angeles and Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games all have something in common: they used a proprietary performance-driven facial animation solution from Image Metrics. The technology makes scars that much deeper and bug-eyed kills that much more visceral.
"Creating dynamic and realistic characters that engage the player is
increasingly critical to the success of today's video games," Kelvin
Duckett, chief operating officer at Image Metrics, said. "We're pleased to be able
to partner with innovative studios like 2K Games, Epic Games and Rockstar
Games to deliver superior facial animation pipelines in the shortest
possible time while also creating vivid, lifelike characters to inhabit the
games they've designed."
So what does the technology do? In Top Spin 3 by 2K Games, Image Metrics focused on sculpting fantastic in-game reaction shots as well as the in-game software component that allows players' user-generated characters the same facial animation capabilities as the game's tennis professionals. For Unreal Tournament 3 by Epic Games, they held a two-day recording session, where they captured and recorded six characters for the game's engrossing cut scenes.
"It was critical to maintain our high level of cinematic quality while reducing the amount of manual animation effort," Dr. Michael Capps,
president of Epic, said about the project. "We chose Image Metrics to be our partner on Unreal
Tournament 3 and were quite pleased with their effort and the end result."
The big game that Image Metrics has had a hand in, however, is Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games. You can thank Image Metrics for Niko Bellic's realistic facial expressions as well as those of all the supporting and random characters in the game. With the power of the PlayStation 3, Image Metrics was able to deliver an unprecedented 3,000 polygons to the face alone. Talk about uncanny valley broken.
Among the elite game companies of the world, Image Metrics is a savior, thanks to their fast turn-around time and attention to detail. Without them, some of the greatest games on the market wouldn't be nearly as impressive as they are now. Their technology allows even the most minute details to shine through, bringing such realism to PlayStation 3 that it'll leave players saying "uncanny what?" Thanks Image Metrics!
