JASPER HALE
Written By mista sense on Friday, December 17, 2010 | 6:19 AM
Have you seen this video yet, about Rockstar's facial motion capture work for L.A. Noire? It's like nothing I've ever seen before, even in tech demos. I mean, games have gotten ever more graphically and technically sophisticated with every passing year, so I suppose I ought not to be surprised that this kind of thing is possible.
At the same time, I watch this and I feel unprepared; a little quiver of panic swells and I want to know quick, are we ready for this? I notice that the acting isn't excellent. For the first time watching footage of a video game, I visually notice the acting, not "the animation." I don't know how much to blame the actor, either -- maybe they have to exaggerate facial movements for the sake of the rigging.
This is a really interesting question: Do we want games to be so real that we can critique the actor performances? Have we ever had to consider this issue before? Will the Oscars ever consider "best actor in an interactive entertainment piece"?
I disliked Heavy Rain for a few reasons, but primarily was that it cleaved so close to real -- while failing enough to be unsettling. Doofy, stilted expressions, motions, on otherwise lifelike beings. It was a schism that made me uncomfortable. What am I going to do about L.A. Noire?
Of course, things can be absurd and still be desirable. There's just, y'know, a 'way to do it'. ... Damn, anyway... this is my article on how 'Twilight' is better than 'real life'...
Currently feeling like I want some vampire bro to carry me away to a snow mountain... at first I thought I was 'team Edward' then when I watched 'Twilight Eclipse' I felt like I might be 'team Jacob'... couldn't decide, watched 'Eclipse' again and then went 'I'm totally team Jasper Hale'.
You can add that to my nonexistent Wikipedia page: 'videogame journalist Leigh Alexander has declined to take sides in the Edward v Jacob fight, expressing 'strong affinity' for Jacob but then deferring by expressing publicly [via her blog] that she prefers Jasper Hale'
'lvml', Merry Xmas...
[Today's Good Song: Robyn, 'Call Your Girlfriend']
