Anatomy in games: An evolution of realism

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Technological advances in hardware and software have allowed video-games producers to create increasingly complex depictions of their characters. With respect to visualdepictions of human anatomy in video-games, we have seen characters evolve from two- dimensional collections of pixels into highly-realistic three-dimensional creations capable of the finest facial expressions. To a biological scientist, this evolution mimics what weobserve in nature; a process of hundreds of thousands of minuscule changes, which result in increasingly more complex and sophisticated organisms.

Assuming this trend continues (alongside the necessary technological advances), we will one day see video-games characters that depict the human form perfectly. Were not there yet, so it makes sense to question what lengths video-games producers should go to when striving for anatomical realism in their animations. Are certain forms or shapes more relevant to our human senses of recognition and empathy?

Character Recognition

Recognition of a character should not be considered problematic, providing that the recogniser is familiar with the character in the first instance. Studies have shown that a known face can be distinguished from a resolved photograph comprising only 50 pixels. The pixelated images below are of well-known faces that should be easily recognisable. I wont spoil the fun by identifying them here, Im sure the solutions will appear in the comments.

Of course, recognition relies on a solid introduction and familiarity of a character, which is ideally physically or behaviourally distinctive in some way. It is clear that humans are quite skilled at recognising faces that we are all ready familiar with, but how do we identify something new as human, human-ish or something more dangerous?

Recognising Human Form

Excerpt from:
Anatomy in games: An evolution of realism