Now, admittedly, this isn’t anywhere near the fidelity that the Nikon rig had — it looked like someone smashed the side of my face with a bowling ball — but that should change soon. This is, after all, the very first generation of this software, and it was shot with the original Kinect. The Kinect 2 photographs at a much higher resolution, which will give this project a major level-up in image quality.
“Right now the characters are suitable for third-person video games and crowd simulations. They’re very recognisable from a distance, but you wouldn’t necessarily want them for face to face interactions,†Shapiro told us. “As these sensors improve, as our algorithms improve, and as we come up with ways to capture different parts of the body at higher resolutions, we’ll be able to incorporate more and more of your behaviour into the character.â€
On the simplest side, that might mean doing the full-body scan, and then putting your face right up next to the Kinect to get a high-res scan of your face to be incorporated. On the more complex side, it could evolve to you walking around the room and going through some habitual motions with your hands, so not only would it look like you, but it could learn to walk like you, stand like you, and gesture like you, too. All of a sudden, you’re not just controlling Solid Snake. You are Solid Snake.
It sounds far-fetched, but it may not be far away. Shapiro said he expects better face and hand fidelity and many more behaviours to be added within the year.
