The Training and Simulation Journal is running a short piece which touches on the ‘uncanny valley’, and how WILL Interactive’s live-action approach is not susceptible:
Is a person playing an immersive game more likely to relate to a human or alien avatar? According to some researchers, if the avatar isn’t created properly, the player is more likely to trust the alien than the human. This phenomenon is known as the “uncanny valley,” a term coined in 1970 by roboticist Masahiro Mori to describe the negative emotional response people exhibit when a robot seems almost human.
Some experts in the modeling and simulation community believe the uncanny valley can be a concern for avatars, as well.
“If you create an avatar that is very different from a human, or animate an inanimate object like a toy or car, you’re fine,” Sharon Sloane, president and CEO of Maryland-based WILL Interactive, said. “But when you’re trying to get into the human psyche and really try to get people to relate to an avatar, if you’re close but not quite there, people can find those unsettling and unnatural.”
Read the rest of the story here.
