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Quantic Dream Working To Capture "Full Body Performance"

While Team Bondi's L.A. Noire is garnering plenty of attention for its innovative MotionScan face-reading technology, one well-respected designer says MotionScan has its limitations.

Talking to CVG, Quantic Dream boss David Cage predicts that photo-realistic graphics will be possible within the next 6 years, and new facial capture techniques - like the one L.A. Noire uses - isn't capable of long-term greatness. Right now, Cage says his team "is already employing new technology to capture fully body performance in unannounced games." In contrast, the MotionScan technology, which requires actors to re-record scenes while only their head is being filmed by 32 HD cameras, is only an "interesting solution to a problem for now."

"What to say about L.A Noire? I think it's an interesting solution to a problem for now. But it's also an interesting dead end. That's exactly what I feel. Their technique is incredibly expensive and they will never be able to shoot body and face at the same time.

We are doing that now [at Quantic], and our next games will be shot with performance capture. We see a huge difference between shooting the face and body separately and shooting everything at the same time. Suddenly you've got a real sense of acting that is consistent. You can't imagine how related what you say with your face is to what your body does.

[Those using MotionScan] will never be able to do that."

Cage goes on to talk about other restrictions MotionScan faces, like not being able to have real-time lighting, and limitations on the shaders they can use. Well, if there's one guy who knows how to create human emotion and drama in a video game that is highly believable, it's Cage. And he admits that L.A. Noire "looks good," but in terms of the future, he has different opinions.

Tags: la noire, l.a. noire, david cage, heavy rain, quantic dream

4/4/2011 9:00:49 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (30 posts)

OPHIDIAN
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 9:13:16 PM
Reply

Sounds good, but this 'full body performance' thing isn't likely to be seen for some time.

So for the time being, LA Noire's efforts will be welcome.

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Lairfan
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 9:44:26 PM
Reply

I understand where he's coming from. It has to be highly inefficient time and money wise to record the facial animations with so many cameras completely separate from the actual body animations. Plus, you run the risk of getting a disconnect between the two, which would be an incredibly bad thing for an "interactive drama."

Also, I can't wait to see what Cage is talking about with this full body performance thing. I can't even imagine the amount of possibilities that technology like that could open up. In short, I can't wait to see how Cage makes us all proud to be PS3 owners once again (like pretty much every other PS3 exclusive dev does).

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FxTales
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 9:48:11 PM
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I trust his opinion, he'd know a lot more than I ever would. However in saying that, L.A Noire still looks pretty damn good.

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Dancemachine55
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 9:50:26 PM
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I cannot wait for LA Noire, and I have little to no patience regarding anything David Cage is working on. That guy is moving the video game industry forward big time!!

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BikerSaint
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 9:56:18 PM
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OPHIDIAN,

Cage has stated that he's already using that full body performance.... Cage says his team "is already employing new technology to capture fully body performance in unannounced games".

I believe that L.A. Noire will be great, & uniquely fresh for the present, but I think Cage is a genius who also thinks well into the future, just as Sony does.

So my money's on Cage for the win!
Last edited by BikerSaint on 4/4/2011 9:58:38 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 10:15:33 PM
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While I've got to agree with Cage because I can already see disconnect between the bodies and faces in Noire, I don't think he should poo poo it too much because it could be a cool way to tide games over until they reach the greatness that QD will be providing.

It's gonna be a long time till we see QD's two projects and this face stuff can get more actors employed in the game industry since acting in Hollywood is dried up.

In other words, show us the goods asap Mr. Cage!!!

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karneli lll
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 10:59:13 PM

I agree, some trailers look like those unreal graphics only with moving dolls and voiceovers

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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 11:09:45 PM

Kinda reminds me of what was done in the Beowulf movie.

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kraygen
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 8:54:30 AM

Don't worry World, he doesn't seem to be to harsh, he did say that it looks good, just that eventually it won't be the way to do things.

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Kiryu
Monday, April 04, 2011 @ 10:19:07 PM
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Did any of u guys read the comments on CVG everybody is teasing him and calling him a liar.
Those idiots haven't even played heavy rain!
I'm pretty sure his next game will be a Masterpiece!
So PS4 in three or four years i think!
Hope his next project is for PS3!
Last edited by Kiryu on 4/4/2011 10:24:05 PM

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Wissam
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 4:11:59 AM

CVG = infamous ground for x360 fanboys. I though
everyone knew that.the site is biased as hell.

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RebelJD
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 12:57:48 AM
Reply

Awesome, rock on Quantic Dream.
Last edited by RebelJD on 4/5/2011 12:58:11 AM

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FM23
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 1:01:16 AM
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Cage sounds jealous, but he is telling the truth. The facial animations look seperate from the bodies. I though RDR did a good job at portraying facial expressions and so did GTAIV. I guess they needed the technology to compliment what they were trying to do with LA Noire but Cage is right...I don't see this as the future. Don't really see the reason why he needs to say this though except for publicity which is good. Rockstar is big time. Hope Cage can back it up...and after playing Heavy Rain, I'm sure he's on the right path to breathtaking success.

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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 3:18:56 AM
Reply

Bold words, but I think he's right. It's great to see such an intense level of detail in L.A. Noire's facial animations, but it certainly does have its limitations. If Cage and QD can somehow manage to overcome that, and record everything at the same time, and use it in a video game format... It'll be amazing.

Seriously can't wait to see whatever these guys are working on. Does anyone else think that it'll be the showstopper of E32012?
Peace.

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kevinater321
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 9:03:25 AM

lol video game format.

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sirbob6
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 3:29:16 PM

I am thinking QD's next project will be the show stopper at E3 2011.

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Wissam
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 4:12:38 AM
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Can't wait :)

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___________
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 4:49:34 AM
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everything has its limitations!
the problem with motionscan that team bondi is using is its LUDICROUSLY expensive!
its ok for QD they have there own motion capture studio, but team bondi dont so they had to find something from scratch!
i think they have done a bloody good job considering.
1 there a no name studio.
2 started with nothing, and created, well, LA Noire!
im just surprised R* have supported them, this has been rumored to cost over 120M dollars to make!
i cant see this selling too well simply because its not your mindless shooter!
i hope it does, so hopefully we can see more strays into the unknown but i doubt that will happen.

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Lord carlos
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 5:04:49 AM

Having your own mocap studio would kick ass.

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___________
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 9:16:17 AM

bloody oath it would!
kinda expensive though.......

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Lord carlos
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 5:14:01 AM
Reply

Ive big respect for cage & qd.
If he says motionscan will do untill the next round of consoles then i believe him.
L.A noir is my may-june game so lets hope team bondi can deliver a 30 plus hour campaign with an intelligent,involving plot that keeps us guessing about whats going on!

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Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 6:52:11 AM
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He sounds a bit...mad.

Perhaps slightly bitter about the attention L.A. Noir is getting? I don't know, but the man has nothing to worry about.

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PorkChopGamer
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 8:42:34 AM
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Some half decent voice acting and characters that don't control like Threepio would help with consistency, too, Mr. Cage. Not trying to knock Heavy Rain, but it had some faults.
Last edited by PorkChopGamer on 4/5/2011 8:46:14 AM

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Ludicrous_Liam
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 12:46:11 PM

As much as I hate to fault his game, the character movement almost made my head explode with rage. Voice-acting was pretty good, considering they picked the completly wrong people LOL (half of them weren't even the right nationality/dialect..0_o).

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kraygen
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 8:58:34 AM
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I agree with Cage, but I don't think it's really anything new in the video game world. Often games are coming out that have features that look amazing at the time, but a few years later it's commonplace and new tech made it easier and more efficient than the way it was done the first time.

That being said I won't be surprised one bit if Cage and crew are the ones to be showing off this new tech first.

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Alienange
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 11:58:45 AM
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Ah yes, Cage's comments from the school of Molyneux. What this clown fails to understand is that while he was making Heavy Rain's stiff characters, Team Bondi was making a game with MotionScan. Seriously Cage? Of COURSE you're trying to one up TB and touting it as the future of gaming, it's all you've got at this point. And oh wait, have you forgotten that Naughty Dog already has a leg up on you in the whole body capture department?

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Ludicrous_Liam
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 12:49:37 PM

No, ND are pretty much square with heavy rain in 'the whole body capture department'. It's just they have friggen amazing animators (all facial animations were done by hand...yeah. Wow). If anything this tech will make ND's life eaiser and produce even MOAR realistic movements.

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Lotusflow3r
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 5:28:55 PM

Do you think U2 was amazing because of the hand made facial patterns? Wait until you see TLG, it will boast the most realistic motion design yet and it's all done by hand.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 4/5/2011 5:29:18 PM

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mehrab2603
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 12:30:43 PM
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Every little advancement is good for the development of the Interactive Drama genre and when I first saw LA Noir, I thought he would be the first person to congratulate Team Bondi instead of trying to take away the credits right before the game's release. New technology will always surpass old ones. It's no wonder. I'm a bit surprised to see him act like this. And it's not like Heavy Rain was flawless even with the technology available at that time.
Last edited by mehrab2603 on 4/5/2011 12:41:13 PM

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jimmyhandsome
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 @ 2:04:16 PM
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Less talking, more doing, Mr. Cage. I thoroughly enjoyed Heavy Rain but it def could be improved upon in a few ways. The writing seemed off and weird at certain points, and people have already pointed out that it did have some herky-jerky animations. Show me one of your new projects with this "amazing technology".

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