A few weeks back I listened to a discussion on a “brand name” gaming site about the extreme (and wonderful) progression of graphics in games since the beginning of the last generation. A good portion of the discussion centered around character animation and just how realistic-looking people, animals, and other moving elements in games have become over the past decade or so. During the conversation, one person made a passing remark conceding that though facial animations had so greatly improved as technology improved, to him most game characters still seemed “blank,” and it was all because of their eyes.
I dwelled on this point for a moment and I thought, “Really? Eyes?? Trivial. Facial animations in games have become so much better than ever, and a real person’s eyes can only say so much.” And I moved on as the conversation moved on.
Only, I didn’t.
