Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.
Virtual Babyz
up characters and objects, and that the characters have this same direct
interaction with objects and each other;
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that these new characters be made more intelligent (e.g., better able to ma-
nipulate and use objects), more expressive (e.g., facial expressions and sim-
ple language) and more communicative (e.g., able to understand simple
spoken words via voice recognition), thereby making them more capable
to perform in narratives;
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that the virtual environments these characters live in have many oppor-
tunities for story-like situations to occur, stocked with objects and props
designed for playful mischief and humor;
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that the characters be familiar and recognizable enough that we can lever-
age off of the user's own knowledge and expectations for dramatic effect;
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and that we choose characters that we can successfully implement at the
current state of animation and artificial intelligence technology, so as to
stay believable.
Human cartoon baby characters fit all of these criteria quite nicely. Within
our simplified cartoon-like visual style, Babyz can display a wide range of
emotional facial expressions such as happiness, giggling, laughing, frowning,
crying, throwing a tantrum, anger, curiosity, tiredness, and so on (Figure 2).
