The Uncanny Valley

Wikipedia has an entry about the Uncanny Valley, which I think applies to MMORPG graphics. The idea is coming from robotics, but it also applies to graphics depicting humans. If the graphics are either clearly artificial (like WoW characters are), or undistinguishable from real humans (we aren't there yet), people have a positive emotional response to them. But if the graphics are nearly photo-realistic, and the animations are nearly right, the emotional response to them is negative, because they spook us.

The exact curve, and where exactly the valley lies, is probably different for every individual. But I can't help but think that Everquest 2 fell in my personal "uncanny valley", being nearly realistic, but just far enough from real to seem weird to me. That probably explains a lot of the discussion between people preferring the WoW graphics and others preferring the EQ2 graphics.
- posted by Tobold @ 10:21 AM Permanent Link