Witcher 3 - Did CD Projekt Cross The Uncanny Valley?

Couchpotato

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Forbes has a new article about the latest trailer killing monsters, and asking did the game cross The Uncanny Valley.

I’ve talked about realism and the Uncanny Valley in the past plenty of times, and always as a skeptic. Today I may have to change my opinion.

Before we begin, a quick definition:

The Uncanny Valley is a concept used in both robotics/AI and computer graphics. The theory posits that the closer we get to realism in graphics—to a human face, for instance, that looks like it was filmed rather than programmed—and the closer we come to human-like intelligence in robots, the more perturbed these creations will make us.

We begin to feel repulsed by the small details that still aren’t quite human, that jar us back and forth between the manufactured and the illusion of reality—by those haunting, inhuman eyes in the recent animated Beowulf film, for instance.

Today, Polish developer CD Projekt RED released a cinematic trailer for their upcoming RPG The Witcher 3 that, at first blush, I thought was live-action.

On closer examination, the fact that this is CGI becomes much more apparent, but for a moment there—when the woman’s face (pictured above) first comes onscreen—I thought it was real.
More information.
 
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No, this is kinda crazy.
 
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Today, Polish developer CD Projekt RED released a cinematic trailer for their upcoming RPG The Witcher 3 that, at first blush, I thought was live-action.

On closer examination, the fact that this is CGI becomes much more apparent, but for a moment there—when the woman’s face (pictured above) first comes onscreen—I thought it was real.

Same here. Like I stated in the other thread, I actually thought it was a live-action trailer for a brief moment. Now that's impressive.
 
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I definitively must upgrade my Gc. Or maybe I am stuck perpetually in noting all those details that destroy the possibility of reality. Or maybe fact it is a video game trailer bears too much on me in advance, getting me to expect CGIs...
I dont know but something must be done because seeing live action in that trailer?
 
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I must have done something wrong, because I had no doubt it was CG at any point. Not that it was bad CG - I just didn't see anything I haven't seen a hundred times before.

That includes the excessively standard "super duper tough guy takes out multiple enemies with godlike grace and power" segment, which is part of 9 out of 10 trailers these days.

Frankly, I expect more from these guys - but at least most of the audience likes it.
 
My very first thought was exactly that - what actor is playing The Witcher and who's that girl... After some time with my nose next to my display I discovered it's CGI... I saw the trailer already a few times and I'm very impressed.
 
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It would have been really nice if we could see any mention that this was done by Platige, as always.
Shame on all the news sites.

Give the credit where it's due.
 
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I guess in the news bit rather than comments made by educated forum users ;)

It doesn't bother me to be honest - if CDPR commissioned a work then it's theirs and they can present it as such. Outsourcing isn't much different from using middleware, both often make better use of resources.
 
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Frankly, I expect more from these guys - but at least most of the audience likes it.

Just what you have been expecting from a 2 minute trailer for a game whose main character IS extremely good at fighting and does kill monsters for a living?
That CD Projekt will break the mold and show him getting his ass kicked by 4 army stragglers? Or, maybe, he should have sat at the edge of the battlefield and write a poem about cruelty of war?

Go on DArt, humanity wants to know in less than 100 words...
 
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Just what you have been expecting from a 2 minute trailer for a game whose main character IS extremely good at fighting and does kill monsters for a living?
That CD Projekt will break the mold and show him getting his ass kicked by 4 army stragglers? Or, maybe, he should have sat at the edge of the battlefield and write a poem about cruelty of war?

Go on DArt, humanity wants to know in less than 100 words…

There's a difference between being good at fighting and being a God, killing flawlessly in 3 seconds - looking super cool while you're at it.

I know this is the Hollywood standard - but it doesn't seem to match the maturity of the setting.

First of all, I'd love a trailer like that without such ridiculous fighting in it - and secondly, if there HAS to be fighting - I wouldn't mind a messy fight with some mistakes and close calls.

For instance, I'd love if he just rode by and didn't give a shit. Actually, that poem bit isn't far from something I'd think was much more interesting. I'd love it if we just heard him speak about his feelings towards all the war and chaos in his life - whilst witnessing acts such as the one in the trailer - without all the teenage-level fighting and violence.

For a site with so many mature members on it, I find it surprising that so many of you are so excited by pathetically implausible combat.

Sure, Geralt is a bad-ass and bla bla, but he's not Neo and it isn't the Matrix.

Then again, as I said, the audience likes this - and it seems to have made JDR forget all those other trailers he's seen that's exactly the same bullshit.

Sure, CG has advanced a lot throughout the years - but I honestly can't see how this is more impressive than trailers like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm4JEZudf0c - (SWtOR)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA3x6ekAPxk - (ESO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsGTP3-Jlw - (SC2)

If it's better - then it's marginal.

Oh, and yeah, it feels like I've seen hundreds of trailers like this over the years - though of course the quality has been increasing.

Maybe it's dozens or whatever - but I sure don't feel like it's anything new.
 
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I'm only about halfway into the first Sapkowski book, but to me it does seem like Geralt fighting humans would look a lot like Neo in action...
 
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Sure, CG has advanced a lot throughout the years - but I honestly can't see how this is more impressive than trailers like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm4JEZudf0c - (SWtOR)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA3x6ekAPxk - (ESO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsGTP3-Jlw - (SC2)

The trailer for ESO is impressive and perhaps on par with the trailer for TW3, but the other two, especially the one for SC2, are of significantly less quality visual-wise. At least to me.

Oh, and my previous comment was in regards to visual quality not content.
 
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Frankly, I expect more from these guys - but at least most of the audience likes it.
I was very impressed by the visual quality of that trailer, maybe I'm a little behind, but I haven't seen anything quite like it before. As for the content, like you, not impressed, it was like your typical 'fast-paced action with occasional slow mo. I'm so awesome' hollywood crap, felt that the only thing missing was Geralt slowly walking away from some unnecessary explosion. What, just me? :)

Anyway, he IS mutated and has superhuman reflexes and all that witcher stuff, but I wouldn't mind seeing a less perfect fight take place, with a few more dirtier witcher tricks and close calls. Maybe they are saving those for the really tough enemies - the actual monsters. :p
 
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@DArt

In the novel/short stories, simple humans don't give Geralt much pause (see 'The Lesser Evil' short story, where everyone stipulates he's gonna bite the dust against six very good mercenaries, he himself fuels this notion, and then killes them so swiftly it's hilarious). However, at the end of the last novel he is stabbed by a simple peasant boy with a pitchfork, and dies of the wound (even though two sorceresses are there to heal him). He is hard-pressed against the assassin in the W1 outro, so much so that he is almost bested, and only prevails because of a dirty trick. In the W2, the main antagonist beats him many times. Just a few examples.

So the way I see it, he's not godlike at all. But in this case, he had no real opposition. He's also older and much more experienced, but retains the mutated strength, stamina, and speed. It is also stated in the novels that when he fights, he sees things slow down around him due to the mutation and the potions. These people move in slo-mo for him.

Now, I'm not saying that this vid is not catering for a certain audience as well, but why wouldn't it?

However, in about 2 minutes, it referenced a lot of important Witcher material and touched on key topics (who are the real monsters, what is evil, can it be measured, who has the right to judge) so efficiently that few other trailers manage.

But be it far from me to try to convince you. :) This is just my opinion.
 
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