Support NeoGAF

[HyperBitHero]

I've been trying to research this topic, but I can't find any answers.

Side note: does anyone know what system was used for the body motion capture in Shenmue or Silent Hill 2? Looked like some sort of inertial based system, but I'm not sure. Thanks!

 

[Punished Miku]

Heavenly sword?

 

[Rac3r]

LA Noire

 

[Gudji]

Proper facial animation probably half life 2.

Edit: ah motion capture not sure on that one.

 

[Craig of War]

It was a Kojima game i think MGS 3 Snake Eater

 

[HyperBitHero]

Heavenly sword?

I think Heavenly Sword can be considered the first game to do "performance capture" which would be voice, body, and face all at once.

 

[TGO]

Virtua Fighter 2

 

[nush]

1999

 

[intbal]

A giantbomb article says that the Yakuza series was the first to use facial motion capture. Though they don't specify which game.
https://www.giantbomb.com/motion-capture-animation/3015-5882/

 

[nush]

Virtua Fighter 2

Only body I think.

 

[HyperBitHero]

A giantbomb article says that the Yakuza series was the first to use facial motion capture. Though they don't specify which game.
https://www.giantbomb.com/motion-capture-animation/3015-5882/

That seems strange to me, because as far as I know, the Yakuza series still hand animates their facial animations while the voice over is done in a booth. They do use facial scans for modelling though.

 

[nush]

A giantbomb article says that the Yakuza series was the first to use facial motion capture. Though they don't specify which game.
https://www.giantbomb.com/motion-capture-animation/3015-5882/

that's 2005 at the earliest.

 

[jigglet]

Mario 64’s title screen. They secretly filmed Miyamoto picking charles martinet’s nose.

 

[killatopak]

Mortal Kombat?

 

[schaft0620]

1999

This used MOCAP but I'm fairly sure the devs said they had to sync the facial animations for Bowes songs.

 

[nush]

This used MOCAP but I'm fairly sure the devs said they had to sync the facial animations for Bowes songs.

It might not be the first but it was the earliest I could remember.

"Motion capture was also used for facial expressions, making the characters in the city among the most realistic yet seen in a game."

Omikron: The Nomad Soul - IGN

There has been an exciting trend in recent videogames to create true…

www.ign.com

 

[TGO]

Only body I think.

Half-life 2 then

 

[HyperBitHero]

Half-life 2 then

I don't think HL2 had facial capture either. I'd like to know.

 

[01011001]

Mortal Kombat?

I mean... technically... their faces are captured along with the body.
especially prevalent in the Test your Might bonus stages

 

[nush]

I mean... technically... their faces are captured along with the body.
especially prevalent in the Test your Might bonus stages

Motion capture is different from the digitization that Mortal Kombat used.

 

[01011001]

Motion capture is different from the digitization that Mortal Kombat used.

ok then LA Nior wouldn't count either right? that basically used video files mapped onto a 3D character as an animated texture (which is why it's still the most real looking facial animation in any game ever made... even tho it's not synced up with the body movement properly and therefore looks fucking weird in the end lol)

 

[nush]

ok then LA Nior wouldn't count either right? that basically used video files mapped onto a 3D character as an animated texture (which is why it's still the most real looking facial animation in any game ever made... even tho it's not synced up with the body movement properly and therefore looks fucking weird in the end lol)

I'd agree with that.

 

[The Alien]

I think Heavenly Sword can be considered the first game to do "performance capture" which would be voice, body, and face all at once.

Not 'Lair'?....a fellow PS3 title.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Sega CD? Night Trap, Sewer Shark. That was 90's something.

 

[kikkis]

Somebody might remember better but it might be chronicles of riddick from 2004

 

[nush]

Sega CD? Night Trap, Sewer Shark. That was 90's something.

That's full motion video, not motion capture.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Danjin44]

Max Payne?

jk

 

[K2D]

I guess whatever Andy Serkis starred in first..? Heavenly Sword? Maybe call him up? Probably has intimate knowledge on the matter.

Edit: not even close. I remember atleast HL2.

I don't think HL2 had facial capture either. I'd like to know.

I have a faint recollection of Alyx actor being in camera rigged motion capture gear. Might want to review documentaries.

 

[HyperBitHero]

I guess whatever Andy Serkis starred in first..? Heavenly Sword? Maybe call him up? Probably has intimate knowledge on the matter.

Edit: not even close. I remember atleast HL2.



I have a faint recollection of Alyx actor being in camera rigged motion capture gear. Might want to review documentaries.

You might be thinking of the actress doing mocap for TLOU.

 

[melekind]

You might be thinking of the actress doing mocap for TLOU.

Ashley Johnson？

 

[Fahdis]

I think its Heavenly Sword.

 

[MrJTeera]

 

[HyperBitHero]

Ashley Johnson？

No, Merle Dandridge (Alyx VA) plays a character in TLOU.

 

[PaintTinJr]

I've been trying to research this topic, but I can't find any answers.

Side note: does anyone know what system was used for the body motion capture in Shenmue or Silent Hill 2? Looked like some sort of inertial based system, but I'm not sure. Thanks!

It is an interesting question, but I think the question needs to be more specific. I suspect David Beckham Football (from Sony's This is Football team) were the first by your mention of the capture system, but I'm not sure if the facial animations made it into the game, which means maybe an old Michael Jordan in Flight (1992) PC - or Mortal Kombat as someone else said - would then be equally valid as adhoc-sort-of solutions.

David Beckham's Football was the first to do a full accurate body scan IIRC, and was considered a big deal at the time - even though the game flopped.

 

[tommib]

ok then LA Nior wouldn't count either right? that basically used video files mapped onto a 3D character as an animated texture (which is why it's still the most real looking facial animation in any game ever made... even tho it's not synced up with the body movement properly and therefore looks fucking weird in the end lol)

Man LA NOIRE completely blew me away with their facial expression work. Massive leap in technology.

 

[Yoboman]

I think it's relatively recent - as in last gen. I don't think facial rigs were complex enough to really need it before then. Even games like the Last of Us were all hand animated for the faces

I think Ryse might have been the first game to make use of those face markers to motion capture the face

Edit: Actually just looked up Heavenly Sword. That had facial motion capture so that is probably the first

 

[PaintTinJr]

If the answer to the question, isn't just a game that captured and used the data as is for 1:1 playback, but captured data that was then used to derived other facial data (using quaternion hardware accelerated animation on a GPU or GPU ASIC like in the PSP) then as others have said a AAA PS2 game or probably PS3/360 game is the most likely.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Think it would be Forbidden Siren? Not sure if that would count. Also good job on that Kessler video.

 

[HyperBitHero]

Think it would be Forbidden Siren? Not sure if that would count. Also good job on that Kessler video.

Thanks lol.
Yes, I've collected footage of Siren from a UK documentary showing the process. Not sure if I consider it the same thing since it was literal live action footage projected onto models. Basically a very primitive version of what they tried with LA Noire.

 

[nominedomine]

LA Noir creeped me out so much I couldn't play the game, something was really strange about that technology.

I loved the hand made animations for The Last of Us and Half-Life 2, that was peak artistry.

 

[Drew1440]

Only body I think.

Wasn't that Last Bronx?

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

LA Noit creeped me out so much I couldn't play the game, something was really strange about that technology.

I loved the hand made animations for The Last of Us and Half-Life 2, that was peak artistry.

Because the face was fully motioned, but the body was animated. So there was a disconnect, the face doing too much expressions but not enough body language to fit. You have it on YT, they just sat in a chair and had like 50 cameras taking photos of every part of their head.

 

[skybaby]

Andross on Starfox SNES

 

[Magic Carpet]

That's full motion video, not motion capture.

So does the Prince of Persia count?

 

[K2D]

No, Merle Dandridge (Alyx VA) plays a character in TLOU.

This WAS from TLOU (Alyx Vance voice actor)..

I think I'm remembering Heavenly Sword - the footage was a movie clip straight from the same kind of camera that is on this rig.

 

[HyperBitHero]

Because the face was fully motioned, but the body was animated. So there was a disconnect, the face doing too much expressions but not enough body language to fit. You have it on YT, they just sat in a chair and had like 50 cameras taking photos of every part of their head.

Also the way that they had to be stationary while performing for the tech to work meant they couldn't really sell the roles and get into it physically/riff off other actors the way you can with everything being captured at once.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Assassin's Creed Unity

 

[K2D]

Also the face that they had to be stationary while performing for the tech to work meant they couldn't really sell the roles and get into it physically/riff off other actors the way you can with everything being captured at once.

Like a really good live action clay-mation on a puppet.

 

[HyperBitHero]

1999

Any behind the scenes stuff for this?