Come as you aren't
In my Beatles: Rock Band article (which I am required to mention every few days, seeing as how I'm not working on any new ones) I wrote
McCartney himself expressed hope that with the technology available, the characters could look hyperrealistic, like figures from the “Star Trek” holodeck. Harmonix came at it from the opposite direction, starting out with cartoony caricatures of the band and then scaling back the exaggerated features until they hit what felt like a proper balance between whimsical and realistic.
Implicit in that graf is the specter of the uncanny valley, and the wisdom of Harmonix's approach can be clearly seen in contrast with the just released footage of Kurt Cobain from Guitar Hero 5. Of course, Harmonix could have taken this route if they'd intended the game to be a tie-in with Paul is Undead.
Of course, it could have been worse
Comments
I really was secretly hoping that this whole game would be animated exactly in the style of the old Beatles cartoon show.
Just think how many frames of animation they'd save!
Posted by: Mike Mariano | August 28, 2009 7:13 PM
Only you, Daniel Radosh, could get me to click through two links to the source of an obscure reference, and thrilled with all the info on the way I'd never otherwise stumble upon. Please keep bloggin', bb boy.
(At first I thought "uncanny valley" had something to do with Paris, Linsay or Britney.)
Posted by: J.D. | August 28, 2009 11:18 PM
i have a problem with cgi humans trying to look real. Stick to the cartoons.
Posted by: Brian L | August 30, 2009 2:25 PM