News Digest

The Grammar of Fun

New Yorker (11/03/08) Vol. 84, No. 35, P. 78; Bissell, Tom

Epic Games, with its best-selling Gears of War game, illustrates the trend in the video-game industry to develop immersive games that mirror real life in that they require tactical thinking, subtle judgments based on paltry data, constant awareness of multiple factors as they change throughout the course of the game, and the spatial sensitivity to control one's movement through a space in which the appropriate direction is not always obvious.  The environment of Gears of War stands out from other game environments in that it has a specific mood, while the third-person viewpoint allows the player to assume the dual role of both participant and observer.  The central avatar of Gears of War also is more realistic in terms of behavior, in his display of caution and even fear, than most game characters, which are often cyphers without personalities.  The game's mechanics are instrumented to present a world that has the illusion of internal consistency while also supporting a compelling experience for gamers.  For example, the game is designed to punish players who do not seek cover.  Games with multiplayer options are very popular, given that single-player games can produce a feeling of isolation.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/03/081103fa_fact_bissell

 

Brown Scientists Create Program to Calculate Body Shape

Brown University (RI) (10/27/08) Lewis, Richard

Researchers at Brown University have created a computer program that is capable of generating a realistic computerized image of a person's body, without having the person stand still with their clothes off.  The three-dimensional body-shape model makes use of digital images or video of a person to determine the gender and calculate the waist size, chest size, height, weight, and other features.  The program is based on 2,400 detailed laser range scans of men and women in minimal clothing, combining information from a person in multiple poses, and also integrating the detection of skin in the images.  The model can determine what people look like underneath their clothes, and takes into consideration how the clothes fit on different parts of the body as the individual moves.  "Each pose gives different constraints on the underlying body shape, so while a person's body pose may change, his or her true shape remains the same," says Brown professor Michael Black.  "By analyzing the body in different poses, we can better guess that person's true shape."  The program would be helpful for forensics, but also could find use in the fashion, film, gaming, and sports medicine industries.  Black and graduate student Alexandru Balan note that the program does not use X-rays, does not see through clothing, and is not invasive.

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2008/10/3-d