Facial display system

One of the most important technologies in this game is the use of expressive faces. Now, games have had faces for years, but those faces have never been particularly emotional. You certainly don’t need to look too closely at the faces to play the game.

In this game, however, you must pay close attention to the faces, because they display crucial hints as to what the character is really feeling. It’s not simple: you can’t simply look for a tweaked eyebrow or a lifted lip to see through a character. Instead, you have to watch the face for a while and use your social sensitivity to figure it out. You can’t calculate the answer; it’s too subtle. Instead, you must rely on your gut feelings.

These are what we call the “base faces” — faces without any emotional expression:



We can add simple emotions to these faces. Here are some examples:



We can also add “micro-expressions” to the faces. Here’s a tiny example:

This technology is still undergoing refinement; in the final version, the face will be in near-constant motion, communicating more emotion than any static face can.