A Dive into the Uncanny

The area of my research will be the uncanny valley. The basic concept of the uncanny valley is the more human something gets it eventually becomes less human; the non-human features are all we will notice about it. This is important to the industry because it can determine the mood and feel of the game and affect the final product. For example Fortnight has a cartoon style which means it more appealing to a younger audience, which can affect ESRB rating, However if you were to compare this game to Call of Duty and give the style a more realistic look, it tends to become more grittier and appeals to a different set of audience. For the next few months I will be looking at many different sets of the uncanny valley in the horror genre. I will be focusing on games like Siren Blood Curse, Resident Evil, and BioShock and how they use it to convey their message. By understanding its uses I can tailor the mood of the games inside the indie capstone to fit the kind of games needed. It will help me achieve my career goal by helping me understand how art in our games will convey messages and allow us to make the player feel how we want them to feel. Just like how Naughty Dog will get their emotions through their character designs and acting and also create the feeling of unease with art such as in games like resident evil and outlast. The uncanny valley is what a tool that should be mastered in the industry and I can’t wait to research it.