The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars) - Kotaku Comments

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

EdricParis — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:29:43 MDT

Wow.. that video explanation was excellent!

EdricParis

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Mecharine — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:57:01 MDT

I can attest that Uncanny Valley is very much applicable to porn videogames. Very very very much.

Mecharine

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

mcderek3000 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:46:14 MDT

I'm still wondering if you could exploit the uncanny valley to intentionally create disturbing characters and scenarios.

mcderek3000

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

cynopt — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:00:59 MDT

Yes, porn games exist; but none that actually hold up as games once the porn has served it's natural function.

As an example, DoA volleyball fails on both counts; the models are still up to their giant fakey knockers in the uncanny valley, and the game itself sucks to boot.

cynopt

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

foxhound417 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:18:55 MDT

30 Rock is pure genius and scenes like this one are the best examples of why. Giving Tracy Morgan free range to be completely insane always ends in hysterical laughter.

foxhound417

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

feitclub — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:02:58 MDT

@pyropetey: Really? I think you're mistaking "they exist in perpetuity" for "hugely successful."

feitclub

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

feitclub — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:00:08 MDT

@jayntampa: I've seen a couple 3D-ish porn games in Japan and it's definitely in the valley. These characters wouldn't be out of place in an FPS or something, but when they're bumpin' uglies it's really unsexy.

feitclub

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

mitch079 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:28:48 MDT

I haven't watched 30 Rock ever so is Tracy Morgan intentionally acting that bad because of his character or is he just a bad actor?

mitch079

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

deathbunny — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:49:12 MDT

there's an artistic aspect to what they're talking about that doesn't come through. Raphael's work is amazing real--to the point that you think a person is staring out of the canvas, at times, but it is not uncanny and upsetting.

The issue is that what counts and what literally exists are two different things in terms of our buying a figure as real.

The only deficit we're seeing, in terms of technology, are tools capable of letting a talented artist with an understanding of realism or a genuine style to accomplish what they really want to accomplish on the screen--rather than a 'that looks...ok, I guess.' kind of thing.

Beowulf is a great example. Someone spent time trying to get those figures perfect. But there wasn't an artistic intervention to emphasize the right parts of the figure and make it look real. Literal truth is not how we see things.

Also, no nipples and no camel toe make homer something something.

deathbunny

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Evil Tortie's Mom — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:35:27 MDT

@dawimp523: Yeah, this show is on NBC. Free. Put up an antenna or rabbit ears.

We get our major networks via antenna in HiDef. Free, uncompressed, darn cool.

"Tell it to me in Star Wars" "I'm scared!" heh.

It really is a great, simple explanation of the concept.

Evil Tortie's Mom

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

dawimp523 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:05:30 MDT

@Ghede: Aren't the 4 major networks (NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS) free? Do you need to pay cable for those channels? I could be wrong.

dawimp523

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Erwin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:57:56 MDT

@cornunderscore2x: You got me on those, but man, those others freaked me out the first time I saw them. I think if any of the anti-videogame crusaders lived outside Humble Christians, WI their heads would explode.

Erwin

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

milesmason — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:52:23 MDT

That was a funny episode, but the idea that uncanny valley issues prevent porn video games is an eye-roller. As pointed out, PC porn games exist, and console porn games don't exist due to distribution issues (Wal*Mart and other major retailers won't carry them) and licensing issues (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo wouldn't authorize them on their platforms).

But, suspend your disbelief and embrace the premise and it's a funny bit...

milesmason

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

cornunderscore2x — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:49:34 MDT

@Erwin: Actually, you're right. The rape-centric games are pretty creepy. Foot, meet mouth.

But, Schoolmate... Sexy Beach..!

cornunderscore2x

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Jest — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:42:52 MDT

I find the show funny most of the time. But I'll admit, I mainly watch for Tracy "Who Dat Ninja?" Morgan.

Jest

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

SonicNirvana — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:39:01 MDT

TV Shows like these help me maintain what little faith I have in humanity after the cancellation of Arrested Development.

SonicNirvana

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

The_Foo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:38:23 MDT

@Admonisher:
I don't know how it's possible for one person to contain so much wrong. It's like your parents partook in some kind of super-wrong experimentation and ingested a wrongness serum which raised them to the heights of human wrongness and then when they interbred and produced you, as creature of superhuman wrongness was born with the power to be more wrong than any human ever.

The_Foo

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Erwin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:33:26 MDT

@cornunderscore2x: And these? [en.wikipedia.org] [en.wikipedia.org] [en.wikipedia.org]

Erwin

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Admonisher — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:26:16 MDT

That show is not funny...and Tina Fey is a horrible comedic actor....

Admonisher

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Malevolentburrito — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:24:37 MDT

My genius will not be denied!!!

Malevolentburrito

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

cornunderscore2x — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:18:00 MDT

Obviously, none of these people ever played an Illusion game. They're far from creepy... lolz

cornunderscore2x

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

luckyz — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:12:26 MDT

@Guild_Navigator:
What about achievements? What achievements do they have?

luckyz

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

huph — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:12:25 MDT

I thought the porn game storyline was great. And the show does acknowledge that the Japanese make porn video games, they're referred to as "some of history's greatest perverts."

But the best line in the show was in the first scene when Liz Lemon says Judah Friedlander's character:

"Ugh! Your stupid face! It looks like Gene Simmons had sex with a Bassett Hound!"

Outstanding.

huph

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

fuchikoma — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:08:50 MDT

Generally true theory, but they can and they do make games that escape it - they simply use alternative graphical styles that are intentionally NOT reality so only the most sensitive people are freaked out by them. *shrug*

@spargo_1: qed. Also IMO HL2 people are mega creepy.

fuchikoma

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

pharago — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:03:41 MDT

it will be done sooner or later, there's a pattern into muscle and joint movement, making a rl robot that mimics human behaviour is plain mad because of actual hardware limitations, programming a 3D model has no limitations associated with muscle response time and control, i dont think we are going to see a parametric 3D model video game outside the valley any time soon, just thinking...

pharago

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

DrWyrm — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:02:45 MDT

The funniest part of the clip is that the one guy just happens to have the uncanny valley diagram at hand.

DrWyrm

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

partyspasb — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:02:24 MDT

I feel a book is in order. "Everything you'll ever need to know about the universe told to you in Star Wars" will be a best seller yet. I know it!

partyspasb

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

thefais — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:59:00 MDT

"Tell it to me in Star Wars"

This is why I love this show.

thefais

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

pyropetey — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:58:51 MDT

FAIL pr0n video games are hugely successful in japan!! its jsut that the art style here isnt suited for it ;D

pyropetey

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

iamcool388 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:54:13 MDT

@ShaggE: I detect truthiness in your statement.

Heavy Rain trailer was awesome. When she starts tearing up... damn. I have very high hopes for that... and Eight Days also, if its trailer is anything to go by.

iamcool388

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Rika Aiuchi is SeXXXy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:37:48 MDT

Tracy Morgan>>>
His older sketches and shows were funny. This was... kinda funny too. Actually I thought it was hilarious.

Rika Aiuchi is SeXXXy

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

cybereality — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:34:23 MDT

Thats pretty funny.

Just because something hasn't happened yet, doesn't make it impossible. If we accept that we are in the uncanny valley now, then it looks like we are 90% of the way there to me. Just look at the chart, its science!

cybereality

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

ShaggE — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:27:04 MDT

@Guild_Navigator: Hmm.. never really got that vibe, but I understand how someone could. Especially James, who seems to suffer from "dead eyes" syndrome.

@Erwin: Rubber monsters are scary as hell. All stretchy and shit... and they smell awful when set on fire. :p

ShaggE

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Bluecell — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:25:23 MDT

"Pay attention to me! I'm incosolable!"

"I gotta do something important so my children can respect me. Like being senator...or a wizard."

"I need to clear my thoughtsicles."

"My genious has come alive. Like toys when you're back is turned."

"I see the potential for erotica in everything around me."

I bet every one of Tracy Morgan's lines in the script are written with an exclamation point at the end.

Bluecell

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Trowble (XBL/PSN) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:24:09 MDT

The MILF Survivor episode 2 weeks ago was hilarious. I didn't like this show much as first, seemed bland, but now it's pretty damn funny.

As for the analogy with porn and Star Wars I didn't quite get it, but the golden points is where it's at!

@whiptcracker: Tracy Morgan acting like an idiot is funny and fine. I'm just thankful he's not doing standup on the show.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Guild_Navigator — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:21:55 MDT

@ShaggE:
I was actually referring to the people, not the monsters. The people in all the silent hill games always had a creepy vibe to them. Creepy to me at any rate.

Guild_Navigator

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Erwin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:18:39 MDT

@ShaggE: Nah, I think it would give the game an appearance equivalent to rubber monsters. I think it kind of works the same every way.

Erwin

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

PGGB — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:15:33 MDT

loved this episode start to finish and his rant on the impossibility of a porn video game was the keystone.

the sheer fact that they not only brought in graphic representation of the theory and that it was such a hilarious and true notion was gold.

when tracey 'disproved' it by scribbling on paper for 5 hours put the icing on the cake.

PGGB

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Pezdispenser — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:10:14 MDT

I like Tracy Morgan...

Anyhoo, I have that uncanny Valley feel from a lot of the current gen games. A few more years and a bit more refinement should resolve everything though.

Pezdispenser

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Lokno — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:07:14 MDT

@Cruithne: Zombie games benefit from this, since the enemies are at the bottom of the valley and so the living characters don't seem as creepy by comparison.

Lokno

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

jp182 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:02:31 MDT

truly brilliant

@Lou3000: i think people don't get the subtle satire that is weaved with the pure nonsense character that is Tracy Morgan.

jp182

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

whiptcracker — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:59:14 MDT

@Snake726:

They could call a show 30 Minutes of Tracy Morgan acting like an Idiot and I'd watch it. The other jokes are just frosting.

whiptcracker

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Z-Word — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:59:14 MDT

@Guild_Navigator: I thought he said "golden points", which made it even funnier.

Z-Word

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Lou3000 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:55:46 MDT

@Snake726: Sorry, 30 Rock is brilliant. Tracy Morgan acts like an idiot, but the primary focus of the show is Tina and Alec Baldwin.

Maybe you don't get all the jokes.

Lou3000

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Cruithne — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:55:34 MDT

Anyone played the latest Siren demo on PS3?
The main character is almost photo realisticly perfect. It's spooky, but not in an uncanny valley way, rather the fact that they've overcome the uncanny valley effect.

Cruithne

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

ShaggE — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:49:37 MDT

@Guild_Navigator: Nah, the creatures are definitely disturbing, but the engine isn't advanced enough to hit the Valley. In fact, only the Heavy Rain tech demo has hit that "unnerving" look, from what I've seen. (Seriously, I got chills the first time I saw it.)

ShaggE

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

deathsyth8888 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:49:01 MDT

Bests lines in the clip are "tell it to me in Star Wars" and "he acts like he doesnt care, but he does"

deathsyth8888

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Snake726 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:47:31 MDT

Why do people watch 30 Rock? It's just Tracy Morgan acting like an idiot alongside a bunch of tame Tina Fey jokes.

As for the actual topic, I think the world will explode if we can negate the uncanny valley. It's an impressive feat in entertainment, sure, but why have real humans when fake ones are just as friendly?

Snake726

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Benjamin Linus — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:47:15 MDT

Typo:

Tina* Fey

Benjamin Linus

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Benjamin Linus — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:46:46 MDT

I actually liked this episode a lot. I loved how they spoofed Amadeus.

Tine Fey = :)

Benjamin Linus

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Lokno — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:44:29 MDT

Heh, seems they based that chart directly off of the original from Mori's discussion of the concept: [www.androidscience.com]

Lokno

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Guild_Navigator — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:44:26 MDT

@ShaggE:
I'd say that Silent Hill did,

Guild_Navigator

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

spargo_1 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:43:55 MDT

Sexy Beach and Artificial Girl were fun.. But I like my Video game girls anime looking. Human looking anime girls would scare me shitless...

spargo_1

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Cruithne — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:43:45 MDT

What's the weirdest non porn thing you've ever whacked off to?
I once glazed a knuckle over a copy of Cosmopolitan but I figure most guys do that during their formative years.
Ok, ok, I was twenty five, and I ended up getting thrown out of the dentist's waiting room, but that's besides the point.

Cruithne

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Chances — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:43:16 MDT

My brother laughs his ass off at that show every day and I never understood why. That was hilarious.

Chances

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

ShaggE — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:42:10 MDT

I've always thought that the Uncanny Valley could be used to a developer's advantage. Especially with a horror game.

ShaggE

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Guild_Navigator — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:41:48 MDT

@jayntampa:

They kept it at the 3-CPO level of porn.

Guild_Navigator

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Lanhoj — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:40:30 MDT

WTF? I'm lost

Lanhoj

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

jayntampa — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:39:23 MDT

I'm not convinced the Japanese have actually failed at this ... they've just chosen not to cross the valley and embrace the unnatural. It seems to have worked for them -- and, oddly enough, a surprising number of women seem to like non-tentacle hentai.

However, it is the best, most concise explanation of the phenomenon that I've ever heard.

jayntampa

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Jay — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:37:39 MDT

@Cruithne: Yeah, they are, but not to actual porn videogames, just Psychonauts and Shadow of the Colossus.

Jay

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

dead_red_eyes — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:36:42 MDT

@Ghede:

"30 Rock"

dead_red_eyes

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Lokno — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:36:21 MDT

Hehe. I really don't like the characters in 30 rock (I think that may be the point?) but this bit is funny. Its amusing to hear a graphics concept explained for the mainstream like that.

Lokno

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Beyene — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:34:04 MDT

"Im scared, get me out of there!"

Beyene

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Cruithne — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:33:58 MDT

Isn't everyone already whacking off to video games?
At least that's how I interpret a lot of the comments.

Cruithne

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Bluecell — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:33:49 MDT

I wanted to send this to you guys, but the only way I could figure out how to get it off my PVR was to record it off-screen with my digital camera. Which I did, and the sound quality was horrible at best.

In any case, I thought this was hillarious, along with the rest of the episode.

I'm BUSINESS DRUNK.

Bluecell

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Ghede — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:33:13 MDT

@Ghede: Never mind. Just checked the tags. Duh.

Ghede

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

badasscat — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:32:30 MDT

@Dukeman330: The show's point was specifically that a porn video game "can't be done", and I put the quotes there for a reason. It wasn't that it's been done badly. I couldn't get past that. Spoil the premise, spoil the bit.

badasscat

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Ghede — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:32:26 MDT

What show is that? My cable was cut off. I have been seperated from the great mind-drain. Although I Still netflix my Scrubs.

Ghede

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Darthearl — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:30:04 MDT

spot on ....spot on indeed

Darthearl

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Guild_Navigator — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:29:48 MDT

@badasscat:

Yes, but do those games reward you gold and points?

Guild_Navigator

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

Dukeman330 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:29:27 MDT

@badasscat: Yeah, but porn games are still way, way less popular than porn movies - most likely because cg porn is still too creepy for mainstream audiences. The show's point stands.

Dukeman330

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

dead_red_eyes — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:27:11 MDT

Haha, I knew this would get on here sooner or later!

dead_red_eyes

The Uncanny Valley Explained (In Terms of Porn And Star Wars)

badasscat — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:26:38 MDT

I love that show but that episode was kinda whack, not least of which because there are already plenty of porn video games out there. Tina Fey needs to learn how to turn "Safesearch" off when she does her Google research.

badasscat