Using The Uncanny Valley To Your Advantage.

Just watch it first.

 For those of you who don't know this is the opening to the Half-Life 2 (from Valve) , and the character is known simply as the G-Man. He's just your typical dimension jumping government agent who knows far more than he will tell. It is apparent that the developers are fully aware of the limitations of CG humans and use it to their advantage. The combination of the pale eyes that are never quite looking in the right direction and strange way in which the head moves, down to the robotic but clearly human voice makes for a character creepy enough to rival the Xenomorph. But one thing to note is that the rest of the characters are actually very well animated, especially in the face. I wasn't able to track down a quick clip from a cut scene that showcases the animation, so I guess you will either have to watch a play through or just play the game yourself.This picture kind of shows of the semi-caricatured characters which allow them to avoid the uncanny valley fairly well. Unless they want them to. I'm sure some of you are still creeped out by them but there are people who find teddy bears creepy so its all about the individual person.

Anyway thanks for reading and let me know what you think if you've played, or if you think I am 100% off the mark and you think these characters are creepier than a ten foot spider.