Each and every character in a game such as Half-Life must be started from scratch, built up grain by grain, even the smallest, least significant gesture painstakingly animated. It was an accomplishment when the characters in Half-Life actually opened their mouths to speak. I find it hard at this point to appreciate games where the characters talk through closed lips and clenched teeth, less animated than a ventriloquist's manikin. But every advance seems to draw attention to a deficiency. Mouths move, but eyes don't blink.
Heads turn, but hands look like oven mitts.
Creating real characters, strong enough to compete with the memorable figures in film and literature, may be the biggest challenge facing us if we are to truly entertain a wide new audience. Creating real characters, strong enough to compete with the memorable figures in film and literature, may be the biggest challenge facing us if we are to truly entertain a wide new audience. But if you try only to create a character, you'll end up with a caricature something two-dimensional at best. We must aim high. It's a challenge that many of us take seriously.