Delightfully disturbing : utilizing uncanny valley in favour of character design
Kiintonen, Satu (2022)
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022053113841
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022053113841
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examined varying theories related to the “Uncanny valley” effect – a negative psychological reaction allegedly triggered by increasingly realistic humanlike products, such as robots and 3D-characters. Through literature and video reviews of studies on eeriness, as well as inspection of the design choices and interviews of varying artists, this study’s goal was to pinpoint some of the visual and physical features in characters, which were contributing to the effect.
This study attempted to offer alternative ways to navigate the design process of eerie and creepy characters, by utilizing the strong emotional effect of uncanny valley, for the benefit of character design. Out of the themes and physical features discovered through analysis, the most prominent were applied to the design and production process of an animated 3D-game character, which acted the part of an enemy in a student-produced video game with religious themes.
The game was produced in collaboration with students from the Media and Arts study paths from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The production of the character is recorded in this thesis, step by step.
This study attempted to offer alternative ways to navigate the design process of eerie and creepy characters, by utilizing the strong emotional effect of uncanny valley, for the benefit of character design. Out of the themes and physical features discovered through analysis, the most prominent were applied to the design and production process of an animated 3D-game character, which acted the part of an enemy in a student-produced video game with religious themes.
The game was produced in collaboration with students from the Media and Arts study paths from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The production of the character is recorded in this thesis, step by step.