IN THE world of video games, Sony’s Playstation has seen off Matsushita’s
Panasonic 3DO system. But Matsushita is now filing patents (EP 712 097) on a new
kind of game.
The proposed system will enable a games console to generate computer
animation in real time, so characters seem as if they were being drawn by a
professional animator working at lightning speed. Their movements are entirely
original and infinitely variable.
Conventional games rely on a library of animated sequences, displaying them
as the game progresses. The sequences are laboriously preprogrammed by a
computer animator. Matsushita’s idea is for the computer to store programs,
called Motion Units, which each make a character move in a particular way.
One MU may make the character nod its head, while another has it swinging a
punch and a third makes it kick. Further MUs influence all the basic movements
by giving the impression of fatigue. Master control software blends the MUs, so
that a character can kick while punching, or nod its head when punched, looking
more tired as the action continues.
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