Face Mapping Technology

I remember the first few times I put myself "into a video game." I added myself to the Maple Leafs in an early EA NHL title, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to see my name flash up on screen when I scored a goal. Then it was a role-playing game (RPG), where my Paladin had to ward off the forces of evil.

In fact, the sports and RPG genres have long been the haven for custom characters, and in-game personalities. The sports genre however has led the way for true personalization of your likeness, and in the early days, it was simply your name and number.

You're in the Game
Later generations of sports titles began to introduce your name on the back of the player's jersey, so you could see yourself actually playing on the field. When EA added the Sports Illustrated cover feature to their NCAA Football series, where you could see your name on the cover of SI with a headline like, "Boyle leads his team to the Rose Bowl," it was about as close to living out a childhood fantasy as this old guy is going to get. When Boyle was added to the list of names that the announcer, Brad Nessler, called out during the game's broadcast, well, I was in heaven. But I was still stuck with a generic looking guy on the cover of SI, or on the field.

Games like Oblivion feature detailed character creation.

In the last year or so we began to see various games using a face sculptor (again, mostly EA SPORTS™ titles) where you could mold and shape your character's face to look something like yourself. This technology was somewhat advanced, and for the first time gamers began to truly see themselves in their on screen counterparts. Finally, I didn't just read my name, but I also had a sense of recognition when I saw my player on the screen.

Next-Generation Technology
Now, however, we are seeing the latest advances in character personalization, not in a sports game, but perhaps in a very unlikely place: a tactical shooter. The Rainbow Six series began messing around with custom characters in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Lockdown™, by adding the Persistent Elite Creation (PEC) mode. Quite simply, it brought an RPG element to the series, and you could earn points to unlock different weapons and armor, and then outfit your character in a unique way. Lockdown had its flaws, but it was pretty clear the boys at Ubisoft were onto something with PEC.

Put yourself in the game with Digimask.

So now, we have Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas for Xbox 360™, which takes the PEC mode and adds tons of custom unlockables, as well as the next giant leap forward in character personalization. Games using face sculpting and a selection of pre-rendered templates to choose from are so "last generation."

Say hello to the next generation of gaming. Say hello to Digimask.

Xbox Live Vision
Digimask, when coupled with Xbox Live® Vision, allows you to put your actual face into the game using a very simple process. Take two pictures of your face with Xbox Live Vision, one from the front, and one from the side, and Digimask will map your face into the game. Despite having some very poor lighting in my initial photo attempt, I was shocked at how great the likeness turned out in the game. Fortunately, Digimask now offers helpful hints on their website to help you get the best results possible.

Digimask was also used in World Series of Poker®: Tournament of Champions, but its use in Rainbow Six Vegas is truly the coming out party for this technology on Xbox 360. In fact, it's safe to say that multi-player will never be the same again. Taking on your friends on Rainbow Six takes on a whole new meaning when you actually SEE them in the game. Watching your buddy catapult over your head from a well placed frag … well, that's just priceless.

Future Games
Now that we see the technology can work in a game, and work well, what is the next step for Digimask, and for individual customization in games in general? First and foremost is the recent announcement that Digimask can now be integrated into the stunning Unreal Engine 3, which is the engine that powers the already classic Gears of War®. Hopefully future developers of games using this engine will take advantage of this option.

World Series of Poker also uses Digimask technology.

For the sports and RPG genres, Digimask has to be a no-brainer. I can't wait to watch myself jog the bases at Wrigley Field after crushing a homerun in a baseball game, or see me sitting atop a horse and riding around the fields of a future epic adventure. I can't think of another genre that calls for this technology more than these two.

Though, in essence, any game that requires a you play as a character, would have a use for Digimask. Getting your mug shot taken in a game like Grand Theft Auto or putting yourself alongside Marcus Fenix could be tremendous gaming experiences.

That's in the future. For now, we'll have to make due with keeping the City of Sin safe from terrorists, and tackling the high pressure world of Texas Hold'em.

Article by Chris Boyle (boheim), Xbox Users Group