Author Topic: Face-Making Integrated in Wii Hardware (Read 6198 times)

WindyMan · « **on:** June 02, 2006, 04:41:54 PM »

You too can make Iwata, Miyamoto and the Regginator play Tennis, in the comfort of your own home.

Remember the WiiSports Tennis game at the end of Nintendo's E3 press conference? The one that had those goofy renditions of Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime? Everyone got to talking about how neat it would be if you can do that with your own face, with your own system.

It just so happens that we will be doing that with the Wii, or at least with games that support it. According to Chris Kohler's Wired Games blog, the functionality to create caricatures of people's faces is built in to the Wii hardware. Profiles on the console can assign a custom face to characters in supported games (WiiSports is apparently one of them), or choose from a variety of presets.

It's also interesting to hear that Nintendo is planning to use a profile system for Wii. This could possibly mean that having a centralized profile on the console would eliminate the need to deal with the different save/load structure of different games, among other things.

While we've always wanted to put our face in the game, this might not be exactly what we were thinking. Creating simple caricatures will work for the graphically simple stuff, but what about realistic games like Red Steel or other first person shooters?

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #1 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:07:31 PM »

Wow, maybe this could mean a camera implemented into the Wii controller? Could this be one of its last hardware features yet to be revealed? Should be interesting to see how this works exactly.

Caliban · « **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:28:00 PM »

I'm betting that it isn't a camera, but rather you upload a photo of yourself from your computer to the Wii using the software that will come in an included CD to the Wii you just bought. Just an idea but far more cheaper than having a camera with the Wii.

Jensen · « **Reply #3 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:28:08 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: VGrevolution
Wow, maybe this could mean a camera implemented into the Wii controller? Could this be one of its last hardware features yet to be revealed? Should be interesting to see how this works exactly.

There is a camera in the WiiMote! But it can only see IR.

WindyMan · « **Reply #4 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:39:47 PM »

Just to clarify, this means there are tools in the Wii hardware to make faces from scratch, like how it's possible to make custom designs in Animal Crossing. No cameras.

Bloodworth · « **Reply #5 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:42:13 PM »

Does this indicate that games can access a shared friends list too? That would be a nice and obvious improvement over the DS's online system. Actually - the Wii would pretty much have to save it to hardware because you can't save that info to a disc like with a DS cartridge.

archioverload · « **Reply #6 on:** June 02, 2006, 05:45:32 PM »

Just announced! Sony will be releasing Pixi-face(tm) with the PS3, allowing people's faces to represented in a smoothly rendered, approximately 16 pixel spread. The high-tech physiogomical system, at time of release, can only be used with one game: Warhawk.

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #7 on:** June 02, 2006, 06:44:34 PM »

This is cool, but it mostly gets me more excited about what else they could incorporate into the hardware. If they include something as obscure as custom faces in the HARDWARE, and not individual games, what else could it have?

WuTangTurtle · « **Reply #8 on:** June 02, 2006, 07:03:07 PM »

What would be really cool is if the hardware had a program that you could make your own textures. Games could have this option to let you actually change somethings UVW_Map. You could just choose say a car and then the software could load up its Default UVW_Map, and you could paint into it or import a photo from your pc if u wanted. For those who don't know what a UVW_Map is it is the image file that represents what an object will look like.

Athrun Zala · « **Reply #9 on:** June 02, 2006, 07:13:19 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Caliban
I'm betting that it isn't a camera, but rather you upload a photo of yourself from your computer to the Wii using the software that will come in an included CD to the Wii you just bought. Just an idea but far more cheaper than having a camera with the Wii.

wouldn't it be cheaper to Nintendo easier to copy a photo to a SD card? (and from the card to the Wii)

ShyGuy · « **Reply #10 on:** June 02, 2006, 07:58:24 PM »

I thought there was simply going to be a police artist style sketch thing. Choose your eyes, nose, etc. If you look at the E3 Tennis pics, they are cartoons.

Caliban · « **Reply #11 on:** June 02, 2006, 08:28:48 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Athrun Zala
Quote
Originally posted by: Caliban
I'm betting that it isn't a camera, but rather you upload a photo of yourself from your computer to the Wii using the software that will come in an included CD to the Wii you just bought. Just an idea but far more cheaper than having a camera with the Wii.
wouldn't it be cheaper to Nintendo easier to copy a photo to a SD card? (and from the card to the Wii)

LOL, good point! I forgot that, in these modern times, cameras can use memory cards. But what about the people that use older cameras, or don't have a camera at all?

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 02, 2006, 09:03:46 PM »

well then obviously this feature wouldn't be for them, and they should scrape together a little cash, which shouldn't be too hard with all the money they just saved purchasing a Wii over the competition

, and upgrade some of their '80/'90's tech for something from the future, like something from The Year TwoThousaaand.

Sarail · « **Reply #13 on:** June 02, 2006, 09:06:53 PM »

Oh, I sure hope the Wii accepts Compact Flash cards along with SD. Heh, that's what my digital camera takes.

Kairon · « **Reply #14 on:** June 02, 2006, 09:52:45 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1
well then obviously this feature wouldn't be for them, and they should scrape together a little cash, which shouldn't be too hard with all the money they just saved purchasing a Wii over the competition , and upgrade some of their '80/'90's tech for something from the future, like something from The Year TwoThousaaand.

Careful, isn't that what Sony's thinking?

People will feed their children cabbage soup for months just so they can afford the PS3?

Either way, I see no need for this digital photo trickery you are all espousing. This is probably just like those caricatured faces on the Wii Sports models (or on Animal Crossing, or logos on F-Zero GX).

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Nephilim · « **Reply #15 on:** June 03, 2006, 12:34:36 AM »

"Oh, I sure hope the Wii accepts Compact Flash cards along with SD. Heh, that's what my digital camera takes."
There are over 50 different kinds of flash cards, I doubt Nintendo will support more then one due to the fact the SD card is a partnership with panasonic

getter77 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 03, 2006, 03:46:00 AM »

Am I the only one that just pictured everyone making a custom Reggie character in a potential game like Streets of Rage 4?

stevey · « **Reply #17 on:** June 03, 2006, 05:25:27 AM »

That really cool! but I hope their a built in reggie face as a default face and what is the use this for wire frame/ploy guy in the new SSBB!

Sarail · « **Reply #18 on:** June 03, 2006, 06:34:44 AM »

Quote
There are over 50 different kinds of flash cards, I doubt Nintendo will support more then one due to the fact the SD card is a partnership with panasonic

50? Any electronics or digital photo-based store I've walked in to carries pretty much SD, CF, xD, or Sony's exclusive memory sticks/cards.

SD and CF are standards.

Jonnyboy117 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 03, 2006, 07:16:29 AM »

This info was already revealed in our E3 interview with Takashi Tezuka.

wandering · « **Reply #20 on:** June 03, 2006, 02:38:55 PM »

Quote
This info was already revealed in our E3 interview with Takashi Tezuka.

I thought I had read it before...

Anyway, good news. Now there needs to be a Wii port of Metal Gear Solid where Psycho Mantis describes what your face looks like.

Chode2234 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 03, 2006, 05:30:15 PM »

Didn't Nintendo want to do something like this with Perfect Dark, but then scratched it at the last minute. I think the method used there was a photo scan. Doesn't surprise me that this technology is finially making a reappearance, and it is cool nonetheless.

stevey · « **Reply #22 on:** June 03, 2006, 06:24:38 PM »

"Didn't Nintendo want to do something like this with Perfect Dark, but then scratched it at the last minute. I think the method used there was a photo scan. Doesn't surprise me that this technology is finially making a reappearance, and it is cool nonetheless."

Nintendo was going to use the GBC camera and 64 controller hoke up, but then their was all the school shooting and the got rid of it.

KDR_11k · « **Reply #23 on:** June 05, 2006, 08:36:32 AM »

Just to clarify, this means there are tools in the Wii hardware to make faces from scratch, like how it's possible to make custom designs in Animal Crossing. No cameras.

What kind of system are we talking about here, "adjust a predefined face to your liking" as seen in many MMOs or full "paint your own texture" action as seen in AC?

shaolinkilla: 1. With games it's UV map because you have only 2 dimensions in your texture.
2. I'd call "what it will look like" a bad description. The UV map shows which texture areas correspond to which polygons on the model.

News:

Author Topic: Face-Making Integrated in Wii Hardware (Read 6198 times)