NetEase has applied artificial intelligence to create realistic game avatars. And now MMORPG Justice users can transfer their faces to the game.
Fuxi Lab is responsible for the technology. It belongs to NetEase and specializes in AI development for gaming projects.
In order for artificial intelligence to be able to turn a 2D photo into a three-dimensional avatar, Fuxi Lab taught it to recognize facial bones. And then adjust the image to match the game graphics to avoid the “sinister valley” effect. The results look like this:
NetEase managed to simplify the process of creating an avatar compared to manually configuring sliders. And now, according to Abacus, Chinese gamers are using this function with might and main. Players have already created more than a million avatars based on the appearance of real people.
“Based on 2D images, it will be possible to recreate not only faces, but also hair, facial expressions and even gestures that can make the character even more realistic,” NetEase promises. The publisher also plans to give access to the technology to other game developers.
In recent years, NetEase has been investing a lot in AI technologies. The company has two goals. The first is to improve interaction with gamers. The second is to make life easier for developers.
Its competitors are currently working in the same field: the Chinese giant Tencent and the American Reallusion. Both managed to create realistic animation tools based on machine learning. According to the founder of Chengdu Gaming Federation Charlie Moseley, in the future this will expand the diversity of not only game mechanics, but also business models within the industry.
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