Octodad is a game about wrestling with a control scheme so obtuse as to make walking across the kitchen next to impossible. Facial recognition software FaceRig is about the opposite: a 1:1 mapping your own movements to a 3D character.
But FaceRig and Octodad developers Young Horses have found some common ground. Behold, your new, betentacled orange face.
Users might find that their own facial protrusions don’t match those of Young Horses’ every-cephalopod protagonist – but as a FaceRig employee usefully demonstrates in the video, a wiggle of your lips can set those tentacles moving.
FaceRig is compatible with webcams, and currently in beta ahead of its Classic and Pro releases in August. A professional-level Studio version will come next year.
FaceRig more than doubled their Indiegogo goal of $120k in a campaign earlier this year, and have since reached out to game developers with suitable characters to demo the tech with.
Young Horses were among the first to respond. FaceRig’s adaptation of their Octodad features the same number of polygons as his in-game equivalent, “for authenticity”. What do you make of him? Still his charming, bubbly self?
Cheers, Eurogamer.