The Mechanic

I've had an idea for a good few months, about implementing FaceGen into games using external means, such as uploading from a smartphone, or accessing pictures on Facebook directly from the game/console.

A couple of weeks back I tested an idea of using tagged/uploaded pictures of friends and family on Facebook in order to create a 3D model of their head, for potential use in a video game. I used software called FaceGen, though just the demo version, which is why all the following models are bald and have text on the forehead. Here were some of the results:

The results were fantastic, capturing an exact 3D representation of their faces. These 3 photos were gathered off Facebook, showing that it is not always necessary to upload a blank expression of your face and profile to generate an accurate model. In the 3rd picture, my friend Sean is at least 5 feet away from the camera, much unlike what they advise in the FaceGen software.

With the right technology, I believe that, using Fifa for example, you'd be able to create a whole virtual football team of your friends within an hour, just by logging into Facebook and browsing pictures directly from your console.


Though, this technique did have it's flaws. At times I found myself browsing through a vast number of pictures just to find a decent one (mouth closed and facing somewhat towards the camera) which was time consuming. My other idea (which I believe has more potential) to use smartphones to upload pictures directly to the game database needs to be researched more. I have contacted a friend of a friend who has a hobby in app creation, I hope to hear back from him soon.