Puppet Show: Intuitive Puppet Interfaces for Expressive Character Control

We argue that evolving game art like virtual performances and Machinima depend on better character control. That is why Puppet Show does not focus on new or optimized gameplay but aims to extend the expressive range of characters in an existing game world. Puppet Show is an interface plug-in for Epic’s Unreal Tournament 2004. Puppet Show uses an external Java program to feed visual input from a webcam onto the character animation of customized Unreal game avatars. It adds computer vision as another input device for physical puppeteering of the virtual game characters. Computer vision allows for an intuitive mapping of body movements onto virtual characters and gives human actors better access to an expressive virtual performance. We argue that this exemplifies an interface trend towards more expressive input options that support a higher level of expression in video games.