According to researchers, if you want to see the future of gaming, you just have to look in the mirror.

Custom-designing characters is nothing new. It is attractive to players because it offers the chance of inserting themselves into a video game but mostly it comes with pre-designed body types and faces, which you can simply play around with. Researchers from the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies are hoping to change this, making character design more personal by releasing a set of free tools.

With these tools, all it takes is four minutes to create a digital version of yourself. They support a range of game engines like Unreal and Unity, made up of three components that rely on Microsoft Kinect for scanning a player in high detail. The components include: SmartBody, a simulation software; automatic rigging software for turning 3D models into simulation- or game-ready characters; and scanning software.

Through SmartBody, players can see themselves interact with objects within the game, watch themselves run, speak pre-recorded speeches and perform gestures. The researchers say more complex facial expressions are coming.

"We're trying to foster innovation," said Ari Shapiro, one of the project's leads, adding that he and his colleagues are interested in releasing the software in the public domain to see what kinds of uses people will come up with for it.

"The community can now develop interesting applications ... [that] could extend beyond games and into social media, communication, training and more."

The researchers have been studying whether players react differently or make different decisions when they are using a personalized avatar. Are players more invested in a game when their character looks exactly like them?

For the U.S. Army Research Lab, which provided funding support for Shapiro and colleagues' work, they see the research as particularly useful in training simulations. The researchers believe that their software also has potential to improve communication tools by bridging virtual and face-to-face interaction.

Oculus Rift, for instance, has Oculus Social, which allows player interaction in a virtual space. Oculus Social avatars, however, are still generic at this point. If the researchers' work is applied, players can communicate with each other using their own likeness.

Photo: Jared Tarbell | Flickr