I had another game development-related dream last night.

In it I was at a booth at some sort of trade show watching a demo of a new tech that would make computer-generated characters look much more realistic. The tech simulated a colloidal substance for the characters’ skin, which fixed pointy-head syndrome, allowed for much more realistic skin tones since the top layer of skin is translucent, and – my favorite – allowed for much more realistic modeling of wounds. The demo showed characters getting stabbed, shot and slashed, with the wounds then “healing” in a realistic manner. It even showed wounds healing differently based on the medical care the character got.

The only downside was that when the characters talked, the colloidal surface around their lips would seal when their mouths were closed and then tear away when they opened, making everybody look like zombies. When I pointed this out to the guy manning the demo booth, he made a face. “Yeah, we’re working on that.”