Krafton, a South Korean gaming developer known for titles like PUBG Mobile and Battlegrounds Mobile India, has joined the Metaverse bandwagon with a virtual human modeling business that will focus on creating realistic virtual avatars for usage in games, eSports, and as virtual influencers and singers.
Shin Seok-jin, creative director at Krafton said, “We are geared up for realizing an interactive virtual world (Metaverse) in stages and will continue to introduce more advanced versions of virtual humans and content based on the belief in the infinite scalability of such technologies.”
Krafton will use hyperrealism character production technologies to build digital avatars of humans, as well as artificial intelligence (AI), text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and voice-to-face to increase their communication skills. Motion-captured dynamic movements, pupil movements, a wide range of facial expressions, and skin hairs will all be visible in virtual humans.
Artists have been inspired by the concept of hyperrealism to create sculptures and paintings that appear to be real. It has since struck a chord with game developers and animators, who now have the capabilities to create computer characters that appear to be real humans. Characters in games like FIFA 22 resemble their real-life counterparts in appearance and movement.
Digital humans will play an important role in the Metaverse, representing real people in the virtual world. At first, virtual avatars would only be able to be customized with clothes and skins. However, as people begin to spend more time inside the Metaverse, demand for virtual avatars that seem more like their true selves is projected to rise.
India is becoming a new animation and game production hub. Following the outbreak, some global game development teams outsourced work to India. The Union Budget for 2022-23 acknowledged the employment potential in animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC), with the government announcing the formation of a task force to identify measures to increase employment in these fields.
