GDC 2013: Activision demo their next-gen face tech

There's been much speculation about what the next generation of video games will bring, but already a pattern is emerging: old men . It seems the technological arms race of future game engines is being waged over the wrinkled battlefields of translucent, withered skin. David Cage came out strong with his old man , all thin lips and flowing white hair. Nvidia's old man wasn't that old at all . They are clearly falling behind the times.

But wait, who's this emerging from a hitherto unnoticed patch of liver spots? It's Activision's R&D department, who demoed their old man at GDC. And some younger men and women, just for old times' sake.

Wait isn't that the same Not Old Man from the Nvidia demo? Activision explain on the video's YouTube page : "Yes, this is the same source data from ICT used by Nvidia at GTC, but rendered using a completely different tech."

According to a post by Activision R&D's Jorge Jimenez , this is the result of "many years of work in photorealistic characters." Supposedly, the tech was demoed live at GDC on a two-year old laptop.

More screenshots below:

Thanks, RPS .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.