The coming revolution in entertainment software

After years of development, computer games have settled down to a predictable style. However, a variety of factors are now converging that will trigger dramatic changes in the medium: better hardware, a mass market, a new class of developers, and stagnancy of the old type of software. Computer games will shift away from nerdy, intellectualized spectacles and towards a more character-based style that appeals to a wider audience. Before this can happen, however, three fundamental technological hurdles must be jumped: (1) artificial personality; (2) the modelling of the human face; and (3) a language of emotional expression that allows the player of the game to interact with the other characters in an emotionally meaningful manner.<>