Proposed: Enhancing Avatar Expressiveness with AI-Generated Blend Shapes

The Context

In the realm of virtual reality, expressiveness is paramount for a rich social experience. V-Sekai is dedicated to providing users with robust avatar customization options, particularly in the realm of facial expressions.

The Problem Statement

The current scope of facial expression customization in V-Sekai is limited. It lacks the depth necessary for users to craft avatars that can exhibit a comprehensive range of emotions, which detracts from the immersive experience and social interaction within the platform.

Describe how your proposal will work with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, or diagrams

To be determined.

The Benefits

Enhanced realism and emotional conveyance in avatars.
Greater diversity in facial expressions enriches communication between users.
Simplification of complex expression creation makes avatar personalization accessible to all skill levels.

The Downsides

Potential performance impact due to real-time AI processing.
The requirement for ongoing dataset updates to improve and maintain AI model accuracy.

The Road Not Taken

Alternative options included manual blend shape sculpting by artists and community-driven expression templates, both of which were deemed to lack scalability and flexibility compared to an AI-based solution.

The Infrequent Use Case

For users requiring highly specialized expressions seldom encountered in regular interactions, such as niche cultural facial gestures.

In Core and Done by Us

This initiative is core to V-Sekai’s mission of enhanced user interaction and must be developed in-house to ensure deep integration and alignment with existing systems.

Status

Status: Proposed

Decision Makers

V-Sekai development team and community stakeholders.