According to Judd Simantov, the Lead Character Technical Director at Naughty Dog Studios, "I don't think you can necessarily simulate everything. And I don't want to see all things get simulated because I think there's a need for an artistic push that makes [animation] appealing. And if you completely emulate reality, what's the point?"
At GDC 2007, Simantov demonstrated what human intuition can bring to the artistic table of animation. New hardware capabilities have made the world of animation more complex for animators, but Simantov has found ways to make the best of what the technology has to offer.
By adding virtual bones to key places of in-game face models, Simantov gives characters more believable performances. His techniques have circumvented problems like a character's sticky lips and closing eyes that confound the believability of speech when the mouth moves. By exercising more complex techniques for new generation games, teams like Naughty Dog are able to convey nuances with in-game character models that contribute to the overall sense of immersion.
