4
\$\begingroup\$

I've been searching for an answer forever, but I haven't found one. What options are there for lip sync/facial expressions in video games made with XNA? I have a few models for a game I'm building, and I would like to know if it would be better to set up an animation for every dialogue, but that would be very time-consuming and the whole collection of files would result in a massive-sized program.

I was thinking about an automated lip-sync system, but I wouldn't know where to start! Any thoughts?

Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$
1
\$\begingroup\$

Assuming you have transcripts of your audio. You could create a timestamp system that matches each word to a specific time. You could then use a system to read each word and work out mouth shapes. I. E. 'th' or 'oo' have very distinct mouth shapes. Basically read these from you transcript text and pick the correct mouth shape. Alternatively you could look into voice recognition to avoid having to timestamp all of your text. But the can get complicated quickly and is prone to errors.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
  • \$\begingroup\$ Voice recog would be pretty cool, but you're right, as it does cause a lot of errors. However, the other way seems to be a bit inefficient, as you would have a lot of files (most likel XML, as I like to use that to store data) and I'd like to avoid that. However, it is another way and I appreciate your input! \$\endgroup\$ – Gumptastic Jun 25 '14 at 23:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ Well, I'd assume you would have subtitles, so would it be much more? \$\endgroup\$ – Lex Webb Jun 26 '14 at 6:21
1
\$\begingroup\$

I'm not experienced in this so my answer is only an idea, but you may be able to use an extension which allows the analysation of sound files making a list of floating points on how loud the voice is, then translate that to how far your model opens it's mouth. Simple to understand, looks ok in the game. Take Team Fortress 2 as an example. They don't have amazing talking animations but they seem real enough.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, that makes sense, and even so, TF2's a pretty good game. Lool. That's not too bad. I could probably do that as I load up each level and get hte dialogue for every one. Thank you for that! \$\endgroup\$ – Gumptastic Jun 25 '14 at 23:20

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.