Welcome to the Performing Personality in Game Characters and Digital Narratives Workshop at CEEGS 2024!

What does it mean to perform, capture, and digitally bring to life a character’s personality? The integration of motion capture and wearable technologies offers a wide range of possibilities for crafting character personality and expression, shaping a new ground for exploring creative practices at the intersection of animation, embodied practices, and character design. This workshop aims to explore how the integration of motion capture and wearable technology in character design can lead to different conceptual frameworks, workflows, and pipelines, and shape a hybrid stage between live-action and digital narratives.

Traditional methods of character design often rely heavily on manual animation techniques and pre-defined expressions. By integrating motion capture and wearable technology, creators can achieve a higher level of realism and subtlety in character performance. This workshop seeks to inspire new approaches and ideas for character creation that leverage these advanced technologies, enabling a deeper connection between characters and their audiences. Moreover, the intersection of motion capture, wearable technology, and character design brings together experts from various fields, including animation, game design, biometrics, and human-computer interaction. To this end, our workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, encouraging participants to share their unique perspectives and expertise. Such collaboration is essential for pushing the boundaries of what is possible in digital character design, leading to innovative outcomes that might not emerge within a single discipline. Finally, characters are central to storytelling in games and digital narratives, and their emotional depth and personality significantly impact audience engagement. By utilizing biometric data and wearable sensors, creators can explore new ways to convey complex emotions and personality traits non-verbally. The workshop will delve into how these technologies can be used to enhance character development and audience connection, providing participants with the tools and insights needed to create more compelling and emotionally resonant characters.

The workshop will cover a range of topics related to motion capture, wearable technologies, and character design, including:

• Motion Capture for game characters and digital narratives
• Biometrics, wearables, and emotions in character design explorations
• Non-verbal personality traits of characters
• Interpersonal expression of personality
• Embodied interactions for digital characters
• Character design (appearance, costumes, body shape vs. motion)
• Motion libraries, workflows, and needs
• Gender representation and personality traits
• Human vs. non-human characters

The workshop targets researchers, practitioners, artists, and enthusiasts interested in character design, motion capture technologies, wearable technologies, and digital narratives in video games and interactive media.

We invite submissions of papers or works related to the workshop topics, focusing on the topics of the workshops, in the form of 600-word extended abstracts. Accepted submissions will have the opportunity to be presented during dedicated sessions within the workshop. Proposed schedule:

• Call for extended abstracts release: 8th of July 2024
• Abstract deadline: 12th of September 2024 19th of September 2024
• Notification of Acceptance: 25th of September 2024
• Workshop Date: 12th of October 2024

Submit Your Abstract

The workshop will have a practice-based and participatory format consisting of short presentations followed by facilitated discussions on the topic. Researchers are invited to present their ideas, research challenges, or work that is already done, or to attend to listen and discuss the topic without presenting. The workshop is planned as a half-day event but may be extended to a full day depending on the number of accepted submissions.

• Introduction: The workshop will commence with an introduction to the objectives and structure of the session.
• Presentation of Abstracts: Accepted papers or works will be presented by authors, providing insights into the latest research and projects in the field.
• Tasks and Hands-on Activities – Mocap Lab: Participants will engage in hands-on activities in a motion capture lab, exploring techniques for compositing, capturing, and editing movement data to enhance character animation and expression.
• Round Table – Conclusion: A round table discussion will provide participants with the opportunity to share their experiences, insights, and future directions for integrating motion capture and wearable technologies in character design.
• Process Evaluation: The workshop will conclude with an evaluation of the process, gathering feedback from participants to inform future iterations and developments.

The workshop’s organizers are currently working on the IMAGINE-MOCAP project funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, Greece, 2024–2026. The IMAGINE MOCAP project aims to extend the character animation workflow with an emphasis on shaping character’s personality through motion capture and wearable technologies. The team, including an interdisciplinary background of computing, game design, animation, and performing arts, investigates state-of-the-art research outcomes and market technologies to develop a theoretical framework, methodologies, tools, and pipelines for expressing and conveying digital character’s personality through these four media: Interactive Media, Animation Production, Games, and Interactive Networked Environments (-IMAGINE).

Organizers: Katerina El Raheb (University of the Peloponnese), Anastasios Theodoropoulos (University of the Peloponnese), Giorgos Nikopoulos (Ionian University), Anthie Kolokotroni (Aegean University), Panagiotis Kyriakoulakos (Aegean University), Lori Kougioumtzian (University of the Peloponnese), Vilelmini Kalampratsidou (University of the Peloponnese), Spyros Vosinakis (Aegean University)

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