Designing lifelike people in a video game can be a time consuming process for video game developers, but the new MetaHuman Creator for Unreal Engine could make it a much easier process. According to Epic Games, the cloud-streamed app offers a number of different options for creating “MetaHuman” characters, including hairstyles and body types. Users start by selecting preset faces and then make adjustments. Once the user is ready, the creation can be downloaded via Quixel Bridge for use in Unreal Engine. MetaHuman Creator will be free with Unreal Engine and will deliver this technology to a much wider pool of potential users.
A trailer for the app can be found in the Tweet embedded below.
Meet MetaHumans – the next generation of digital people. # UE4
Animation and mocap-ready, #MetaHumans is created by you using the new easy-to-use MetaHuman Creator.
Get a taste of this groundbreaking new tool: https://t.co/oF9yUcNByn
– Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) February 10, 2021
Users can animate these MetaHumans using a variety of tools, including Unreal’s Live Link Face iOS app. Epic Games is also working on support from vendors such as ARKit, Digital Domain and more. Animations created with one MetaHuman can then be used for additional projects, potentially saving developers even more time. An Early Access version of the program is currently in the works, but a definitive release date has not been announced at the time of writing.
If MetaHuman Creator really works as advertised, it can be of great benefit to developers and publishers. Video game development has become more and more expensive over the years and the new console generation is leading to higher expectations from players. MetaHuman Creator can save an immeasurable amount of time, allowing developers to shift their focus to other priorities.
However, there are potential drawbacks. In the replies to Unreal Engine’s Tweet, some commented that they were concerned that this could result in some games having human characters that look exactly the same. That can quickly get boring and lead to less creativity. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case or not, but it’s up to the individual developers to make sure they create models that really stand out.
What do you think of MetaHuman Creator so far? Do you think this will be of great benefit to developers? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter @Marcdachamp to talk about gaming!