FaceRig: Avatars, Features, and Omegle-ing

Using just your webcam, FaceRig (Holotech Studios) maps your facial movements onto a virtual avatar of your choice. I check out the beta and explore its current offerings, looking at the avatars, backgrounds, and customization that's available. I end the video by testing the program on Omegle.

Here are my impressions I wrote on NeoGAF:

Steam beta keys have been sent out to Indiegogo backers. It'll go into public beta starting tomorrow, at which it'll cost $15. It costs $10 if you preorder.

I messed with the program for a while yesterday and it works pretty well. They decided to include all the virtual avatars they currently have (excluding licensed ones, which can be downloaded later). The thing that surprised me the most is the amount of customization you have over avatars and backgrounds. You can also create your own in a separate modeling program and import them. I also used it on Omegle for a little bit. That was... interesting. I saw one guy on Twitch using the program already.

It's not perfect and they have some kinks to work out. They said they are focused on fixing bugs for the next couple of weeks. 

The Art of Video Games: The Guestbook

I went to The Art of Video Games exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday with my brother. I'll upload more of the video we took when I get back from the two-week road trip I'm leaving for tomorrow, but I wanted to show off one of my favorite things at the exhibit: the guestbook. This guestbook was laid out for visitors to sign just a few days before on August 30th, and it already had quite a few people write in it. There are a lot of nice messages in there, along with people mentioning their favorite games or drawing their most beloved characters. It's a little lengthy, but I recommend checking it out to see what fellow enthusiasts had to say about the exhibit and video games in general. You can see my brother and I put our own messages in at the end.

I didn't see any mentions of Giant Bomb in there (I'll do that when I return to the exhibit later this month), but someone did draw the NeoGAF logo!

Go to the 15:00 mark for my hilarious suggestions for what my brother should write.