CSI in 3D: animators solve the technical mysteries behind CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder.(Interactivity)(computer game created by Ubisoft/Telltale Games )

In the top-rated television drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the crime-solving team of John Grissom and his group of criminalists use the latest tools and methodologies to solve some of Las Vegas's most perplexing crimes. Similarly, for the Ubisoft/Telltale Games CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder PC title, based on the TV show, CG artists and animators applied the latest digital techniques that enabled them to bring the crime story into the interactive space.

Although the third interactive iteration of CSL this title is the first to bring the gameplay into the full 3D space, and as a result, mimics the television show more closely than the previous releases for a more immersive experience. In the game, players use the latest forensic science and crime-solving equipment--including Mikrosil casting material, magnetic powder for enhanced fingerprint analysis, and Luminol for detecting traces of blood evidence--as they work alongside Grissom and the cast to solve five cases with deep plot lines. To discover the truth behind the crimes, players must visit the scene, interview suspects, and collect and ana lyze physical evidence using puzzle-solving and interrogation skills to establish a relationship among the suspect, the victim, and the crime scene.

With the game's new 3D graphics, players can move around the crime scene and zoom in for a close-up look at relevant hot spots in the game and are not limited to doing so simply within the same axis. However, they will not be able to walk around the space freely in the game space in the style of a first-person shooter. Still, all the objects and scenery are fully modeled and rendered in real time, so players can walk around the crime scenes at will. and the game's advanced interactivity makes it seem as if players are actually using the tools for collection and detection of the evidence. As a result, it feels as though players are actually solving the case, rather than having the computer solve it for them. And, if they are successful, they can then make an arrest.

It's the Way that You Move

Further supporting the game's realism are the motions of the characters. To accomplish this, Telltale Games teamed with mocap studio House of Moves, which recorded approximately 75 actual motions involving an array of props--knives, guns, jars, books, garbage bags, and so on--that lent some authenticity not only to the cinematic--sequences, but also to the in-game play. These movements were acquired via single- and multiple-person capture with a 100-camera array of 4 mega-pixel, grayscale Vicon MX 40 motion-capture cameras.

According to David Felton, production manager at Telltale Gaines, using full-body motion capture enabled the group to record a set of specific, believable actions. "Especially in our cut-scenes and reconstruction sequences, where you see scenarios of what happened or might have happened, the characters 'talk' with their bodies rather than with words," says Felton. "Using motion capture allowed us to have our 3D characters communicate through their actions."

As Felton explains, it was important to capture realistic human motion, especially for the game's cinematic sequences. Because motion-capture animations come from real human motion, there is a lot of subtlety in the ...