As gaming devices become more powerful, it's time to start thinking about what ten years ago was only a dream - the uncanny valley.

It’s a beautiful and confusing time for people with gaming degrees - on one hand, we have some of the most innovative, beautiful games in existence, a booming indie market, and a bevvy of devices to develop for; on the other hand, we have the uncanny valley.

If you’re unaware, the uncanny valley is a name given to the giant dip in believability as you approach exact human likeness in design. Roboticist Masahiro Mori first pointed out the valley, claiming that as robots became more human like, there would reach a point that robots were so close to human, but not exact in such a small way, that they would trip “the same psychological alarms associated with a dead or unhealthy human”.

Naturally this is something you want to avoid, unless you’re making games about dead or unhealthy humans. Even with games like L.A. Noire seemingly skipping the valley completely, if you're pursuing degrees in video game design online or in one of many game design schools, it might be a while before you’re able to make it there yourself. So what to do in the meantime?

Design over Realism
Show me a man that claims they didn’t tear up at Simba attempting to wake his father after the stampede, and I’ll show you a liar. I may have been nine at the time, but the scene leaves a lasting impression on everyone who sees it; it's canon in the animation bible of anyone pursuing animation degrees or taking animation courses. That being said, the scene is between two cartoon lions. If you think that realistic character designs are going to sell your narrative, you’re sorely mistaken - people connect through simplicity and a lack of hurdles. Much the same way your mind will fill in details of what exactly characters look like when reading a book, leaving more of your design to the imagination can work for visual media as well. Authors like Hemingway built their careers upon it.

Take a cue from art movements
Before the ninetenth century, much of Western art was focused on creating the most realistic images possible - then the camera was invented. Since then we’ve enjoyed surrealism, cubism, futurism, abstraction . . . all veering in wildly different courses from the notion of portraying reality as the end goal. As the same line disappears in gaming, the novelty of life-like graphics will fade and perhaps bare the core elements of the craft again. Maybe we’ll rethink the whole medium. Either way, it’s never too early to start. Play with your options, and focus on content over form, and you may be the creator of the next big gaming movement.