Twitch is a perfect home for interactive entertainment, and Bernie Su saw that when he brought his innovative writing and directing skills to the platform. Not only did he land himself a hit with the unique appeal of Artificial, but he also won Twitch its first Primetime Emmy.
Every season has amped things up innovatively, and now that officially in Season 4, better titled Artificial: Factions, things have changed drastically yet again. In addition to the live-action AI that audiences have been following during the first three seasons, there are now two more AI - and both are animated.
Using motion capture technology that allows actors to play the characters live, the virtually animated AIs can interact with the viewers in the chat in real-time and adapt along with the choose-your-own-ending type storyline. Below you'll see a short clip of Ember, one AI, communicating with Jennifer Field's Dr. Ruby Thatcher.
We wanted to get a better understanding of how the animated characters work. So we've been speaking with the cast and crew behind Artificial to bring you a continuous stream of exclusive video interviews.
Joining the ranks is Stephen A. Chang (Last of Us 2, Captain Marvel), and as he previously worked with mo-cap tech in video games, we dug into his thoughts on the changes to Artificial Season 4.
We had the incredible opportunity to connect with multi-talented actor Stephen A. Chang ahead of his debut in the newest season of Artificial. Speaking about his return as Sebastian for Season 4, we discussed how Artificial: Factions differs from previous seasons - primarily the virtual animation and motion-capture additions. With Stephen having provided the mo-cap as well as the voice for Jesse in The Last Of Us II, he was very familiar with the technology being brought in to up the ante in Artificial: Factions.
We were also able to speak with Dr. Ruby actress Jennifer Field and Emmy Award-winning creator Bernie Su about the new season, and you can find both of those video chats below! Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual spot!!
The inimitable director, writer, producer, and innovative creator Bernie Su stopped by to promote Artificial Season 4 - Artificial: Factions - which sees the audience steer two motion capture created virtual AI's, ultimately splitting the viewers down the middle and forcing fans to pick a side.
Bernie walks us through the ways each prior season stepped up the interactivity, and he helps talk us through all the ways he's managed to outdo himself in the newest installments of the series. He talks about how LifeScore will continue to be used to make the music interactive and reactive to the tone the audience sets in the chat.
We also learn that Artificial: Factions will see the return of characters played by Dante Basco, Stephen A. Chang, Jennifer Field, and more, as well as the chances of encountering others from past seasons. Bernie broke down the new currency method which will allow twitch streamers to team up and combine the points they gain from viewing the show to influence how their faction's AI will function and respond, even going so far as to providing upgrades such as "fire hands".
Obviously, we dug in to find out how extensive the motion capture is and how the businessmen played by Basco and Chang will face off in the new episodes. We learned about the virtual AI and what the intent is behind each of them and how they are represented as well as how they represent different members of the viewing audience.
Artificial: Factions streams new episodes each Thursday at 5 pm PST on Twitch.