Slate magazine, over at MSN, has a fascinating new article by Clive Thompson in their Gaming section about the increasing CG uber-realism of human characters in video games, and the repulsive effect it has on its audience. Citing a phenomenon called the Uncanny Valley, discovered by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori, Thompson reflects on this trend in video games, and expresses his hope for a simpler, more abstract look in video games to return once the obsession in realism loses its novelty. This is also quite true of animated films… and is certainly a bad portent for the upcoming Polar Express.