Hey Chris,

As I said in my message to you, the Flash4K competition was actually cribbed from the Java4K game competition, which has been running for 5+ years now. Have a look at http://www.java4k.com. 3D engines, physics based games, Left4Dead remake in 4K with powerups, fog of war, swarming, etc? All in 4K of Java code. To be honest, the games blow away most of the games in the Flash4K comp.

Some choice links:
FZero 4K: http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=213
Left 4K Dead: http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=201
Peggle Clone: http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=215
PixelJunk Eden clone: http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=236
Physics based 4x4 race/platformer: http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=210
Bridge 4K (kind of like World Of Goo): http://www.java4k.com/index.php?action=games&method=view&gid=251

Check them out!

And other companies do have a problem with it. Kings Quest fan remake and Halo RTS are two that come to mind. I think the biggest issue it that, in th case of the examples you provided with Snake is that Sony is actually hosting the levels. Epic does not run the UT servers, so they can't be sued for distributing Konami's content.

In the case of LBP, Sony is completely on the hook for all content that gets distributed.

"Everythings about moderation. So much for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. with LBP you've actually got users moderating the maps. So it's easy to see how this power could get abused."

Sure, there can be an abuse of power but this is not about limiting freedom of expression or speech. This is about avoiding a lawsuit from a company who's IP is being infringed upon. Makes perfect sense and it is completely within Sony's rights to ban that material. You can make anything you want, just don't infringe on other's IP.

First off, James, fantastic video and a great summation.

As for this issue being "fixed" by the artist. It is so much more than the textures, geometry, skeleton system, etc. It is a problem with ALL of it. What we are able to achieve today are excellent approximations of reality in static images, but not in the movement of these objects. There are so many subtle nuances in muscular movement, velocity, rapid changes of positions that are natural in the way we move that are still not conveyed in, even the best, computerized models. And this is not the fault of the artist or the technology, per se.

The reality is that we still know so little about how humans perceive all of these things in working tandem when they are all moving. This is why the experience breaks down and something seems "wrong". There is a ton of research that is still needed to be done to understand realistic animation and physics that will allow us to really trick the mind and cross that very deep, complex valley.