Uncanny Valley

Basic Information

The Uncanny Valley appears when robots or other entities look almost, but not exactly like humans. Human observers will always notice that there is something wrong - sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously. As a result, these beings will creep people out - far more than if they are obviously non-human.

This phenomenon leads pretty much directly to the Frankenstein Complex.

See Also

• Funktiontide - an amorphous, robotic blob should not be able to fall into the Uncanny Valley - but somehow, it does.
• Ridiculously Human Robots
• Zombie

• News: Japan child robot mimicks infant learning

Sources

Bibliography

1. TV Tropes Wiki entry

2. Wikipedia entry

Game and Story Use

• The Uncanny Valley works well for creeping out players. However, since the players can't actually see the entity in question, you must always describe some subtle clue in what way they fail to appear truly human.