Pasquale D’Silva

Lingonberry Studios

March 18, 2021

HostOS is the operating system for realtime, interactive characters called Hosts. A Host’s purpose is to provide Hospitality to Guests within a given venue.

Venues include homes, theme parks, businesses, vehicles, personal devices and any other environment which can benefit from a dose of warmth.

The name Host is inspired by my parents, who have been in the restaurant business since before I was born.

Using the principles of Disney’s Illusion of Life, believable characters can bring entertainment and utility to customers in a form factor they already understand: the face.

Most of our work has been in only one small part of the vast field of animation. There are so many areas to be explored, drawings to be tried, emotions to be captured, effects to be created, new wonders to be seen. It is an exciting prospect. With electronic aids being perfected and new tools and materials being used, who can possibly foresee what lies ahead? It probably will not be another Walt Disney who will lead the way, but someone or some group of artists will surely discover new dimensions to delight and entertain the world. Hopefully, this book will be their springboard.

The face is the final interface.

Humans are wired for pareidolia, the tendency to see life and emotion in shapes and patterns, from clouds to headlights to kitchen appliances. HostOS turns this ancient instinct into a design principle: every glance, blink, and breath from a Host invites connection.

A Host’s “code” has little to do with traditional software architecture. This is even more true in an era where AI tools accelerate in power and precision. The real code is the nature of the Character; its psychology, motivation, and emotional truth.