It has long been debated whether video games will be able to do render CGI in-game graphics. Now with the advent of next generation consoles, will the PS4 and Xbox One bring post-production processes on par with films, as multiple stacked layers and local dynamic control will be available for each pass to enhance visuals?
“For us, this is an area of active research and it is a bit too early to start going into great detail,” says Chris Doran, founder and COO of Geomerics, the company behind Enlighten.
He then recalls his meeting with Pixar’s lead artist to take his suggestion on how they can improve lighting in video games.
“But the overall picture is quite simple. About 5 years ago we sat down with the lead lighting artist at Pixar and asked him to critique some screenshots from games. His first comment was that the global illumination needed improving. His second comment was that the images would be improved in film by better compositing of the frame. We’ve spent the last 5 years sorting out his first problem, and are starting to think about the second, as are a number of studios.”
He then talks about how CGI is implemented in movies and how developers have the freedom to inject artist’s input at will. At the moment compositing is a difficult task in video games, but he remains hopeful that they will be able do this on next generation consoles.
“In a film CGI setting, many aspects of the final image would be computed separately: the direct lighting; the indirect lighting; an AO pass; volumetric effects; motion blur … Each of these would be a separate layer, and an artist would composite these together using advanced tools to achieve the final image. We would like to achieve something similar in games, but we don’t have the freedom to inject an artist’s input as you move round your world. This makes better compositing more challenging in games, but I am confident we will see some major improvements on the new hardware,” he added.
It remains to be seen whether we will see CGI level graphics or even something closer on next generation consoles. But one thing is for sure, there is a lot hype and hoopla for PS4/Xbox One in the developer and gaming community alike.
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Source: GamingBolt Interview.
