Cutting Edge Gaming Technology - The Unreal Engine

By Author: Ivan Cuxeva Jr
Total Articles: 782
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Recent games are all about how intricate they are, how good the story is and how well the graphics performs with the things the player wants to do in such virtual environment, having these factors in mind the folks at Epic games developed a new gaming technology which is called the Unreal engine 3, this new technology is used to create highly responsive gaming environments which enhances the graphics and the way objects interact with the player.

This technology was used in the game Gears of War, some of the features found in the Unreal engine are:

Ambient Occlusion Technology:

This is a post processing filter which enables game programmers and designers to add much more realistic and dynamic shadows to scenes using a pixel technique which creates much more realistic shadow highlights, this pixel technique scans images and analyzes how light reflects around and adjusts shadows making objects stand out from the background. This technique has also been used in several characters which makes them more appealing to the eye and provides better definition, the contrast is better which increases the quality if ...
... the details.

Dynamic Fluid Surfaces:

This is yet another major improvement where liquids such as water are programmed to move and interact with the player in such a way that mimics how the real element would react under such conditions. Environment reflections have been added as well to simulate the properties of water.

Soft Body Physics:

This is a simulation tool which allows programmers to simulate soft bodies and objects which are realistically elastic and fluidly, this is also useful for materials which are fluid and have a certain degree of viscosity; this property can be applied to games where alien creatures are found.

Destructible Environments:

After a few years of beautiful and careful design, the first thing players want to do with a game's environment is to blow it up, using such technology gamers will be able to do just that and see a more realistic reaction to the way things are destroyed, structural analysis was applied to games in order to simulate how objects would break apart under stress and conditions the player creates, with this feature gamers can blow holes in the walls or in the floor however the steel structure remains intact as it would on a real environment.

Overall this technology has a lot of potential and can literally change how games are made, in the mean time enjoy the beautiful worlds of games such as Build-a-lot, Machines at War, Gears of War, etc. because they will soon change.