The graphics jump from Doom to Quake was nothing short of revolutionary.
Since, then, however, graphics progression has taken on an evolutionary cadence, with true OMG moments registering few and far between for most of us.
Perhaps this can be blamed on the stagnating console cycle, or maybe there is just simply too much pressure on game devs (PC or otherwise) to code titles as quickly as possible – all with recycled graphics engines sporting just a few minor upgrades.
Kim Libreri is ILM dev working on Star Wars 1313. Although an in-game level of photo-realism has yet to be achieved, Libreri says the goal is to create a title with a high-level cinema aesthetic, using motion capture and top-of-the-line vocal work.
“It’s an interesting time because with modern computer graphics hardware. The way its going, it’s gonna be pretty hard to tell the difference between something that is interactive and rendered in real-time, and something that was done for an animated TV show, or even a live action thing,” the visual effects supervisor said during an interview with CVG.
“Ten years from now, I’m pretty sure, if you extrapolate where we’ve gone with the console generations and the changes in video and ATI hardware… We’re getting to the point right now [with real-time rendered graphics] where we’re matching the quality of an animated movie seven or eight years ago, and another ten years from now, it’s just going to be indistinguishable from reality.”
