Chapter 723: Realism Level Raised a Notch
In the gaming industry, many designers were also discussing how the so-called "CG-like in-game footage" was achieved.
Especially some S-class designers, who had a very thorough understanding of the current VR gaming pod's performance, were well aware of what it meant to raise the visual quality of current games by another level.
There were already some highly realistic blockbusters on the market, especially those from major Western studios, which had essentially squeezed out most of the VR gaming pod's potential. Without a technological breakthrough, how could Chen Mo possibly elevate the visual quality of existing games to a higher tier?
"Feels more like a gimmick, right? Or maybe Chen Mo cut corners elsewhere?"
"What's so complicated about it? It's actually quite simple: concentrate performance. Split the game flow into many tiny micro-levels, and each time, use the full performance of the gaming pod to render just one small level. That way, the art quality naturally goes up."
"So that means... loading every time you enter a small level? Then don't call it 'Uncharted Waters,' call it 'Loading Waters' instead..."
"See, that's where you don't get it. That's the gimmick, that's the differentiation! If you still made it seriously the old way, could you achieve this effect?"
Many designers had roughly guessed Chen Mo's approach—it was nothing more than concentrating performance to create small levels one by one!
Obviously, with the current technological limitations, this was the only way to further improve visual quality.
In the parallel world, games had moved from TV screens to gaming pods, and the level of detail required had increased geometrically. So, although technology had advanced, building a sufficiently vast world in VR was still a considerable challenge.
Moreover, major Western studios currently favored open-world games. Many players believed that the bigger the world and the richer the content, the more fun the game.
Traditional "linear corridor" (one-path-to-the-end) games, due to their relatively monotonous gameplay experience, were becoming increasingly unpopular.
Players preferred unrestricted free exploration, or at least the illusion of it.
The larger the game world, the more VR gaming pod performance it consumed to run. Therefore, even the open-world games from major Western studios had their limits in visual presentation.
Many designers speculated that Chen Mo had completely deviated from the open-world design philosophy, sacrificing player experience continuity to push visual quality to its absolute peak through an unconventional approach.
Regarding this, many designers remained dismissive. After all, loading bars were something players hated to see, and designers tried everything to avoid them.
Was Chen Mo's approach, essentially a step backward, really going to win over players?
...
...
At that moment, Chen Mo was... looking in a mirror.
But not in real life—in the game.
Right now, he was Nathan Drake, staring at the bathroom mirror, automatically striking various poses as per the system settings.
Nathan Drake's home scene was fully completed. Here, there would be a relatively important storyline between him and Elena.
In the mirror was Nathan Drake's face, with an incredibly high level of realism. Chen Mo had the illusion that he could even see the pores on his face clearly.
Of course, those weren't real pores, just a more advanced skin texture mapping—a small trick to make the in-game character look more like a real person.
He felt an urge to run his fingers through his hair, because those strands looked just like real hair.
Including the sweater Nathan was wearing, it even gave people an irresistible urge to reach out and touch it.
Actually, from an artistic standpoint, creating game graphics of this level wasn't too difficult. But implementing them into the game consumed an enormous amount of performance.
Of course, no matter how real it looked, it was still clearly distinguishable as a game. After all, players couldn't perform any action they wanted at will; they could only operate within the constraints of the game mechanics.
Chen Mo walked over to the sofa and half-lay down on it.
The surface of the sofa sank slightly under the pressure. After being rendered by the Pangu Engine, this indentation felt very realistic, which pleased Chen Mo greatly.
He went to the refrigerator, opened it, and took out a can of soda.
While strolling around the room, he drank the soda.
As he passed the trash can, Nathan Drake casually tossed the empty can into it.
This action was triggered automatically by the system. There were many such details throughout the game.
Including the character's habitual movements, the way he walked, sat, or lay down—all perfectly matched Nathan Drake's mannerisms.
In the game, the player was "role-playing" as Nathan, so all habits and actions were based on Nathan's.
Chen Mo hoped that these very detailed actions would help players better immerse themselves in Nathan Drake's life, observing everything around him from his perspective and habits, subtly fostering a sense of identification.
Sitting down in front of the TV, Chen Mo controlled Nathan Drake to pick up the controller in front of him.
In the original game, Nathan picked up a PS1 controller and played a few rounds of *Crash Bandicoot*. In Chen Mo's developed version, it was replaced with a Switch.
Although this felt a bit incongruous to Chen Mo—the merging of Sony and Nintendo might never happen even at the end of the world.
But for players in this world, it would instead bring a knowing smile, after all, these were all products of Thunderbolt Interactive.
Consider it a little advertisement for the Switch.
Chen Mo stood up from the sofa and walked to the attic of the house.
Here were some collectibles from the first three *Uncharted* series games, all items Nathan Drake had gathered during his various adventures.
If players had played the previous *Uncharted* games, these collectibles would serve as nostalgic elements, bringing a smile to veteran players.
But players in the parallel world hadn't played the earlier installments. That was fine—it could be left as a cliffhanger. When the DLCs for the first three games were released later, this would become one of the motivations for players to keep buying.
Chen Mo casually picked up a skull and turned it over in his hands.
In the game, players could use Nathan's hands to closely examine many things, including souvenirs, notes, and so on, and could rotate them freely at will to inspect any part of the item.
A very faint tactile sensation came from his hands, as if he were actually holding something.
This tactile feedback was also meticulously calibrated by a dedicated team. Depending on the object being held, the area of the hand receiving the sensation varied slightly, making the player's experience feel more authentic.
Chen Mo walked around the room a couple more times, checking all the details, before finally exiting the gaming pod.
"How is it, boss?" Qian Kun asked excitedly.
Clearly, the level of the game they had developed now was also stunning him.
Chen Mo nodded. "Not bad. Keep up the production. Many scenes still aren't complete enough. Step it up."