Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Pirates water test

Today, I've been working on creating some water effects for the pirate-themed educational game we're building. Because we're going with a cartoony feel, and because we're modeling ocean water and not, say, a pool, I didn't think a full-blown simulation with refraction and reflection was appropriate (and would probably be too expensive processor-wise anyway), so I experimented with a particle-like system that draws cartoony waves and ripples across the surface of the water. The result, I think, looks pretty good and is fairly flexible and extensible for particular effects. It could, of course, get even more sophisticated with animated waves, splashes, and other effects, but for now, I think we have a proof of concept for how water can work in the game, which was one of the areas that I was most concerned about.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

CC -
After viewing your simulation, I think you've got it -- this is as close to sea sick as I've ever been.

Looks good!