Quantic Dream CEO David Cage -- perhaps best known as writer and director of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human -- has weighed in on what he thinks is going to become increasingly important for video game visuals going forward. Rather than banking on resolution, for example, Cage explains to GameSpot that realistic lighting is going to be "key" going forwards.
"I think that lighting is going to be a key thing. There is this new technology called ray tracing that we talk a lot about these days. I think this is going to be interesting because it will allow to improve reflections, lighting, shadows. And I think that’s a big deal," he said.
Ray tracing is the same term that Sony keeps bringing up whenever it mentions the PlayStation 5. In a nutshell, ray tracing allows for currently unmatched realism when it comes to in-game lighting. It's something that PC titles are starting to utilise more and more, and it'll supposedly be a key feature of the PS5. If you want a more in-depth explanation, be sure to check out our guide on the subject.
Cage continues: "For years, I mean, the amount of polygons you could display was key, then it became the shaders and then textures, and now I think it’s all about the lighting, and the more subtle and nuanced the lighting will be, the better the image will be."
Cage is of course no stranger to impressive visuals. Back when it first launched on the PS3, Heavy Rain was a technical marvel, much like Detroit is now on PS4. Whatever your opinion of Quantic Dream's output, there's no denying that its games can look pretty amazing.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a war about resolution; I know that people talk about 8K these days and blah blah blah. I don’t think this is the real next battle. I would rather put focus on lighting. Lighting, lighting, lighting," he concludes.
Do you think lighting, and things like ray tracing, will play a big part in the next generation of consoles? Make sure you're well lit in the comments section below.
[source gamespot.com, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 15
Probably. I don’t think many people are expecting next gen hardware to be pushing 8k gaming. Especially given how much Sony have spoken about ray tracing.
When looking to articulate what the next generation of consoles can do that the current generation can’t. Ray tracing certainly seems to be the buss word of choice. Personally I’m hoping they’ll do more interesting things with the increased power not just improve lighting.
I ran Quake 2 RTX for about 5 minutes at about 12 FPS and my PC burst into flames but it looked damn cool.
Lighting is the key to true emotions.
The focus on lighting, lighting, lighting, lighting is fine as long as there is also smooth frame rates, frame rates, frame rates, frame rates of 60 fps.
@NoCode23 I know lots of people are talking about 60fps, but honestly unless devs are forced I fear we will still be looking at 30fps moving forward. I can accept a rock solid 30fps but unfortunately this rarely happens and with uneven frame pacing and dips it is so noticeable. But I think devs are still going to be pushing 30fps and going for realism over 60fps and a drop in fidelity.
Ray tracing is cool and all, but I'd prefer to see noticably improved draw distances for everything from geometry lod to shadows and foliage.
'Ray tracing is the same term that Sony keeps bringing up whenever it mentions the PlayStation 5.'
Umm isn't that statement slightly over the top?
Totally agree with what hes saying (from my humble perspective haha)
Resolution is 4k so that's not a focus on resolution. Still graphics is the impressive stuff and stable frame rate taken for granted.
Edit.
Hey Sony actually never mentioned the PlayStation 5 hahaha
Of course it is. Light is the only reason we can "see". Because of historical limitations or constraints in faithful lighting reproduction in real-time (say hardware raw power or whatever), other factors were pushed as "more important than lighting"... Now if some kind of real-time ray tracing can be done, I'll take it hands down before any other "feature" like 8k or 120fps... All considering that what can be done today with real time ray tracing is a little bit hacked but anyway impressive vs baked lighting.
RDR2 has some beautiful lighting. And lightning.
I think it’s true, it’s a waste to use more power for beyond 4k resolutions. I don’t think I can see the difference between true 4k and checkerboard 4k.
Graphics stopped being important for me years ago. A game has to be really ugly for me to really care. Much more interested in game play experience and interesting story.
Look at Fire Emblem Three Houses that just came out. Visually it is as impressive as an early PS3 title. Maybe. But I dropped 8 hours into it in a single day yesterday and it's topping sales charts all around the world.
Lighting, 4K, even 8K, whatever. If all you care about is looks, that's all that's gonna be delivered. A bland, empty, but very pretty game.
@kyleforrester87
'given how much Sony have spoken about ray tracing'
They didn't speak THAT much about RT now did they? Haha
It's more the media talking a lot about it.
@JJ2 Put your faith in Ray. Your a$$ belongs to Cerny.
@kyleforrester87
I dont understand what your trying to say sometimes Haha
You are too deep for me I guess
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