With the 2017 Game Developers Conference just months away, organizers are excited to announce another great talk taking place at the show: Naughty Dog's behind-the-scenes look at its new physics animation system for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
The game itself was a big hit this year, and at GDC 2017 Naughty Dog technical animator Michal Mach will reveal how its remarkable physics-driven animation systems came together in a talk on "Physics Animation in 'Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.'"
See, for Uncharted 4 Naughty Dog chose to take a risky step and experiment with adding a layer of physics simulation on top of their gameplay animation for added fluidity and momentum, with hopes that they could also save some production time by creating less assets and letting the physics "do the awesome."
Initial results were pretty terrible because of the physics' tricky nature and physically absolutely unrealistic gameplay animation. Players tend to prefer responsiveness over reality, after all. But one day, their physics programmer found a way to drive the physics objects with animation more predictably, with minimal distortions and almost absolute artistic control.
How'd they pull it off? You'll have to attend Mach's talk at GDC 2017 to find out!
For now, don't miss the opportunity to save money by registering early -- the deadline to register for passes at a discounted rate is January 25, 2017. GDC 2017 itself will take place February 27th - March 3rd at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
For more information on GDC 2017, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
