IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Electronic Arts Working to Make Video Game Clothing More Realistic
A new patent filed by EA will use machine-learning to predict and alter the appearance of deformable clothes based on the movements of the character.
gamerant.com
The latest video game graphical software patent to be filed by EA looks to tackle an easily overlooked aspect of 3D game design, that is, deformable objects like clothing. Typically, a character’s clothing is designed as part of a ridged character model and can't be manipulated or moved like real clothing unless specifically animated to do so. Characters that wear long coats or robes will also often have this element act separately to the main character model, but this free-flowing section usually contrasts jarringly with the rest of the model as the only part of the character's outfit that is being affected by the game’s physics engine.
EA’s new patent, however, uses machine-learning in order to predict the realistic movement of clothing that is layered over a 3D model. Hopefully, this will result in a character's clothing reacting realistically to their physical movements. An example of what this could mean is if a character lifts their arms above their head, the bottom of their shirt could ride up and their sleeves could pull back from their wrists, instead of the clothing texture just stretching with the character model. The patent also describes the clothing procedurally bunching and stretching as it sits on a character model.
The patent’s description of the clothing layer describes it as a kind of ethereal texture that sits on the character model and is affected procedurally by the character's movement and animations. The predictive nature of the machine-learning system should also lower the processing power that is required to run the system. This patent will most likely be used for EA’s wide range of sports games such as Madden NFL, so that player’s jerseys will move realistically as the character does.
The deformable clothing will still act as a texture applied to a character model, rather than an individual cloth model itself. Deformable cloth models in video games are often a nightmare for clipping issues, unless handled with extreme care such as Spawn’s cape in Mortal Kombat 11.
