Creating World Class Graphics on the PSP


• Shipped Titles

• PSP Art Topics

• Asset breakdowns

•Open Q & A

Shipped TitlesShipped Titles

The Lord of the Rings: Tactics

LOTR used assets from 3 previous console titles and 1 PC title with additional assets created to match. All had to go through strict approvals by multiple parties in a very short development cycle.

LOTR included 40 min of film footage & re-edited to tell story of Middle Earth from Mordor’s perspective. No true in-game cinematics were created, fly-throughs introduced the levels and lots of combat cameras were used throughout.


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Lord of the Rings: Tactics

Attract Mode Video

EA, Publisher

LOTR Movie Here

LOTR Movie Here

The SiMs2

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The SiMS 2

Attract Mode Video

EA, Publisher

Sims Movie Here

Sims Movie Here

Pirates of the Caribbean

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Walk Cycle movie hereWalk Cycle movie here


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Attract Mode Video

Buena Vista Games, Publisher

Pirate Movie Here

Pirate Movie Here

PSP Art TopicsPSP Art Topics

PSP Perceptions

The PSP is not a true PS2 in terms of what can be loaded into memory (approximately 0.75)

“Porting to PSP is not a simple matter of texture resolution!”

PS2 vs PSP workflow

Smaller memory pool requires more coordination of art, sound, and design to pull back on typical PS2 pipeline and practices.

• Level effects vs sound files• Game art vs. HUD texture resolutions• # of unique characters vs design balancing

RUNTIME vs. LOAD TIME

(Frame rate issues vs. Memory budgets)

“To LOD, or not to LOD….”

Total Visible Mesh Count

• Hard edges

• Multiple shaders

• Combining close proximity meshes

•Separating large meshes – Skybox for example

• Cels and Portals

• Fog & far clip

Bone/Joint Count

• 200 Total Bones on screen is the (self-imposed) limit for frame rate

• LOTR: 16 characters max, each about 30-35 bones.

• TBA 1P Shooter: 7 characters max; 1 Player, 2 - 3 allies, 3 - 4 opponents (per average level)

•TBA 3P Action/Adventure: 16 characters max; target 25-30 bones each

Lighting

• “Fast Track”: Like PS2, our pipeline like 2 Dynamic Lights, 1 ambient & 1 directional

• Baked in lighting for environments is best for load & run time issues.

•Painted-in shadows or baked into verts.

Texture Resolution

Less resolution resulted in less noise and cleaner looking characters. LOTR test image.

Shaders

• Too much alpha = sorting issues

• Too many passes on a surface = Runtime Slowing (decals, shine, UI, shadows, layers, etc)

• Effects: a good savings is to use add blend for glowing effects. No alpha channel needed

Environment Resolution

Foreground, middle ground, background/skybox

Total Visible Mesh Count

• Hard edges

• Multiple shaders

• Combining close proximity meshes

•Separating large meshes – Skybox for example

• Cels and Portals

• Fog & far clip

LODs

• [Level of Detail]• Spend the memory loading in extra meshes to help run-time?

Shadows

•Blob/Dots shaded across all, use LOD to draw, or go full detail?

Clipping

• No PSP software/hardware clipper built in

• Software clipper can be added at a runtime cost

• Environments can be subdivided, use scalable terrain mesh, or LOD system

• Overdraw: Try to minimize the amount so runtime sorting is less taxing.

Project Asset BreakdownsProject Asset Breakdowns


Chart Here

The SiMs2

Chart Here


Chart Here

TBA Flight Combat

Chart Here

TBA 1st Person Shooter

Chart Here

TBA 3rd Person Action/Adventure

Chart Here

Creating World Class Graphics on the PSP

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