How video game rocks get made

[@Vox]

This process of photogrammetry isn't just used for games, but in many different disciplines. You can browse - and download - the Smithsonian Museum's collection of 3D objects, including the Apollo 11 command module: 3d.si.edu/ -Phil

[@TSZatoichi]

Thx for the link.

[@ylstorage7085]

@@prescriptivereasoning what about colors? also the precision may be an overkill

[@jascrandom9855]

You should make a video about Blender.

[@HendHeL]

Small correction: at 3:47 the text says The Last of Us: Part II, but it's actually The Last of Us (part 1) being shown

[@batman_2004]

Please make more of this. I love this type of video explaining the methods used for making awesome video games.

[@loading...6200]

Vox: This is a rock. Me: Dear God. Vox: But this man is not a geologist. Me: No!

[@pranavvardhan6177]

🤣🤣

[@dazzlemasseur]

Surprise surprise

[@SieDorran]

Nice TF2 reference

[@caesar7734]

🚫💩🕵🏻‍♂️

[@michaeljonathan9715]

I miss when youtube has 0 bot spamming disgusting comment or useless link

[@ShortHax]

I would’ve never known pixelated Minecraft rocks exist somewhere out there

[@neelmohan170]

I want the rest of the replies to be related to your comment and not how you have no life and comment everywhere

[@nubgamer1799]

I think this comment may blow up so imma leave my comment:)

[@klennbaackel]

@@nubgamer1799 true, i do the same

[@gotshmoked1764]

false

[@sanaan0168]

A

[@Callaghan_212]

Well, the amount of work that goes into those libraries is, you could say, unreal

[@kymian572]

Witty

[@Dev-nk8oj]

*n* *o* *i* *c* *e*

[@sovietcomrade6949]

Well done 👏👏👏👏👏

[@granodiorite9032]

As a geologist and a gamer, I'm happy to see that rocks are finally getting fair representation in video games. Rocks are not all blob, they have plenty of characters depending on the location. I thank the gaming devs for finally recognize the beauty of rocks.

[@SingularityEngine]

My friend got all surprised when I played Star Wars: Battlefront for the first time, and started complimenting how great those Tatooine rocks looked.

[@elgaatooo]

Rocc

[@granodiorite9032]

@@elgaatooo ah yes, rocc

[@elgaatooo]

@@granodiorite9032 haha, btw i am a geologist too.

[@sko1beer]

You guys play no man sky?

[@ComicalRealm]

Now it all makes sense why 3D rocks in various game-art/digital marketplaces are so expensive

[@robbieaulia6462]

It's the cost of charging the camera

[@guardiangusti9808]

@@robbieaulia6462 its more than the camera. Its also the tent, and also the fuel for the transportation

[@Founderschannel123]

To me as i once used to develop games in roblox its the texture and the quality of the rock that makes it unique.

[@Founderschannel123]

@@guardiangusti9808 well its 90 minutes not that long and its not like he goes for 5 hours straight to some location to take pictures because thats a waste of time so ill rather say this people live near to canyons or rocky areas where they take photos

[@chris-hayes]

Don't forget those 3D assets produced via photogrammetry always need a 3D modeler to "clean up" the model - fix glitchiness, remove extra geometry, etc. That takes a lot of time and skill to do.

[@murtiyosoAD]

I remember just about 10 years ago I did my bachelor's thesis in photogrammetry, I had to literally "stitch" (the more technically correct term is "orient") all of my 100+ photos one by one. And that only gave me a low-poly 3D asset. Now the whole process can be done in less than five buttons. Man, how technology evolves these days!

[@arothmanmusic]

Ha! I went to high school with that guy. I had no idea that this is what he was up to these days. Thanks for showing me his commercial, Vox.

[@fynkozari9271]

Was he bullied in high school? What happened to the bully?

[@finefreshbread3243]

@@fynkozari9271 turned into one of his sculpture

[@sql64]

@@fynkozari9271 what?

[@hisham2995]

@Phoenix 𝙾𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝙼𝚢 PROFILE how can i trust you with your profile picture

[@Gigachad_Teenager]

@@hisham2995 lol

[@yasinmahmudchowdhury1412]

As a geologist, it's kind of amazing to see other people also find interest in rocks.

[@wreckedd]

Oh man, rocks are some of my favourite subjects to scan! We have Carboniferous Shale in my area and it's just the most fascinating thing, the sheer amount of history behind it boggles the mind.

[@lamborgini86]

Rocc

[@neilosullivangreene3299]

We video game artists have a whole month dedicated to making rocks everyday!

[@everyone4352]

@Cole Because they have "Unreal Engine" which allows people to create games like Unity

[@akshaydalvi1534]

Nah man these guys are just posers, you're the real thing. These video game guys only care about looks, you are into rocks for their personality 😔

[@IO-hh3gw]

"this is a rock" Yes I can tell.

[@dbclass4075]

Is it? It could be a stone. /s

[@idunno402]

"but this man is not a geologist"

[@kylee.jenner3610]

1:31 what's the name of this game?

[@Hydraa5706]

Lol

[@kgonzales4474]

Very good! - Dora

[@sayyiddaffam6822]

Vox is becoming a game dev channel and I'm not complaining

[@f3tsch906]

"were do you go to for those rocks?" "Hurrah pass" *Boss music starts playing*

[@grimmie8665]

Plot twist: Every footage seen in this video are rendered and made in Unreal Engine

[@cobalt_ink6114]

ew bot

[@illsaveus]

They never went to Utah. They actually just 3d scanned a quixel rock inside unreal engine Bc it was easier and we wouldn’t know the difference anyway

[@dbclass4075]

@@cobalt_ink6114 Just spam reports in return.

[@Ikunad-Akab_Yu]

@@dbclass4075 does it work?

[@jhay_vine5083]

😂😂😂😂

[@batman_2004]

Vox, please make more of this!

[@fawaaza.7743]

Vox: This is a rock Me: No way! You’ve got to be kidding me!!

[@sheeloesreallycool]

I don’t even know what the replies above mean.

[@joem.6946]

@@sheeloesreallycool By her stepsister a and now

[@kisaragi-hiu]

I'd love to see an episode about Blender.

[@michaeljonathan9715]

Yes, i agreed. I am curious about blender and how they work.

[@lucamoras1510]

Like the blender devs or quite literally just the software

[@jhay_vine5083]

For real🔥🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[@michaeljonathan9715]

@@jhay_vine5083 some people don't know how to use blender and want to be 3D animator / 3D artist.

[@kylee.jenner3610]

1:31 what's the name of this game?

[@ymi_yugy3133]

As excited as I am about the prospect of AAA quality assets in indie games and low budget TV shows I'm also worried that over time heavy asset reuse will make games and movies/shows look too similar. There will only ever be a handful of brick walls in Quixels library. My hope is that procedural techniques combined with AI will allow artists to create high quality variations of these assets. It might even be possible to do that cat runtime.

[@thelazyrabbit4220]

But isn't these ment to be starting point for developers. I get what you want to convey, by this not only makes the production cheaper but allows them to focus more time on the actual game then the background. Also they can always build upon the downloaded stuff to differentiate.

[@ff-qf1th]

@Hay_M Totally! and I mean, even if there was a problem of too few similar models being reused... you can just. scan more rocks. Ymi_Yugy says there's "only so many brick walls in the quixels library" but... we can scan more brick walls. there's more brick walls IRL than anyone would ever need for 3d assets in game development or TV shows

[@chrispeacock1257]

@Hay_M When a documentary on Bethesda showed devs working with assets and taking images from the desert, people assumed the next Elder Scrolls had to be set in Hammerfell, a desert province. But when they showed progress on Starfield, we saw that those same desert assets were had been recoloured and used for the surface of a moon-like planet. It’s mad what artists can do with standard assets.

[@wreckedd]

There are a fair few more than a handful of brick walls on the library already :-)

[@secondchance6603]

All in all it's just another brick in the wall.

[@sillylittleinternetperson3932]

0:00 this is a rock indeed

[@michaeljonathan9715]

Why this funny comment got bombarded by sexually explicit profile picture bot ?

[@dbclass4075]

@@michaeljonathan9715 This bot targets videos that is geared for men, such as video games or automobiles. Even found their way on a nursery song just because it has a car in it.

[@michaeljonathan9715]

@@dbclass4075 Thanks for the information. I hope KZbin ban bot's usage although that is unlikely.

[@dbclass4075]

@@michaeljonathan9715 The greater about of reports, the higher the probability. If you want, report that bot's channel profile picture as it did violate the Terms and Conditions.

[@rizal4596]

im liking these videos talking about small things in video games, literally they just take a rock and it has a dozen words about it, i am a small game dev but i dont use 3d engines, i use 2d stuff so its very interesting to take a gander on what you do on 3d engines, also making games even on 2d is hard, so its not that suprising how just a small prop in a 3d game can say a dozen words on how its made, but still its interesting how much a small thing in a game has a bunch of history behind it, literally edit: theres an account in the replies that has an inappropriate pfp so click the replies at your own risks

[@GlennDavey]

you're strangely obsessed with groups of words coming in exact dozens

[@rizal4596]

@@GlennDavey because anything can say a dozen words

[@rizal4596]

@@GlennDavey also im indonesian so im sorry if my english is bad

[@KODO123PRODUCTIONS]

eeeeeeee EEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@chris-hayes]

If you're interested in interviews with game developers. Ars Technica has some amazing interviews.

[@dojusticelovemercy1]

What these folks do just to get my $60. These are the real heroes.

[@robbieaulia6462]

Well not only your $60

[@RohanDaDev]

70 now + dlc + microtransactions

[@shiskeyoffles]

u wish it'll go to them.. most of it goes to investors and people on the top. he gets his 9-5 salary and the double cheese sandwich 😂

[@carlosnava1471]

@@shiskeyoffles I mean, it's double cheese bro, you cannot say no to the double cheese

[@jeems2066]

@@shiskeyoffles But because of what they do the company earns $, it justifies having these folks around. Plus it helps pay for heir pay increments and bonuses

[@dazzlemasseur]

"to photograph rocks" Is clearly what I thought, when I got into game design.

[@GlennDavey]

modelled my house in the HalfLife engine in 2003. Very quickly found myself photographing bricks and tiles.

[@Justintro]

BOTS

[@kylee.jenner3610]

1:31 what's the name of this game?

[@gamersheep]

Rocks = Underrated

[@sohaibdad]

“He has a battery back to keep going longer” confirmed robots work at epic games

[@bravestant3921]

One of the questions we never knew we had and wanted answered

[@user-my3qz6bh5p]

video is borderline misinformation

[@therealeren2045]

"this is a rock" thank god they explained what that complex item was. I was having a hard time identifying it.

[@potatomatop9326]

It's sad that 99% of us ignore these things when we're adventuring.

[@user-ru1jo5rc3t]

rocc

[@kentbenedict2005]

Exactly.

[@amiciprocul8501]

Well yeah, that's the point. If someone does their job well, most times you won't even notice it.

[@truthboom]

same reason you ignoring real life stuff when you are out for a walk

[@batman_2004]

Cyberpunk 2077 says hi

[@probablydei]

I'm so happy Vox is doing these videos on game development, especially the weird stuff no one thinks about, but a lot of effort is put into. Really makes you appreciate the games being made more.

[@matthewoyan]

First, it was doors, now we're talking about rocks. Wonder what video game thing Vox is gonna talk about next?

[@oxybrightdark8765]

Floors, I’d imagine.

[@jacksonc2956]

jiggle physics

[@extremehyperventilation4377]

Ragdoll physics

[@extremehyperventilation4377]

Inverse kinematics

[@djohtoep]

Uh, faces?

[@tommyhearne]

This video rocks.

[@TejprakashOfficial]

🤟🤟🤟

[@jhay_vine5083]

😂😂

[@Darxo]

😂😂😂

[@jaisonsimon]

Gold comment❤️😳

[@AwesomeBoysJPTV]

All this effort for a background rock in a video game. Respect!

[@jsbarretto]

No, a normal map does not tell the renderer how "high or low" parts of the image are. It tells the renderer what the surface normal in different parts of the image is, as the name suggests.

[@lolroflmaoization]

good enough of an explanation for a non-technical audience, normal maps can actually be generated from a height map so there is a relation there.

[@GabrielMendezC]

Most people that might watch this video does not have a clue about 3d softwares or rendering engines. It's easier to explain normals as a somewhat of a bump/height/displ. map.

[@adrianbik3366]

Or in simpler terms - which way the surface is pointing. This "tricks" the engine during the shading step to add a lot more detail without having to model any more geometry

[@arcconix2056]

I came to the comments to find someone who also noticed this, and was not disappointed. Normal and height are two entirely different maps.

[@jamesjunston6050]

The idea that literally anyone would go through so much trouble to make a digital rock is almost heart warming lol

[@StanLeeGhost]

the things that go into making a videogame is more complex than i thought

[@anujduggal3543]

Phil Edwards is carrying Vox. Every video he is in is just incredible!

[@doodskie999]

Vox: This is a rock "But its not what you think"

[@JamesKellyWickerman123]

3:30 - The description of a Normal map is incorrect. The colour information describes angles - aka the "Normal" vector of a surface at a given pixel/point. NOT height. Height maps do exist and are referred to as such.

[@Devboneee]

I instantly clicked idk why I care so much about this topic

[@abbacadaver]

Very niche but somehow exactly what I’m into

[@kylee.jenner3610]

1:31 what's the name of this game?

[@cyblockmc1022]

@@kylee.jenner3610 its not a game. It is an experimental test created by epic games to display the capabilities of their new software unreal engine 5

[@Alicia-un2kj]

same

[@sasasthisu]

I didn't know this much work goes into a video game.

[@zackalexei8108]

It's more than that, that's why video game development is hella expensive.

[@KarlRamstedt]

3:28 Incorrect. Normal maps contain the normal(which is basically used as curvature info). Height maps contain height info. The names are pretty self-explanatory ^^

[@mannym8ker]

imagine your job being picking cool looking rocks. Pretty cool.

[@navi-7797]

Appreciate the videos on video games development please do more of these!!

[@냥됴디]

More videos on game development please!

[@grilledme]

never knew rocks would become one of the biggest stars in gaming industry

[@matthewseneris6095]

It's amazing how much work is put into this things And we gamers just walk past these rocks.

[@dkaloger5720]

the real benefit of quixel is the consistently high quality , very few other platforms have such quality

[@TDGCmote]

Going into this field, I'm so happy to see this concept being given mainstream attention.

[@alv8590]

Imagine looking at a rock in a video game and say "hey this rock looks familiar"

[@sorenkair]

The next step is to feed everything to an AI so they can come up with infinite variations.

[@Tim_2060]

While it´s not AI, you can make completly random rocks in a software called Houdini. Just enter a different seed and your done. 100% procedual.

[@BenedictGS]

Correction: normal map doesnt tell the program how high or low, normal map tells which direction(3d vector) the surface (" the normal") is facing. But it can help with making the surface have depth. Instead for high low data, there is bump map or depth map.

[@alexandermelo2918]

More video game content! This series is really nice

[@connorrobert5348]

Brother bear I’m in architecture And you’ve saved my life with quixel bridge when it comes to rendering Thank you brother bear

[@arromarches]

Imagine driving through a rocky desert, and seeing some dudes taking pictures of a rock like it's a historical artifact😂

[@ST-ug2wy]

He protecc He attac But most important He scan rocc

[@reDQlas]

Imagine explaining your grandpa that your job is to take photos of a rocks in deserts

[@GermanTopGameTV]

We all know the real way rocks in video games are made is someone downloading a rock from an asset store and resizing them, draging some polygons around and ship it lol

[@ANTBEZA]

Videos like this are the ones that makes me sit down and ask myself “why am I watching this?”

[@beyondmovie6076]

Who else loves this video game series 😂😂

[@kylee.jenner3610]

1:31 what's the name of this game?

[@zumabbar]

definitely loving these videos about video games, keep it up!

[@kentbenedict2005]

Interesting I didn't know about this.

3:48 this is not TLOU: PART II, it is the first "The Last of Us".

[@raphaelelahmar2498]

Thank you!

[@aaronfrazier524]

I was going to say that, but didn't wanna sound like a nitpicker

[@MAYK1NG]

I can't beleive how far we've come that that programs create the rocks, the 'assests', from multiple views.

[@junmicheletti7834]

I hope you guys keep making videogame stuff

[@Hoxgene]

I hope more people appreciate VG devs and soundtrack composers

[@EbtisamEnan]

10M soon!

[@Exoclypse]

2:49 "Their work saves time for individual Game Designers" You mean Game Artists. Designers conceive the game mechanics, behavior and design the gameplay space, they usually don't work on visuals. Prop/Environment Artists create the 3D assets and Level Artists use them to dress the levels (broadly speaking). 3:35 "Normal Maps indicate height" They don't. Height maps represent height, normal maps represent a surface's normal vector (what direction the surface points to). Tbh most game artists don't really get what normal maps actually are, they just know it fakes surface details.

[@nirui.o]

Non-geologists are photo documenting the rocks so real geologists can sit in their air conditioned rooms and play games that includes the rock that they're researching.

[@kelvinkane5604]

"This is a rock" -VOX Thank you, VOX for enlighting our minds.

[@HendHeL]

Small correction: at 3:47 the text says The Last of Us: Part II, but it's actually The Last of Us (part 1) being shown

[@thecptpiratemonkey]

awesome gig ! gives me motivation !

[@johnbrown4682]

"how video game rocks are made" proceeds to show a method that's not used by 99% of video games

[@L-92761]

I'd also like to see how the developers over at DICE did the photogrammetry for the battlefront games cause they looked amazing.

[@platinumpineapple9943]

3D Scanning is the future of technology innovated straight from Video Games

[@Banane1321]

A video about how shadows work in video games would be really interesting!

[@matthewboyd8689]

Those electric trucks being able to be generators mean we get better rocks Cool

[@AymanSully]

3D is so easy to get into btw! Blender is free to download, I've been playing around with it for months now and it's really fun.

[@TheHENpp]

"Hurrah Pass..." and the beat drops!

[@communistpropagandist4608]

As an Unreal Developer I recognised those rocks immediately. I feel like I've been there but I only have been digitally.

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

I want the GPS coordinates of that rock. I can make a pilgrimage to visit the rock.

[@michi-raw]

„This is a Rock“ - Vox

[@phole7924]

" Quick sand, double cheese." Famous last words.

[@BuffaloSpring]

Holy cow PLS more video game technology videos🐸🐸🐸

[@TokenBlackman7]

A video on the evolution of cover-based game mechanics would be nice!

[@GlennDavey]

strafe left, strafe right. what? there's more?

[@luuketaylor]

Might get that from GMTK.

[@TokenBlackman7]

@@GlennDavey - My... What an irresponsibly lazy summation of a gaming mechanic you have there!

[@jooder]

Utah has awesome rocks, can't be denied

[@nacho8balls266]

Thank you Vox for always educating us. Gonna reach that well deserved 10M soon!

[@GauravVohra]

This felt like a paid ad for Quixel

[@donaldthegreat5809]

people: what you do for a living? this guy: I'm a Non-Geologist

[@bigmock141]

Geo or rock photography

[@Randomsae]

"This is a rock, but this man is [not The Rock]"

[@toutafarel9436]

Quixel megascans is awesome!

[@travelinman70]

Now they need real geologist to ensure the rocks are used appropriately in the settings.

[@shyamjakhete2285]

Why is vox suddenly so obsessed with video games.

[@fable9958]

That rock wants to have equal pay

[@rizkyramadhan3438]

All the way to dessert just... To photograph rock

[@branpod]

Looks like a cool job!

[@isayawhaat1634]

this entire video was about taking pictures of rocks

[@gdavis3d]

Can confirm, I am not a geologist!!

[@bryan.w.t]

Sometimes people say video games now look the same. Because yeah, they all use the same asset. But that's not a reason to discount the hard work, developers still put in so much time and effort for something that looks normal these days

[@dbclass4075]

It also helps in familiarity. Say, if most video games collectively chose a first aid kit as a health pickup, a standard is set. Players can easily adapt between games.

[@The45679]

Thats a nice rock

[@goldenknight]

0:54 That location really sounds like a location from a video game

[@longjohn7992]

Quixel go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@bishopoftroy]

Super useful Vox ! Super useful.