How video game rocks get made

How do you make video game rocks look real? Sometimes, it involves a trip out to the desert.
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In this video, Vox’s Phil Edwards interviews Galen Davis of Quixel at Epic Games. His job is as a developer, but sometimes he goes out into the desert to scan rocks.
This scanning economy is a crucial new stage in making realistic 3D games today. Rather than modeling and texturing assets manually, designers often rely on scanned assets to make their games, movies, or other 3d productions look real. Quixel sent Davis to Moab, Utah, just to scan the exotic terrain there for use in Unreal Engine.
There are other ways to get assets for 3D productions, from your phone to the many different available marketplaces. These provide opportunities for photoreal assets to be downloaded instead of created, allowing designers to save time and improve the quality of their work.
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
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[@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

[@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

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

by her grandmother, and there 😏🤩😘😅

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

I have long sought you!’🎫🎟🎗🎁🎀🎑🎐

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

will do her good.😰😬🤯😩😨😧😦

[@guardiangusti9808]

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

[@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 👏👏👏👏👏

[@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

[@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!

[@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

[@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 😔

[@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]

😂😂😂😂

[@kisaragi-hiu]

I'd love to see an episode about Blender.

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

well that she would never wear 🤨😙😉😁

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

she is ill and weak, and they😭😢😤😟😞😖🙁

[@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🔥🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[@f3tsch906]

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

[@sayyiddaffam6822]

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

[@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

[@batman_2004]

Vox, please make more of this!

[@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.

[@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.

[@f-ckmyr0fil655]

but took a pair of scissors💯🆎

[@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 :-)

[@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

[@kodo1232]

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

[@rjose705]

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

[@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

[@bravestant3921]

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

[@user-my3qz6bh5p]

video is borderline misinformation

[@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?

[@sohaibdad5149]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@therealeren2045]

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

[@AwesomeBoysJPTV]

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

[@tommyhearne]

This video rocks.

[@TejprakashOfficial]

🤟🤟🤟

[@jhay_vine5083]

😂😂

[@Darxo]

😂😂😂

[@jaisonsimon]

Gold comment❤️😳

[@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.

[@putri3576]

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

[@gavinclark6891]

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

[@Devboneee]

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

[@abigailthompson838]

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

[@zumabbar]

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

[@anujduggal3543]

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

[@nacho8balls266]

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

[@JoshuaBarretto]

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.

[@StanLeeGhost]

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

[@alexandermelo2918]

More video game content! This series is really nice

[@jamesjunston6050]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@matthewseneris6095]

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

[@KandeeKush]

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

[@dkaloger5720]

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

[@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.

[@user-ce4ze4hr1u]

More videos on game development please!

[@MAYK1NG]

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

[@anne637i]

I would love having this mans job. Just fotografing random tings from a million different angels

[@p.s.224]

Same! Working outside and being surrounded by such an epic landscape… wow.

[@Banane1321]

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

[@junmicheletti7834]

I hope you guys keep making videogame stuff

[@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.

[@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.

[@Hoxgene]

I hope more people appreciate VG devs and soundtrack composers

[@jooder]

Utah has awesome rocks, can't be denied

[@katgray8405]

I love everything about this

[@TheHENpp]

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

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

[@RazzPlays]

Should've mentioned the 15min demo video they uploaded on UE 5, it's incredible.

[@thecptpiratemonkey]

awesome gig ! gives me motivation !

[@kentbenedict2005]

Interesting I didn't know about this.

[@beyondmovie6076]

Who else loves this video game series 😂😂

[@kylee.jenner3610]

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

[@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 ^^

[@communistpropagandist4608]

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

[@ANTBEZA]

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

[@brianoconner3090]

I did not know that it takes this much effort in creating games. Wow.

[@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!

[@jephinphilip1830]

I am an architect I use Twinmotion and it is great when paired with rendering in ureal engine.

[@BuffaloSpring]

Holy cow PLS more video game technology videos🐸🐸🐸

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

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

[@branpod]

Looks like a cool job!

[@bishopoftroy]

Super useful Vox ! Super useful.

[@gdavis3d]

Can confirm, I am not a geologist!!

[@doodskie999]

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

[@matthumphries]

virtual doors and rocks - this is why I sub to vox

[@platinumpineapple9943]

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

[@toutafarel9436]

Quixel megascans is awesome!

[@emmanuelriera8372]

Can you guys make a video on fighters and their cauliflower ears

[@grilledme]

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

[@kelvinkane5604]

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

[@fireaza]

That is a nice boulder!

[@EbtisamEnan]

10M soon!

[@matthewboyd8689]

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

[@trevordaly7121]

Finally, an important subject

[@joshnizzle]

Great video Phil

[@anisalial-maghrabi3215]

Wow beautiful 3d picture

[@nerdonspeed3493]

Vox did content about video game -> our moment era is game industry era :0

[@jeanlafrance8746]

The most impressive instance of photogrammetry is in Microsoft Flight Simulator, where whole city centers are yours to explore from the air.

[@Dead_Last]

Why does this feel like an Ad for UE5 and Quixel?

[@michi-raw]

„This is a Rock“ - Vox

[@OpCzar]

Reminds me of the MegaTexture tecnology in id Tech 4 that John Carmack touted a lot back in the 2011 release of the game Rage. Goal was to make canyons that wouldn't have visually repeating textures like a macramé.

[@frogery]

landscapes look amazing in games these days. it's hard to imagine them getting any more photorealistic, but that's what we always say..

[@phole7924]

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

[@laconicgentlemen9740]

i hope they respect the environment they take the photos

[@legolas-xu6ou]

Finally some good noncontroversial content

[@cyanuranus6456]

Used as Environment, Cranyons and Interstellar Rock Fragments in Astronomy Games like “Universe Sandbox 2/Space Engine”. I Love Rocks in 3D Online Games

[@appdata8476]

They are not rocks, they are minerals Marie!

[@smiley8574]

These people are so cool! They rock!