I like to finally throw this question out to the community (Watching showcase video for Relief Terrain Pack asset was the last straw.)
What I have observed is found in a number of underwater effects from different packages and even from other engines such as cryengine.
Here is the question: Why are there distortion effects when the camera is underwater?
This particular distortion seems to defy the physics of light transmission. Distortion happens when light travels through two different mediums, which is why things underwater appear distorted when viewed from above the water. When was the last time you were underwater and viewed something distorted? Unless there are underwater currents, or differences in the medium such as freshwater vs saltwater, underwater distortion should not be observed.
For the same reason there are lens flares in a first person view (our eyes don’t get lens flares). It looks cool, and the effects create more feeling of immersion.
Something like a Foley, but in this case a visual special effect.
I like this description:
“When creating sound effects for films, sound recordists and editors do not generally concern themselves with the verisimilitude or accuracy of the sounds they present. The sound of a bullet entering a person from a close distance may sound nothing like the sound designed in the above example, but since very few people are aware of how such a thing actually sounds, the job of designing the effect is mainly an issue of creating a conjectural sound which feeds the audience’s expectations while still suspending disbelief.”
Anyway… yep, the reason the effect is there is because it works to convince the observer that something is going on. In real life, if we are for instance under water, several of our senses are activated. We see it. We hear it. We taste it (sometimes). We feel it. In a game or movie, some senses aren’t so easily activated. So,we have to use techniques to augment the input to other senses to achieve a desired effect. Under water distortion is one such technique.
I’m with Ony. Depth of field, bloom, lens dirt, lensflares, funny swirly optics, even colour correction - are all things that you don’t really want if you want realism.
Likewise if you watch the Avengers or Thor, there’s nothing real about any of the ongoing glossy images, colour, effects etc. It’s a game. Effects are there to create immersion, not realism.
Last I checked, most films and games look far more colourful than real life does.
Thanks everyone. I get all of the other effects both sound (ex: bullet) and the visual (depth of field, lens dirt, lens flare, bloom, etc), but I’ve never seen a film use an underwater distortion effect when simulating underwater. I personally think it is a technique that breaks immersion. IMHO
Sure, whatever. It’s got nothing to do with misunderstanding optics though. It’s a hangover from gaming history, that’s stuck because it conveys the impression of water stylistically.
That’s the key word right there. I mean, there are a billion other things besides water distortion that one could say aren’t realistic or true to life. So why do games (and movies) have them? Because games and movies are seldom trying to replicate life exactly as it is. They instead do it with their own sense of style.
I’ve always felt like being pointed out that I’m looking through a camera, by using lens flare, breaks immersion. If I’m able to disable it, I do so. So that would be my suggestion. Give players the ability to disable/enable the effects they want.
Theres a game idea. You play the camera man to an adventurer. You have no control over how he fights - your sole purpose is to take amazing shots of him in action. You need to get up close for the amazing shots that are worth tons of money, but you are a character like any other, and can get damaged/killed.
Dodge all the bad effects while positioning yourself for amazing shots. And yes - get too close and you will get blood spatter on your camera.
