Creating a dynamic snow shader asset with shader-player interactions: industry pipelines in shader production

Abstract

The objective of the thesis was to construct an interactive snow shader that demonstrates shader-player relationships in a video game environment. Relevant literature and research were used to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of shader production and to ensure the successful execution of the practical project. The information acquired was applied to the production of the snow shader asset.

Two qualitative methods were utilised to ensure the shader asset’s quality compared to industry standards as well as existing snow systems in games. The author interviewed individuals who have experience with shaders to gain insights into shader production. The interviewees were asked about their opinions and personal experiences regarding various shader-related topics. Additionally, a comparative analysis was conducted to study the differences in visual aspects and gameplay impacts of snow in various published games. The author’s snow shader was part of the analysis to determine whether the shader system is sufficient when compared to other snow systems in games.

The study showed that shader production revolves around balancing limitations, requirements and priorities. Therefore, no standardised industry pipelines regarding shaders exist at this moment. However, there are common practices to ensure a successful creation of a shader. It turned out that the author’s snow shader compared well to other snow systems seen in published titles. As shader production requires well-defined priorities it was safe to assume that in each project the wanted features are chosen based on the desired gameplay feel, priorities and platform or project-related limitations.