Computer Graphics

University of California - Berkeley

Real-Time Deformation and Fracture in a Game Environment


Abstract

This paper describes a simulation system that has been developed to model the deformation and fracture of solid objects in a real-time gaming context. Based around a corotational tetrahedral finite element method, this system has been constructed from components published in the graphics and computational physics literatures. The goal of this paper is to describe how these components can be combined to produce an engine that is robust to unpredictable user interactions, fast enough to model reasonable scenarios at real-time speeds, suitable for use in the design of a game level, and with appropriate controls allowing content creators to match artistic direction. Details concerning parallel implementation, solver design, rendering method, and other aspects of the simulation are elucidated with the intent of providing a guide to others wishing to implement similar systems. Examples from in-game scenes captured on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC platforms are included.
This paper recieved the award for best paper at SCA 2009.

Citation

Eric G. Parker and James F. O'Brien. "Real-Time Deformation and Fracture in a Game Environment". In Proceedings of the ACM SIGGRAPH/Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation, pages 156–166, August 2009.

Supplemental Material

Paper video (Quicktime H.264, 31MB)

List of commercial use of DMM in films and games.