Realism in Real-Time:ACM SIGGRAPH, Graphics,

and Games

Alan Chalmers Leo HourvitzVice-Chair, Director for

ACM SIGGRAPH Communications,University of Bristol, ACM SIGGRAPH

UK Pulse Entertainment,USA

ACM SIGGRAPH

ACM SIGGRAPH’s mission is to promote the generation and dissemination of information on computer graphics and interactive techniques.

ACM SIGGRAPH’s Values

• Excellence• Integrity• Volunteerism• Passion• Cross-disciplinary interaction

Membership

• ACM SIGGRAPH has about 6,500 members around the world, including academia, professionals, and students.

• Any interested individual may join.

ACM SIGGRAPH Programs

• Annual SIGGRAPH Conference• Symposia Program (Why we’re

here!)• Professional and Student Chapters• Education Program• ACM SIGGRAPH Publications• Awards…

ACM SIGGRAPH Programs (cont’d)

• Public Policy• Traveling Art Show and Courses• Special Projects• The Hub

Annual SIGGRAPH Conference

• Premier showcase for computer graphics and interactive techniques

• Most prestigious research forum for presentation of the latest results

• Established and rapidly growing exhibition of cutting-edge computer graphics products

SIGGRAPH Conference (cont’d)

• Electronic Theatre• Courses• Art Show• Emerging Technologies• Panels• SIGGRAPH Studio• Thousands of other members

of the SIGGRAPH community

Upcoming SIGGRAPH Conferences

• SIGGRAPH 2001– 12-17 Aug 01 Los Angeles, California,

USA

• SIGGRAPH 2002– 21-26 Jul 02 San Antonio, Texas, USA

• SIGGRAPH 2003– 27Jul-01Aug 03 San Diego, California,

USA

http://www.siggraph.org/s2001

Symposia Program

• Smaller, focused gatherings of some part of the SIGGRAPH community

• May be sponsored, co-sponsored, or presented in association with ACM SIGGRAPH

http://www.siggraph.org/conferences

Symposia Examples

• Campfire on Acoustic Rendering, May2001– Sponsored

• Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, 19-21Mar2001– Co-sponsored

• Game Technology 2001– In co-operation with

ACM SIGGRAPH Chapters

• Groups of professionals (or students) who gather throughout the year to discuss and support computer graphics and interactive techniques in their area

• Approximately 40 chapters worldwide• ACM SIGGRAPH provides startup

support, materials and training, and online infrastructure

http://www.siggraph.org/chapters

Education Program

• Education programs aids both:– Educators teaching computer graphics

and interactive techniques, and– Educators applying computer graphics

to teach in their own discipline

• Programs provides materials, workshops, training, andcurriculum recommendations

http://www.siggraph.org/education

ACM SIGGRAPH Publications

• Includes the annual conference series, the leading-edge record of the newest research in computer graphics and interactive techniques

• The Computer Graphics Quarterly, a more personal look at the fieldfrom respected professionals

Publications (cont’d)

• The Member Value Plus program provides Symposia proceedings at a reduced rate

• The Digital Library makes all ACM SIGGRAPH publications available online 24/7

• The SIGGRAPH Video Review, a video archive of SIGGRAPH content

http://www.siggraph.org/publications

Awards

• Coons Award– A lifetime of contributions to computer

graphics and interactive techniques

• Achievement Award– An outstanding achievement in the field

• Outstanding Service Award• Significant New Researcher

Award

http://www.siggraph.org/awards

Public Policy

• Inform ACM SIGGRAPH Members and policymakers about issues relating to the field– Privacy and digital signatures– Copy and copyright protection

• Not a lobbying organization

http://www.siggraph.org/public-policy

Traveling Art Show and Courses

• Take a selection of the art or courses from the annual conference out for an international tour

• Art Show has been traveling for years, well-received

• Courses are starting up in 2001

http://www.siggraph.org/tas

Special Projects

• Funding for worthy computer graphics projects that are not being otherwise addressed– Outreach programs (e.g., Southern

Africa Graphics Association kickoff)– Research coordination efforts– Startup funds for interest groups (e.g.,

Carto project)

http://www.siggraph.org/special-projects

The Hub: www.siggraph.org

• ACM SIGGRAPH’s online presence that backs up and makes available all of these programs

• Outside of the above programs, it also includes:– Web Resources directory: information,

tutorials, and code for computer graphics

– Industry Directory: companies involved in computer graphics and interactive techniques

The Hub (cont’d)

• Future plans include:– Member interests directory– Collaboration space– Salary survey

…but why is ACM SIGGRAPH here at GTEC?

• Games have been the primary driving application of real-time graphics for the last decade

• The SIGGRAPH community provides much of the key technological research enabling the games industry

Real-time Computer Graphics: The Good News

• The strides that have been made in the realism of real-time computer graphics are incredible

From abstract, symbolic graphics…

Berzerk

…to Representational graphics

Star Wars (arcade), © Lucasfilm Ltd. circa 1979

The leap from 2D …

Xevious

…to 3D (sort of)

Outrun (arcade) © 1986 SEGA

The Evolution of 3D

Wolfenstein 3D, © id Software circa 1988

Through today

Onimusha, © 2000 Capcom

The Bad News

• It’s not going to stop• There’s no limit to the realism

we’ll have to put into our real-time graphics

Things we’ve already done

• Skeletal articulation and animation blending

• Particle systems• Hardware-accelerated APIs• Shadows and texturing• Anti-aliasing

Things we’re in the middle of now

• Subdivision surfaces– From Geri’s Game– To browser plug-ins

Facial and body articulation

from Karateka

to Silent Hill

Solid-body dynamics

Metal Gear Solid 2, Konami

Massively multi-player simulations

• From SIMNET to Everquest

Everquest Promotional Art

And some things yet to come

• Procedural shading (from 20 hour RenderMan renders to 17 msec)

• Soft-body and fluid dynamicsGeri’s Game,© 1997Pixar Animation Studios

Yet to come (cont’d)

• Emotive AI (Improv technologies)• Motion Blur (higher resolution

motion)

How can you know what’s coming?

• Join ACM SIGGRAPH• Review the publications in the

DL• If you can, attend the annual

conference• Take advantage of the education

program• Organize a local chapter• Host the art show or a course

Epilogue

• Computer Graphics is not an application

• Make Games Fun• Make Stories Interesting• Make Characters Compelling