A little more than a week ago the video gamemaker/software developer Epic Games unveiled the latest iteration of their game engine Unreal version 5, running real time on Playstation 5. The absolutely stunning graphics are made possible by 2 new features, namely Nanite and Lumens. Check it out below –

This is very, very exciting stuff. The amazing advancements made in the graphics engine will create boundless new possibilities for all those involved in digital media content creation ( for example, ILM’s use of the Unreal Engine to create stunning virtual environments during the production of the Mandalorian ), but as a lighting technical director myself I am particularly blown away by Lumens.

The Lumens technology enables true REAL TIME global illumination, the quintessential element in computer graphics needed to achieve photo-realistic lighting. Global illumination makes CG look pretty, but is also notoriously computationally expensive. As such, Lumens is nothing short of groundbreaking.

I await with bated breath the upcoming content that will be made available for Playstation 5 and XBOX Series X, and I have little doubt that whatever shape or form that they take, I will certainly be wildly amazed.