HEROES OF THE DEEP Key characters in Abzu’s undersea world
SUNFISH
Ocean sunfish weigh
between 545-2,205 lbs.
They have flat bodies and
bask on their side near the
surface so birds can feed
on their skin parasites.WHALE SHARK
The largest known
specimen of whale shark
reached 41.5ft and
weighed 47,000 lbs. It’s
easily the largest known
fish species on Earth.GOLIATH GROUPER
Goliath groupers can grow
to 8ft long. Once thought
to be the same species,
we now distinguish
between Pacific and
Atlantic goliath groupers.MANTA RAY
The largest species of
manta ray has a wingspan
of 23 feet and the biggest
brain of any fish. They
might be able to recognise
themselves in mirrors.dependent on not losing your
bearings after, for example, becoming
distracted by an interesting fish. But
Abzu, by its very nature, involves a
lot of being distracted by interesting
fish, following them around or
latching on and letting them pull you
to wherever they’re heading.
FOG OF WATER
One of the game’s great successes
(and something that I never
consciously noticed because it works
so beautifully) is the game’s fog
accumulation system. “We
experimented with realistic fog
algorithms but ended up dissatisfied with the lack of
directability,” says Nava. “We created a system where we
could specify the rate at which the fog thickened with
distance from the camera volumetrically”.
That might sound complicated but it basically allowed
the team to tune visibility so players wouldn’t become
lost. “[It] allowed us to fine tune how far you could see
from specific areas. This allowed important places to
remain visible even in murky scenes. The system also
allowed the colour and brightness of the water to be
specified uniquely at every point in space.”
In some ways the fog system functions like the hero
fish, keeping the player connected to the space by
showing them how to navigate it and offering focal points.
It’s these kinds of aesthetic choice which mean Abzu
offers the dream of scuba and none of the nightmare.FEBRUARY 2019 53“EACH FISH GETS
HUNGRY AND WILL
LOOK FOR
SMALLER FISH
TO EAT”
The glow of the door
portal gives you a
focal point in a busy
space and shows the
fog system at work.