Pearl Abyss Lead Engine Director Kwang Hyun Ko

Q. Please introduce yourself.

Hi, my name is Kwang Hyun Ko, and I am the lead engine director at Pearl Abyss. I was also in charge of remastering the graphics for Black Desert: Remastered.

Q. Black Desert Online is famous for high-quality graphics above all else, so why did you decide to remaster the graphics?

It’s been a few years since the release of Black Desert Online, and a lot of new technology has surfaced since then. All of us here at Pearl Abyss are never quite satisfied with the end product and constantly try to apply changes, small and big, to update the graphics of the game. The remaster was a result of this.

Q. Tell me about the process of the remaster. How long did it take and what kind of work did the remaster require?

The entire process took over a year, and there were many ups and downs. The biggest challenge was to pursue the highest quality of graphics, while making sure that existing players could access the remaster without having to upgrade the specifications of their PCs.

Q. In your pursuit of constant improvement, are there any games in particular you benchmark, or see as your biggest competition?

I don’t necessarily benchmark a specific game, but try to study and keep up with the latest technology, for instance, by taking part in events such as the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and Siggraph.

I am pleased with the remastered graphics and believe it adds to our competitiveness against the leading games, especially in North America and EU, that also apply the most advanced technologies to their graphics.

Q. Which aspects of the remastered graphics are you most proud of?

It was a team effort and I think everyone on the team will have a different answer to this, but overall, every aspect of the remastered graphics had to fall into sync to create what we ended up with. So no, there is no one specific end product, but I hope players will take note of the entire graphics of the game and its enhancements.

Q. At the Black Desert: Remastered Showcase in Seoul, you spoke of several graphics techniques that were core components of the remaster. Can you explain some of them to me in plain English?

Physically-based rendering (PDR)

This refers to modeling and expressing an object’s reaction to light in real life. In games, this is applied to surface textures and their reaction to light to express matte, shiny, etc. textures. It is also applied to express how different materials react to light, such as metals and non-metals.

Image-based lighting (IBL)

IBL is the process of capturing the real-world lighting as an image to apply to the game’s graphics. In real life, everything we see is made up of light, but it’s hard to express everything in light alone in a game, so we produce an image of the light’s reflections and reactions to input into the game.

Post processing with YEBIS

Post processing refers to anything done to the graphics at the final stages of production to enhance the image. Examples in the remaster include out focusing, motion blur, glare (to show the different shapes and direction of light), shaft and the use of on-screen information to express reflections. We used YEBIS middleware, one of the most advanced post-processing technologies available, and the results were impressive.

Post-processing using YEBIS middleware:

Q. One area where the graphics enhancements are drastically noticeable is the metal armor. Can you explain how the look of different fabrics and materials were remastered?

The metals turned out well as the result of applying IBL. For non-metals as well, the reflection of light is different from every angle, so we used IBL and other techniques to express these textures in a lifelike manner, and that’s why everything looks more realistic.

Video of metal armor before and after the remaster:

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Q. Are there any things aspects of the graphics that still need improvement?

There’s a list of things we are looking to improve in the near future based on player feedback, but the two main areas we are focusing on is the over-the-top brightness and performance.

The brightness is the result of trying to replicate what the eyes see in real time. As a result, the screen turns too bright at certain times, such as going from a dark to bright space and vice versa. Right now, we are taking into account player feedback to make the necessary adjustments.

Even before the remaster, performance improvement is something we received a lot of feedback on. This will take a bit more time, and we are applying new technologies where we can to enhance the performance.

Another problem players have been reporting is aliasing, or the appearance of rough edges around the outer pixels of an image. This can be taken care of with Anti-Aliasing (AA), or the process of smoothing out the edges of digital images. We are also researching and experimenting with Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA) and the functions of Dynamic Resolutions as an alternative solution.

Q. Any last words for Black Desert Online players?

Thank you for your interest in Black Desert Online and for all your feedback – they are very helpful. We plan to live up to all the love and expectations of our players by continuously updating the game with the latest technologies for the best MMORPG experience.