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December 2010

The third edition of the highly anticipated ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition in Asia will be held in the capital city of Seoul, Korea, from 15 to 18 December at Coex Convention and Exhibition Center. Leveraging its presence within the hotbed of online gaming and animation in Korea , SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 will focus on topics related to gaming, animation and visual effects techniques, aside from the basic foundations of computer graphics and highly technical summaries of the latest research breakthroughs.

Opening Keynote: Visual works of Blade and Soul by NCsoft’s Art Director, Hyung-Tae Kim Hyung-Tae Kim, Art Director at NC Soft, is well known for his outstanding contributions to the video game industry. He gained his reputation for art creation in games such as the Magna Carta series and the later installments of the War of Genesis series. At SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Kim shares his experience in the production of the highly anticipated massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Blade & Soul. He also reveals some first visual elements, such as concept art or trailers in the journey to give life to one of the most popular games today. Focusing on the creation of new characters in the game, Kim’s session discusses how art direction and game design can influence the way a game is played. Finally Kim touches on how Blade & Soul is marketed to a worldwide audience, having first been launched to local audiences in Korea.

Game Line-up Unveiled

The gaming community is in for a treat at SIGGRAPH Asia this year, with more than 20 sessions addressing game-related matter and themes such as creating feature-quality games, art direction for games, real-time techniques, GPU computing, user interfaces…

Extracts from the game line-up from the Courses Program:

• "Gimmee Somethin' to Shoot": Filming the Cinematics for Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Jeff Chamberlain, John Burnett & Yeon-Ho Lee, Blizzard Entertainment Members of the Blizzard Film Department will share some of the secrets to creating the on-screen magic for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. These include the creative and technical processes, from story to completion. The Blizzard Film Department will also shed some light on sequences rendered in the game’s engine, 3D modeling, animation, rigging simulations, lighting, compositing, rendering and artistic and technical direction.

• Recent Advances in Online Game Technology

Byoungwon Choe, Intel Corp

Jaesik Hwang Crytek GmbH

Chang Joon Park, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute

Jongwon Kim, NCsoft

Online games have unique characteristics, compared with console games, which require a more complicated design of software architecture both in clients and servers. This course is designed to deliver the state-of-the-art technologies for making online games from clients to servers. Course instructors are the lead programmers and software engineers from Crytek, ETRI, NCSoft, and Intel. Topics include advanced production secrets in developing the world’s best online games. Attendees will get to know what the considerations in making the latest online games are and how to optimize them to meet the increasing performance demands of future online games.

• Of Agony and Ecstasy: An exploration of artistic development and direction in video games

Ryan Wilkerson, Microsoft Games Studios

This presentation provides an overview of methodology used in the development of contemporary video games. Referencing historical context and modern examples, the discussion explores not only technical processes, but also considers the roles of the Artist in the development of interactive entertainment.

• DirectX 11 : Learn the latest tricks

Chris W. Kim, NVIDIACorporation

This presentation gives an overview of the DirectX 11 pipeline and how it extends to previous DirectX versions which enable stunning visual effects in real-time graphics applications. Participants will get to take a closer look at various components of DirectX 11 to understand why it makes it interesting, such as direct computing, tessellation, multi3 threaded command buffers, dynamic shader linking, new texture compression formats, read-only depth, conservative depth and etc.

• East Meets West: The Power of the Pitch

Dan Winters, Activision Blizzard

Changki Kim, Gravity Co. Ltd

Joseph Olin, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

This focuses on tips for external developers on how to approach publishers in America and Korea, pitch new intellectual property, present themselves as work for hire opportunities, and create a compelling package for possible acquisitions.

• Efficient Substitutes for Subdivision Surfaces in Feature-Quality Games

Tianyun Ni, NVIDIA Corporation

This course covers the hardware tessellation part of the SIGGRAPH 2009 Course Efficient Substitutes for Subdivision Surfaces with the emphasis on character tessellation in moviequality games. It adds additional material based on recent research findings and practical optimizations. The goal of this course is to familiarize attendees with the practical aspects of introducing substitutes in subdivision surfaces to increase efficiency in real-time applications.

• Recent Advances in Real-Time Collision and Proximity Computations for Games and Simulations

Sung-Eui Yoon, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Takahiro Harada, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Young J. Kim, Ewha Womans University

The course summarizes how recent developments achieve interactive performance for large-scale rigid, articulated, deforming, and fracturing models in various applications. Then it explores how various proximity computations can be optimized in recent GPUs and integrated with efficient GPU-based simulation methods. This overview of existing techniques and practical solutions helps attendees understand how the field will change in the coming years.

• Simulating Believable Crowd and Group Behaviors

Stephanie Huerre, Walt Disney Imagineering

Jehee Lee, Seoul National University

Ming Lin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Carol O'Sullivan, Trinity College Dublin

Crowds and groups are a vital element of life, and simulating them in a convincing manner is one of the great challenges in computer graphics and interactive techniques. This course focuses on the problem of efficiently simulating realistic crowd and group behavior for a range of applications, including games and design of spaces. It covers data-driven methods, where the characteristics of crowds are simulated based on real-world data; evaluation and perceptual issues, and creation of behavioral variety; interactive simulation and control of large-scale crowds and traffic for games and other real-time applications; and finally a case study of using crowd simulation for design of spaces in the Disney theme parks.

• Physical and Graphical Effects in OpenCL by Example

Justin Hensley, Jason Yang, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc

Derek Gerstmann, University of Western Australia

This course provides an introduction to parallel-programming architectures and environments for interactive graphics, and demonstrates how to combine traditional rendering APIs with advanced parallel computation. It presents several studies of how developers combine traditional rendering API techniques with advanced parallel computation. Each case study includes a live demo and discusses the mix of parallelprogramming constructs used, details of the graphics algorithm, and how the rendering pipeline and computation interact to achieve the technical goals. All computation is done in OpenCL. A combination of DirectX and OpenGL is used for the rendering.

• An Introduction to OpenGL 4.0 Programming

Dave Shreiner,ARM Ltd.

Edward Angel, University of New Mexico

Dave Shreiner and Edward Angel are regulars at presenting on OpenGL Programming. The course will provide an accelerated introduction to programming OpenGL with an emphasis on the most modern methods for using the library. The course summarizes each of the shader stages in OpenGL version 4.0 and methods for specifying data to be used in rendering with OpenGL.

• Exploiting Temporal Coherence in Real-Time Rendering

Daniel Scherzer, Technische Universität Wien

Lei Yang, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Oliver Mattausch, Technische Universität Wien

Temporal coherence, the correlation of content between adjacent rendered frames, exists across a wide range of scenes and motion types in practical real-time rendering. Taking advantage of temporal coherence can save redundant computation and significantly improve the performance of many rendering tasks with only a marginal decrease in quality. This not only allows incorporation of more computationally intensive shading effects in existing applications, but it also offers exciting opportunities to extend high-end graphics applications to reach lower-spec, consumer-level hardware. 

The course emphasizes "know how" and the guidelines related to algorithm choices. After attending the course, participants are encouraged to find and utilize temporal coherence in their own applications and rapidly adapt existing algorithms to meet their requirements.

“I am very happy with the quality of the presentations and speakers for the Courses Program in SIGGRAPH Asia 2010. There is a good balance between technical and artistic courses with tracks covering gaming, animation techniques, visual effects, real-time techniques, GPU computing and the fundamentals of computer graphics. In addition, a wide array of current hot topics will be covered including the creation of feature-quality games and stereoscopic 3D.” Courses Chair, Sophie Revillard, Connecting Worlds.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 promises to showcase a line-up of recent works that will raise the benchmarks in digital creativity. The event will feature four exciting programs, namely, Computer Animation Festival, Courses, Technical Papers, Technical Sketches & Posters as well as a Trade Exhibition.

Other highlights on game-related content to look out for are:

Technical Sketches:

• Modeling Player Performance In Rhythm Games

Lingfeng Yang, Square Enix Co., Ltd

This technical sketch explores a method for modeling skill level in a rhythm game by building probabilistic models of how well the player is able to match a technically perfect execution.

• I ntegrating Lip-Synch Into Game Production Workflow: Sengoku BASARA 3

Shin’ichi Kawamoto,ATR/JAIST

Tatsuo Yotsukura, OLM Digital Inc.

Satoshi Nakamura, NICT

Junya Yamamoto,Tsunenori Shirahama and Hakuei Yamamoto,Capcom Entertainment, Inc.

This technical sketch describes the integration of automated lip-synch (lip synchronization) into production of Sengoku BASARA 3, a PS3/Wii game by Capcom.

• Measuring Interest in Linear Single-Player FPS Games

Kenneth Chan, Koji Mikami and Kunio Kondo, Tokyo University of Technology

This study measured attention levels to identify points of high player interest in linear single-player FPS games.

• EDGE: An Easy Design Tool for Rapid Game Development

Hwan-Soo Yoo, Seong-Whan Kim, University of Seoul

Ok-Hue Cho, Chung-Ang University

EDGE, explores how game designers without programming skills can make game events and effects.

Special Sessions:

• Creating New Games From Lucasfilm Favorites 

Kent Byers, LucasArts Singapore

Lucasfilm has some of the greatest IP in the industry. Who wouldn’t want to work on a Star Wars game? In this Special Session, Kent Byers, Associate Producer for LucasArts Singapore, summarizes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, the highly anticipated sequel to the fastest-selling Star Wars game ever created, which has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the world was introduced to Darth Vader’s now-fugitive apprentice, Starkiller, the unlikely hero who ignited the flames of rebellion in a galaxy so desperately in need of a champion.

Showcasing SIGGRAPH Asia’s elements of Imagination

More than 8,000 participants from all over the world are expected to gather in Seoul. Apart from an impressive Courses program, the conference and exhibition offers a range of other programs with a strong relevance for students and professionals in the field of games. With more than 100 animations to be screened, and close to 170 research papers and Technical Sketches & Posters to be discussed, SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 is set to blaze a trail in Seoul’s and Asia’s digital  media landscape.

Trade Exhibition

Exhibitors from Korea and around the world will be present to share their trade expertise with attendees to try the latest systems, talk with the people who developed them, and meet buyers, distributors, and resellers.

Some of the exhibitors are:

• Intel Corporation

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live.

• Crytek GmbH

Crytek GmbH is one of the world's leading independent development studios for interactive entertainment dedicated to creating exceptionally high-quality video games for the PC and nextgeneration consoles.

• Lucasfilm Animation Company Singapore B. V

Working in collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation US and LucasArts, Lucasfilm’s studio in Singapore - Lucasfilm Animation Singapore - is engaged in creating animation, visual effects for feature films and developing multi-platform games.

• Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)

KOCCA was established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to integrate all content genres and enhance synergy effects in the era of digital convergence. Above all, KOCCA actively provides support to value-added industries such as CG and VFX.

• NVIDIA Corporation

NVIDIA is the world leader in advanced 3D solutions for professionals in film, broadcast, design and visualization. Experience the future of NVIDIA Quadro at booth #C15 , Coex 3F Hall C or at www.nvidia.co.kr.

• Korea Game Developers Association

KGDA was founded in 1999 in order to protect the rights of and enhance the network among game developers. KGDA has more than 10,000 game experts as members today.

A full list of exhibitors is available online at:

http://www.siggraph.org/asia2010/content/attendees/exhibition.

Hyeong-Seok Ko, Conference Chair of SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 and a professor at the department of Electrical Engineering in Seoul National University remarked, “We are excited that Korea is hosting SIGGRAPH Asia this year. Korea’s burgeoning gaming industry and thriving animation industry has given a boost to SIGGRAPH Asia 2010. The trade exhibition completes the SIGGRAPH Asia experience as attendees will have direct access to the latest products and technologies and business opportunities at this interactive marketplace making this a must attend trade event.”

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Media contact:

Rabita Jamal

Koelnmesse Pte Ltd

Tel: +65.6500.6732

Fax: +65.6296.2771

Email: rabita_jamal@siggraph.org

About SIGGRAPH Asia

The 3rd ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia will take place at Coex Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul, Korea. Featuring an international conference from 15-18 December 2010, SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 offers works that provoke thoughts, explore ideas in innovative ways, address contemporary issues, interactively engage viewers in discovery, and stimulate their intellect and creativity through art, computer animation, courses, education, new technologies, technical papers, sketches and posters. SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 also features a trade exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace and will he held from 16-18 December 2010. Sponsored by ACM, SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 is expected to to bring together over 8,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals and enthusiasts from Asia and beyond. For more information, please visit www.siggraph.org/asia2010.

About ACM

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGGRAPH sponsors SIGGRAPH Asia 2010. ACM is an educational and scientific society uniting the world's computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.