Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Many Acerola viewers ask the question: How do games render water? Well, real time water rendering might sound intimidating, but it turns out most video games (Final Fantasy XVI, Elden Ring, Genshin Impact, etc.) use a relatively simple technique. How convenient!

Topics covered include: Intuitive sine waves, the sum of sines, vertex shaders, fragment shaders, central difference normals, calculating normals with partial derivatives, lambert's cosine law (lambertian diffuse), blinn phong specular, why gerstner waves are cringe, euler waves, fractional brownian motion, fresnel reflectance, cubemaps

Support me on Patreon!
patreon.com/acerola_t

Socials:
Twitter: twitter.com/Acerola_t
Twitch: twitch.tv/acerola_t
Discord: discord.gg/FxGQvbfm6Y

Code: github.com/GarrettGunnell/Water

References:
developer.nvidia.com/gpugems/gpugems/part-i-natural-effects/chapter-1-effective-water-simulation-physical-models
iquilezles.org/articles/fbm
shadertoy.com/view/MdXyzX
filmicworlds.com/blog/everything-has-fresnel

Music:
Afternoon Break - Persona 3 OST
Iwatodai Dorm - Persona 3 OST
In A Moment's Time - Skullgirls OST
A New Frontier - VA-11 Hall-A OST
Midori Eyes - Paradise Killer OST
GO!GO!STYLE - Paradise Killer OST
Prof. Omochao - Sonic Adventure 2 OST
During The Test - Persona 3 OST
Junes Theme - Persona 4 OST
Underground Club - VA-11 Hall-A OST
Karmotrine Dream - VA-11 Hall-A OST
Neon District - VA-11 Hall-A OST
Moonlit Melee - Skullgirls OST
Your Love Is A Drug - VA-11 Hall-A OST

Thanks for watching!

arrow in thumbnail drawn by thlurp

This video is dedicated to my friend, Alotryx.

#acerola #graphics #gamedev #unity3d #graphics #shaders