This new YouTube video by Michael “Jasper” Ashworth looks at how the flowing animation of water in Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii was created. It discusses how two techniques—the use of displacement maps and of layered textures—allowed the artists at Nintendo to create a convincingly natural water animation using only very basic textures. This is the first video in a new series looking at how the art of Nintendo games is created and what gives it its beautiful, timeless look on often underpowered hardware. It seems as though these videos will take quite a deep but easily comprehensible look into the more technical side of creating art for video games, and so it should be a good channel to keep your eyes on for anybody else interested in game art!
