When developers are looking for the next jaw-dropping gaming visual to show off their newest titles with, the responsibility usually falls on some shiny, photo-real car porn or a wavy mullet with individual strands blowing in the wind. But the sizzle reels of the future may turn their cameras ground-ward if Nvidia's new grass-mimicking effect is anything to go by.


Nvidia Turf Effects is the latest addition to the GPU manufacturer's GameWorks technology, letting developers render huge swathes of realistic grass with ease. Providing a "fully geometrical" representation, millions of blades of grass can be simulated at resolutions as high as 100 triangles per blade.

This high fidelity allows for the blades to sway in the wind, crumple underfoot and even cast their own individual shadows. As anyone who remembers this cool scenefrom Jurassic Park: The Lost World will know, it could make for some really cool moments in stealth games, tracking your quarry based on the marks left in foliage. [Nvidia]


This post originally appeared on Gizmodo UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.