Computer Graphics & Animation

Biography

Biography: Christopher Thibeault, Jean-Yves Hervé

Abstract

The audio-visual quality of video games has increased steadily over the last twenty years. The hardware of older game consoles was not capable of delivering the high-resolution graphics and sounds expected by today’s gamers. Despite this, the use of emulators to play old games continues to be very popular. To make the experience more palatable, emulators have used various forms of interpolation-based upscaling algorithms to provide a higher-resolution gaming experience. There is a limit to how much this can improve the visuals of a game. Recently, an approach based on using the virtual hardware state information inside the emulator to detect and replace game sprites proved effective in providing a substantially-enhanced set of game visuals at low computational cost. This paper investigates the modification of an existing game console emulator to perform event and scene detection to aid in the enhancement process. This will enable the system to achieve an enhancement of the audio-visual output of older games that goes beyond simply replacing sprites. It will allow for the replacement of all graphics and music assets in an emulated game in real-time. Further, it will enable the addition of new visual effects and sounds where none previously existed. All of this is done without altering the original game logic, preserving the feel of the original game. To achieve this, the state information about the virtual game console hardware is accessed and used to perform the event and scene detection at low computational cost.The system developed as part of this research uses a modified version of the FCEUX emulator for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Using this system, a substantial audio-visual upgrade is made to the appearance of a commercially released 8-bit console game, including new graphics, music, speech sounds, and lighting and fog effects.