Game Art Game Texturing and Materials 2

Question 1

What does an 'ambient occlusion (AO) map' store in a game texture set?

Accepted Answer

Soft shadowing in crevices and contact areas to add depth

Answer

An AO map stores baked soft shadow information in concave areas, adding depth and contact shadowing to the asset.

Question 2

What is the purpose of a 'normal map' in real-time game rendering?

Accepted Answer

To simulate fine surface detail like bumps and grooves without adding geometry

Answer

Normal maps encode surface orientation per pixel, allowing the renderer to simulate high-frequency surface detail on a low-poly mesh.

Question 3

What is a 'tiling texture' and when is it most useful in game environments?

Accepted Answer

A texture that repeats seamlessly across a surface, ideal for ground, walls, and large areas

Answer

Tiling textures repeat seamlessly and are used on large surfaces like terrain or walls to cover them without needing unique textures.

Question 4

What tool is most commonly used in the games industry to paint PBR textures directly on 3D models?

Accepted Answer

Substance 3D Painter

Answer

Substance 3D Painter (formerly Substance Painter) is the industry-standard tool for painting PBR textures in real time on 3D meshes.

Question 5

In Unreal Engine's material system, what is the 'base color' input equivalent to?

Accepted Answer

The raw albedo/diffuse color of the surface without lighting

Answer

Base color in Unreal Engine's PBR material represents the raw surface color/albedo with no lighting or shadowing baked in.

Game Art Practice Test