Viral Bodycam Game Footage Unsettles Many Because It Looks Too Real
Video screenshot via Unrecord
Yep, video game graphics have gone there. Internet users are left in disbelief after viewing a gameplay demo for Unrecord, a bodycam-esque first-person shooter by French game development studio Drama where gamers assume the role of a police detective.
The photorealistic visuals and visceral angles have fueled suspicion that the faux footage may, in fact, be real footage.
First early gameplay trailer for “UNRECORD”, the bodycam FPS. Wishlist on steam now!@unrecordgame pic.twitter.com/gVa7q0YOGu
— Alexandre Spindler (@esankiy) April 19, 2023
Unrecord was, in fact, created using the powerful Unreal Engine 5, coupled with some keen observations from the designers about what makes bodycam videos different from something you record from your phone or camcorder. It’s all about perspective, explains Digital Cybercherries, the maker of another upcoming bodycam-style game called Paranormal Tales.
The latter team details (via Digital Trends) that bodycam footage has gotten much more common, giving developers more fodder to study angles to a T and “how, exactly, the camera should be moving.”
The resulting images feature a fisheye-lens distortion and textured noise, as though captured from the lower-quality sensor of a cop’s body camera.
The gameplay also shakes in tandem to body movements as the player chases down suspects. The sky looks faded, as well, to match the restricted dynamic range of a bodycam.
Addressing allegations that the trailer might just be a video, the developer has taken to its FAQs to reiterate: “We do not use any real videos or external rendering.”
Michele Evangelista, Unrecord level designer and environment artist, additionally clarifies with Motherboard that the scenes aren’t “scanned” into the game but “handcrafted” using megascans, bespoke content, and store assets.
Hard to believe, but I am just a regular video game.
— Unrecord (@unrecordgame) April 20, 2023
Featuring bugs and glitches...🥲 https://t.co/tEwxEOU74e
As pointed out by Digital Trends, there’s another reason the gameplay looks this convincing. The trailer went viral on Twitter, where videos get really compressed, which could blur out details that are more artificial-looking. If you watch the higher-res version below, you may be able to tell that everything is a simulation.
[via Digital Trends, Polygon, Motherboard, videos and cover image via Unrecord]
