Unity’s new tech demo shows hair and face enhancements

With the 2022 Game Developers Conference (GDC) starting this week, the developers behind the Unity game engine has released a new real-time graphics tech demo called “enemies”.

The video is relatively simple in its plot and setting – at least initially. A woman sits at a chessboard, and then her table begins to slide into the floor via a mechanized elevator. The camera looks up as the walls around the character move with hundreds of tiny mechanical parts.

Eventually the camera begins to shift to the character himself as he begins playing with the chess pieces. The entire model looks almost real, with the creases in her hands, the fabric of her shirt, and the hair on her head acting as real standouts here. While such demos are often years ahead of actual action, Unity announced that its new hair system and “digital human toolset” will be joining the program soon — a “month or two.” according to the blog that worked with the demo.

The demo is a showcase for the technology in its own right, but the aforementioned blog on the Unity website explains how some of the new real-time rendering technologies work and what makes them so impressive, particularly via the focus on the hair and face of the Figure.