Killzone 2 dev admits screenshots 'touched up'

[TTR Dr Payne]

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/10/ki...ts-touched-up/

Killzone 2 dev admits screenshots 'touched up'

95 Comments by James Ransom-Wiley Dec 10th 2007 1:10PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, First Person Shooters
killzone 2


Even virtual worlds need to visit the powder room before parading in public. The practice of 'touching up' is something our shallow, image-conscious society accepts (heck, we expect it!), so long as the object doesn't stray too far from our idealized imaginations. So when Guerrilla Games rolled out a new batch of Killzone 2 screens, captured from this year's E3 demo, fans noticed the images looked a little too good to be true, drawing obvious connections to Killzone's infamous E3 2005 debut trailer, which substituted actual game content with pre-rendered 'target' video.

Guerrilla QA manager Seb Downie joined the discussion on the PlayStation Forums, admitting, "[The screenshots] are only the tiniest bit touched up ... there was a little bit of colour-correction done and some minor polish, but nothing major." The comparison image above, also posted in the discussion (via PSU), seems to corroborate Downie's admission, revealing sharper colors and deeper contrasts in the 'doctored' screen on the right (effects that seem within the limits of standard display settings; i.e., a television could be capable of displaying both the dull and stylized versions of this scene by tinkering with its display settings). Also, the "original" version of the image is a frame snagged directly from video, so it's subject to a certain amount of blurring that's not necessarily an accurate depiction of gameplay frozen in that instant. In any case, how can a screenshot ever tell the truth? Downie concludes that Killzone 2 simply "looks better in motion."

[IllBashU]

and who didn't see this coming?

[paintba||er]

LOL Big deal. They darkened it a bit. The actual one would be much better when you are trying to play it.

[TTR Dr Payne]

yea i know its no big deal, good luck finding pictures for a game that havnt been touched up!

[sj420]

So are people going to complain when I start editting my digital photos and removing redeye or other minor things like phone lines?

[Larock720]

killzone 2 is gonna pwn this game looks sweet

[TTR Dr Payne]

Originally Posted by sj420

So are people going to complain when I start editting my digital photos and removing redeye or other minor things like phone lines?

yea but you see the difference with video game screenshots is game developers release screenshots and say they are in-game shots, making you think that is exactly how the game will look on your TV when you put the game in. Then you put the game in and it looks nothing like it and your left being like WTF? Its no biggie if its minor touches here n there, but there are some companies that totally change what the game looks like, making it look a million times better then it really is and still claim its in-game footage.

[paintba||er]

Originally Posted by TTR Dr Payne

yea but you see the difference with video game screenshots is game developers release screenshots and say they are in-game shots, making you think that is exactly how the game will look on your TV when you put the game in. Then you put the game in and it looks nothing like it and your left being like WTF? Its no biggie if its minor touches here n there, but there are some companies that totally change what the game looks like, making it look a million times better then it really is and still claim its in-game footage.

But that isn't the case here. If you wanted it to look like the screenshots then you could easily decrease the brightness on your TV.

[TTR Dr Payne]

not really, doing that would bring it somewhat closer, but by simply doing that wouldnt bring you to the same level.

Im not complaining about what they did, i just simply posted the article, im not trying to defend or attack anybody