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Games Look Bad: HDR and Tone Mapping (2017)
This is Part 1 of a series examining techniques used in game graphics and how those techniques fail to deliver a visually appealing end result. See Part 0 for a more thorough explanation of the ide…
But I think it serves to highlight that while technical limitations are something we absolutely struggle with in games, there is a fundamental artistic component here that is actually not that easy to get right even for film industry professionals with nearly unlimited budgets. Somehow the weird mix of harsh blacks and glowing highlights serves to reinforce the differences between the bright and dark spots that the game is playing with thematically throughout. The tone map’s role exists at the beginning of the visual development process and it should be treated as part of the foundation for how the game will look and feel.
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